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Curriculum‐based teacher professional development in middle school science: A comparison of training focused on cognitive science principles versus content knowledge
Author(s) -
Yang Rui,
Porter Andrew C.,
Massey Christine M.,
Merlino Joseph F.,
Desimone Laura M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.21605
Subject(s) - curriculum , mathematics education , professional development , science education , psychology , cognition , treatment and control groups , pedagogy , medicine , neuroscience , pathology
This study investigates, through a cluster‐randomized trial, the effectiveness of two approaches to increasing middle school students’ science learning using a traditional science curriculum. Ninety schools were randomly assigned into one of three arms: (a) a treatment arm in which the textbook curriculum was modified based on four principles of cognitive science coupled with teacher professional development (PD), (b) a second treatment arm in which teachers received PD designed to improve their knowledge of the science content, and (c) a business‐as‐usual control group. The PD was able to change teacher practice but barely improved teacher knowledge. No significant boost in student achievement was observed, except in a few instances, where there were some promising findings. Exploratory analyses were conducted to examine what makes the interventions more effective. Implications for future research were discussed.