Project Activities
Researchers rigorously tested the efficacy of GE2 in improving student skills in argumentation in writing, science knowledge, and self-efficacy. Researchers tested the efficacy of GE2 in covering one topic over one semester with a cohort of urban and suburban students and then replicated findings with a second cohort of students. Studies examined the generalizability of the impact of GE2 across different science topics; evaluated the impact of exposure to GE2 across a full year of instruction (i.e., covering both topics, one per semester); and considered how student, teacher, and school variables moderated and/or mediated the response to the intervention.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This study was conducted in suburban and urban classrooms in Connecticut and Illinois.
Sample
The sample for these studies included 216 8th-grade classrooms, 6000 students, and 36 teachers. The sample was equally split between urban and suburban classrooms.
GE2 is a set of online, problem-based learning (PBL) simulations for middle school students that explores the multidisciplinary nature of helping students to learn and apply scientific literacies and concepts. Students within a classroom were assigned to represent a particular country (e.g., China) during one semester. They gained knowledge about the country to represent its viewpoints and concerns during dialogue with students in other classrooms who are representing other countries. GE2 links classrooms of students, otherwise isolated from one another by physical distance and socio-economic boundaries in synchronous and asynchronous scientific argumentation through use of the internet.
Research design and methods
Using a three-level randomized block design (students, classrooms, and teachers), data collection occurred over 4 years with the same teachers but different cohorts of students. All participating teachers taught at least two periods of 8th-graders each day. For each teacher, one classroom was randomly assigned to participate in GE2 and the other classroom to the control condition; because the GE2 intervention is heavily dependent on technology, whose access is controlled by the research team, the chance of contamination between treatment and control conditions was very unlikely. In Year 1, the topic of investigation was Water. In Year 2, water was again the topic covered with teachers from both Year 1 and teachers new to the study. In Year 3, all the teachers continued to participate, but with a new topic (Climate). Finally, in Year 4, the same teachers covered both topics, one per semester. Students in both treatment and control groups were assessed at three points (pre- and post- simulation and 4 months after the end of the simulation). Researchers collected information on fidelity of implementation of GE2 and moderators (e.g., gender, race, SES) as predictors of treatment effects.
Control condition
Students in the control group received the standard "business-as-usual" instruction based on the district curriculum.
Key measures
This study used researcher-developed measures of written scientific argumentation, science topic knowledge, and self-efficacy in science and writing to measure the proximal effects of the GE2 program and student outcomes. The distal effects were measured by the Scientific Literacy Assessment, an instrument measuring science knowledge/process skills based on a subset of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 assessment, and a researcher-developed instrument measuring interest in future education and careers in science.
Data analytic strategy
A three-level (students, classrooms, and teachers) linear hierarchical regression model was used to investigate the impact of GE2 on the student-level outcomes described above. Interactions of treatment with gender and urbanicity were included in certain models to examine the moderating effects of these variables. The sustainability of GE2 effects was examined by including multiple post-treatment measurement occasions in the models. The mediating effects of teacher fidelity variables were explored via multi-level structural equation models.
Key outcomes
This study measured the direct impact of GE2 a set of online, problem-based learning (PBL) simulations for middle school students that focuses on the multidisciplinary nature of social studies as an expanded curricular space for students to learn and apply scientific literacies and concepts in an international context. Study findings (Brown, et al., 2016) included positive changes across student groups in their:
- interest in science-related education/career trajectories and global issues
- quality of persuasive writing
- science topic knowledge
- quantity and depth of science topics discussed
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
Publications:
Brown S.W., and Lawless K.A. (2014). Promoting Students' Writing Skills in Science through an Educational Simulation: The GlobalEd 2 Project. In Learning and Collaboration Technologies. Designing and Developing Novel Learning Experiences (pp. 371-379).
Brown, S.W., and Lawless, K.A. (2014). Promoting Students' Writing Skills in Science Through an Educational Simulation: The GlobalEd 2 Project. In P. Zaphiris (Ed.), Human-Computer Interaction, Part I, LNCS 8523 (pp. 371-379). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
Brown, S. W., Lawless, K. A., and Boyer, M. A (2015). The GlobalEd 2 simulations: Promoting Positive Academic Dispositions in Middle School Students in a Web-Based PBL Environment. In A.E Walker, H. Leary, C.E. Hmelo-Silver, and P.A. Ertmer (Eds.), Essential Readings in Problem-Based Learning (pp. 147-159).
