Study: 89795

Efficacy Study of the Science Notebook in a Universal Design for Learning Environment: Preliminary Findings

Yu, Jennifer W.; Fikes, Annie E.; Ferguson, Kate; Wei, Xin; Tiruke, Tejaswini; Hall, Tracey E.; Blackorby, Jose (2019). Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Toronto, Canada,. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED605911

Grant Competition

Review Details

Reviewed: June 2021

No statistically significant positive
findings

Meets WWC standards with reservations

For:

Grant Competition (findings for Science Notebook in a Universal Design for Learning Environment (SNUDLE))

Using:

Rating:

Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with high attrition, but the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.

This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.

Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Findings

General science achievement outcomes—Indeterminate effect found for the domain
Outcome measure	Comparison	Period	Sample	Intervention mean	Comparison mean	Significant?	Improvement index	Evidence tier
Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Science	Science Notebook in a Universal Design for Learning Environment (SNUDLE) vs. Business as usual	0 Days	Full sample; 602 students	198.09	198.70	No	--

Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.

Sample Characteristics

Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.

26% English language learners
Female: 52%
Male: 48%
Urban

Race
Asian		13%
Black		35%
Native American		1%
Other or unknown		46%
White		5%

Ethnicity
Hispanic		46%
Not Hispanic or Latino		54%

Study Details

Setting

The study included fourth-grade students participating in inclusive general education science classes from seven elementary schools in a large, urban school district.

Study sample

The sample was comprised of a diverse group of students: 35% Black, 46% Hispanic, 13% Asian, 5% White, and 1% American Indian. The sample included a large percentage of students who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch (82%). The sample also included dual language learners (26%) and a small percentage of students with IEPs (6%) and 504 plans (3%).

Intervention Group

Teachers and students in the intervention group used the Science Notebook in a Universal Design for Learning Environment (SNUDLE). SNUDLE is a digital notebook that aims to support active science learning among elementary school students. It is similar to traditional science notebooks, in that it provides students space to collect, organize, and display observations and data; space to reflect and make sense of inquiry experiences; and opportunities to demonstrate understanding at each stage of the investigation. Through the program, teachers can provide feedback on their students' work. SNUDLE was designed to target students with reading and writing difficulties, especially those with learning disabilities. SNUDLE is designed with accessibility features such as test-to-speech technology with real time highlighting, word-by-word English to Spanish translation, keyboard accessible actions, and a multi-media glossary. SNUDLE guides students and teachers in the process of active science learning and the effective use of science notebooks.

Comparison Group

Students in the comparison classrooms used traditional paper-based science notebooks, which is business-as-usual.

Support for implementation

The teacher's interface in SNUDLE facilitates active science learning in their students by prompting and supporting teachers to provide feedback that may include corrective information, alternative strategies, information to clarify ideas, or encouragement to engage in the scientific process.