Project Activities
The research team developed and tested the intervention in three phases. In the first phase, they developed the initial version of the intervention and evaluated its usability and feasibility. In the second phase, they refined the intervention and evaluated its usability, participant satisfaction, and fidelity of implementation. In addition, they determined whether there were changes in proximal teacher outcomes from pre- to post-test. In the third phase, they evaluated the intervention's usability, implementation fidelity, participant satisfaction, and changes in teacher and student outcomes using a quasi-experimental design.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The research took place through the online professional development system with participating teachers from suburban, rural, and urban locations across districts in Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Sample
Across 25 districts, a total of 62 teachers and 62 of their students with SCD in grades 3-8 participated in the studies. Almost all participants were in separate school settings (e.g., self-contained classes, separate schools).
The professional development system included 20 modules and instructional coaching in an online environment. The professional development approach engaged participants in inquiry cycles for their own learning while also preparing them to use inquiry cycles with their students. Each teacher completed two self-directed foundational modules. After an initial meeting with their coach, teachers completed three inquiry-based lesson cycles using self-selected content modules on various science content standards for students with SCD. The lesson cycle consisted of planning, implementing, and reflecting on the lesson. Coaches provided support for the planning and reflection phases.
Research design and methods
In phase 1, the research team evaluated usability and feasibility of the initial version of the intervention using course logs, post-test surveys, and focus groups. In phase 2, the team evaluated usability, participant satisfaction, and fidelity of implementation using a refined version of the intervention and explored changes in teachers’ science knowledge and practice. The phase 3 pilot study used a quasi-experimental pre-post design to evaluate implementation fidelity, participant satisfaction, and the potential impact on teacher outcomes (i.e., content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, teaching practice, science teaching self-efficacy) and student outcomes (i.e., opportunities to learn and mastery of science lesson objectives).
Control condition
In the pilot study, teachers in the control group, located in other schools, used business-as-usual instruction without receiving systematic professional development in science instruction.
Key measures
Implementation fidelity was measured through researcher-developed, project-specific professional development activity completion checklists, a lesson plan evaluation rubric, and a coach action checklist. Teacher outcomes were measured through a researcher-developed science content knowledge measure (developed from items from Harvard's Project MOSART [Misconceptions-Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resources for Teachers] and AAAS Science Assessment item bank), items adapted from the Pedagogy of Science Teaching Test (measure of pedagogical content knowledge), a researcher-designed lesson observation protocol and instructional practices inventory (measure of teaching practice), and the T-STEM Science Scale (measure of science teaching self-efficacy). Student outcomes were measured through the Curriculum Indicators in Science Survey and mastery ratings during post-teaching coaching conversations.
Data analytic strategy
The researchers used general linear models with fixed effects to examine the impact of the professional development on teacher outcomes. They used descriptive statistics to understand usability, feasibility, fidelity, satisfaction, and student outcomes.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this project, as the principal investigator reported, are as follows:
- Teachers and coaches demonstrated they could implement the 5E-SESE professional development model with fidelity.
- Teachers demonstrated they could implement universally designed, inquiry-based science instruction with students with SCD.
- The project provided some indications of small changes in teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy and instructional practice in the sample, but results were not statistically significant.
- Participants’ post-teaching reflections indicated most students with SCD fully or partially mastered science lesson objectives when taught using inquiry methods.
- Results may inform future practice in the design of professional development for special education teachers, particularly for instructional methods that are not standardized. Results also may inform future research and practice on effective science education methods for students with SCD. The project’s blending of universal design and inquiry-based approaches to both teacher professional development and student instruction may inform the future design of educational interventions at both levels.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
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Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
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