Brown, S.W., Lawless, K.A., and Boyer, M.A. (2015). The GlobalEd 2 Simulations: Promoting Positive Academic Dispositions in Middle School Students in a Web-Based PBL Environment. In A. Walker, H. Leary, C. Hmelo-Silver, and P. Ertmer (Eds.), Essential Readings in Problem-Based Learning (pp. 147-159). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.
Brown, S., Lawless, K., Boyer, M., Yukhymenko, M., Powel, N. and Browdowinska, K. (2013). Promoting Middle School Students' Science Knowledge: The GlobalEd 2 Game. In Proceedings of E-Learn 2013--World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (pp. 1764-1773).
Brown, S., Lawless, K., Boyer, M., Yukhymenko, M., Powel, N., & Browdowinska, K. (2013). Promoting Middle School Students' Science Knowledge: The GlobalEd 2 Game. In E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education (pp. 1764-1773).
Brown, S.W., Lawless, K.A., Rhoads, C., Newton, S.D., and Lynn, L. (2016). Increasing students' science writing skills through a PBL simulation. In Proceedings of The 13th IADIS International Conference Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age (pp. 86-94).
Brown, S.W., Lawless, K.A., Rhoads, C., Newton, S.D., and Lynn, L. (2016). Increasing Students' Science Writing Skills through a PBL Simulation. In International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS) International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA) (pp. 86-94).
Lawless, K.A., Brown, S.W., and Boyer, M.A. (2016). Educating Students for STEM Literacy: GlobalEd 2. In R.D. Lansiquot (Ed.), Technology, Theory and Practice in Interdisciplinary STEM Programs: Connecting STEM and Non-STEM Approaches (pp. 53-82). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Lawless, K.A., Brown, S.W., and Boyer, M.A. (2016). Educating students for STEM literacy: GlobalEd 2. In R.D. Lansiquot (Ed.), Technology, theory and practice in interdisciplinary STEM programs: Connecting STEM and non-STEM approaches (pp. 53-82).
Lawless, K.A., Brown, S.W., Brodowinska, K., Lynn, L., Riel, J., Fields, K., Le-Gervais, L., and Mullin, G. (2014). The GE2 Project - Developing a Scientifically Literate Citizenry. In M. Khosrow-Pour (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology (3rd ed.). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Lawless, K.A., Brown, S.W., Rhoads, C., Lynn, L., Newton, S.D., Brodowiksa, K.,.. and Wang, M. (2018). Promoting Students' Science Literacy Skills Through a Simulation of International Negotiations: The GlobalEd 2 Project. Computers in Human Behavior, 78: 389-396.
Lawless, K.A., Brown, S.W., Rhoads, C., Lynn, L., Newton, S.D., Brodowiksa, K., Oren, J., Riel, J., Song, S. and Wang, M (2018). Promoting students' science literacy skills through a simulation of international negotiations: The GlobalEd 2 Project. Computers in Human Behavior,, 78: 389-396.
Lynn, L.J., and Lawless, K.A. (2015). Observed Score Versus Rasch Score Analysis of Efficacy Data: A Case Study Comparison. Advances in Psychology Research (pp. 1-16). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Publishers.
Lynn, L.J., Lawless, K.A., Brown, S.W., Brodowinska, K., Mullin, G., Powell, N., Richards, K.A., and Boyer, M.A. (2014). Science Vocabulary Development in a Problem-Based Learning Simulation. National Teacher Education Journal , 7(3): 5-12.
Rieli, J., Lawless, K.A., and Brown, S.W. (2016). Listening to the Teachers: Using Weekly Online Teacher Logs for ROPD to Identify Teachers' Persistent Challenges When Implementing a Blended Learning Curriculum. Journal of Online Learning Research, 2(2): 169-200.
Riel, J., Lawless, K.A., Brown, S.W., and Lynn, L.J. (2015). Teacher Participation in Ongoing Online Professional Development to Support Curriculum Implementation: Effects of the GlobalEd 2 PD Program on Student Affective Learning Outcomes. In Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. Las Vegas, NV.
Yukhymenko-Lescroart, M.A., Brown, S.W., Lawless, K., Brodowinska, K., and Mullin, G. (2014). Thematic Analysis of Teacher Instructional Practices and Student Responses in Middle School Classrooms With Problem-Based Learning Environment. Global Education Review, 1(3): 93-110.
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