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Measuring the Effectiveness of Curriculum Materials for High School Multidisciplinary Science
BSCS (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is collaborating with school districts in Florida to study curriculum materials used for multidisciplinary science in high school. This BSCS research study is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
To participate, schools (and selected science faculty therein) must agree to be in a pool of “willing participants.” Half of the schools will be randomly assigned to use a new BSCS program for multidisciplinary science in grade 9 - fall, 2008. Schools will receive further instructional materials and professional development for grade 10 in fall, 2009 and grade 11 in fall, 2010.
A key incentive to participate is that schools not randomly assigned to the BSCS program in fall, 2008, will have the choice to receive full benefits of the program for grade 9 the following year (fall, 2009).
Incentives, School- and Teacher-level:
- Stipends for survey completion (all teachers in “willing” schools; brief)
- Stipends for logs and interviews (brief!) to record instruction
- Quality PD from BSCS to support program implementation (7 days/yr)
- New instructional materials (SE, TE, etc.) that align closely with FL science
standards and have been shown effective in nationwide field tests
- Option for BSCS program in year #2 if not assigned in year #1
- Paid site manager to support program (per school)
Research Requirements:
- By requirement of the U.S. Dept. of Education: Willing schools must be randomly assigned to receive either the treatment (BSCS curriculum materials and professional development) or continue as usual in the comparison group
- Teachers at all willing schools (treatment and comparison) record their science curriculum (e.g., brief logs, interviews, classroom visits, teacher surveys)
- Willing schools that are not assigned to the BSCS program in year 1 continue as-usual (i.e., the comparison group) for that cohort of grade 9 students (Fall, 2008)
- Grade 9 teachers from these schools have the option for the BSCS program plus incentives one year later (grade 9 students, Fall, 2009)
- All teachers from willing schools will administer a pre-post common assessment
| For more information, contact Joseph A. Taylor, Ph.D., Principal Investigator, at 719.219.4104, jtaylor@bscs.org, or FX 719.531.9104 |
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