Structured Abstract
Setting
The research will take place inPasco County Schools, Florida (just north of Tampa) and will include schools from each of the urban, suburban, and rural regions within the county.
Sample
Third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers and their students will be the subjects of this study. The student population is about 15 percent minorities. About 9 percent of students are Hispanic, many of them children of migrant workers. There is a 44 percent student mobility rate. Most Limited English Proficient students in the county are Spanish speaking, but over 60 different languages are spoken in the homes of these students. A large proportion of students are of low socio-economic status.
Intervention
The mission of Teaching SMART® is to encourage the performance and persistence of all students, particularly girls and minority elementary students. Teacher training sessions include effective teaching strategies that incorporate gender and minority equity, inquiry-based instruction, cooperative learning, coaching, real world connections and career awareness.
Research design and methods
All third through fifth grade classrooms in the county will be matched on student characteristics. Schools will be randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (10 schools in each). This will yield about 150 classrooms, and 3000 students each in the experimental and control groups. The experimental group will receive the SMART program. Fidelity of implementation will be examined at the school and classroom levels using data from classroom observations and staff and faculty interviews.
Control condition
The control group will receive whatever professional development teachers in the district typically receive.
Key measures
Outcome measures will include teacher and student attitudes toward science, teacher classroom practices, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test—Science (FACT-Science), and the Partnership for the Assessment of Standards-based Science (PASS) test.
Data analytic strategy
Analysis of variance, linear regression, and hierarchical linear modeling will be used to determine the effects of Teaching SMART® program. Growth curve analyses will be used to look at long-term effects over 3 years. Qualitative information from classroom observations and interviews will complement the analyses.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
** This project was submitted to and funded under Teacher Quality: Mathematics and Science Education in FY 2005.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
