Annemarie S. Palincsar - US grants

9911313
PALINCSAR

This project will develop text-based instructional materials that allow the interweaving of 1st- and 2nd-hand investigations in order to maximize children's learning about the products of science as well as the nature of scientific reasoning. These materials are modeled after a scientist's notebook: a new genre that they developed to promote the maintenance of an inquiry stance while conducting investigation with text. These notebook texts are tailored to elementary school science curricula in grades one through five: Insights, Science and Technology for Children (STC), and Full Option Science Study (FOSS).

This three-year project explores the influence of two modes of investigation, 1st- and 2nd-hand, on student development of scientific knowledge and reasoning. In 1st-hand investigations students have direct experience with phenomena. In the 2nd-hand investigations students interact with informal text, either in a traditional format or an innovative format modeled after the notebook of a scientist. The project proposes to conduct a series of three studies in schools with diverse populations: rural, urban-poor, and urban bilingual. In Study 1 and 2, the instruction of the unit will be done by the investigators and will be conducted with groups of 12 students during the school day. In Study 3 the instruction will be done by the teachers and it will involve four whole classes. Study 1 is a mixed experimental design in which 48 students will participate. Students, matched for general achievement, will be randomly assigned to four sequences. Sequence varies mode of instruction (1st- and 2nd-hand investigations) and topic (force- and mass-motion). Instruction will be videotaped, and interviews will be conducted to a randomly selected sample of 4 students on each group. Study 2 includes a third variable: mode of 2nd-hand investigations, traditional or notebook. It is a five-condition study involving different sequences. During this study, a classroom observation instrument will be developed. Study 3 will involve the implementation of the conditions that proved to have the best outcomes in Study 2. The study will try to identify individual differences that may interact with the type of condition. Instruction will be documented (taped) twice during the course of each mode of investigation. The classroom observation instrument will be administered during each investigation. A random sample of 8 students within each class will be interviewed twice in each instructional phase. The study will advance understanding of how instruction can maximize student learning in different inquiry contexts. A new classroom observation tool will be developed

The purpose of this Phase I IERI proposal is to investigate the feasibility of scaling the knowledge base on the effective teaching of reading comprehension in a manner that is accessible, reflective of the complex nature of this instruction, focused on advancing students understanding of general and domain-specific informational text, and informed by a theory of learning consistent with the task at hand. Despite recent reading initiatives, students in the upper elementary grades are not sufficiently prepared to interpret and learn from informational text, precluding full attainment of reading competence and interfering with their ability to learn from subject matter text. This is particularly the case for poor urban youth. The most likely explanation for this situation is the absence of opportunities for students to learn how to comprehend text, reflecting teachers uncertainty about how to teach reading comprehension, especially with respect to supporting learning in subject matter areas with ambitious educational goals.
Paradoxically, there is a significant and robust knowledge base regarding effective reading comprehension instruction. The challenge is to represent and disseminate this knowledge base effectively and powerfully. The intervention we propose integrates the resources accumulated by three programs of comprehension research with strong evidentiary bases (Reciprocal Teaching, Questioning the Author, and Guided Inquiry supporting Multiple Literacies). Specifically, we propose to conduct controlled experiments in which we compare two models of professional development. One model, informed by cognitive flexibility theory, features the use of hypermedia-based videocases, while the second features the same information, presented via traditional video-based cases. In addition to supporting teachers learning of the targeted instructional techniques, the content of these cases will address assessment, individual differences, teacher mediation, and text- and domain-specific (to science) comprehension instruction.
In each year of the proposed project, participants include 60 teachers from 30 schools (1500 students), randomly assigned to one of two conditions. SES data for targeted districts indicate that students qualifying for free- or reduced-cost lunch range from 12% to 66%; and ethnicity data indicate that 7%, 51%, and 75% of the students in the targeted districts are African-American, while the remainder are principally White. Measures of teacher knowledge/beliefs/orientations and practice, as well as student measures of general and domain specific reading achievement will be collected to answer the following research questions: (1) What are the effects of using hypermedia-based videocases versus traditional video-based cases on the development of teachers knowledge/beliefs regarding reading comprehension instruction; (2) What are the relative effects of these tools on teachers reading comprehension instruction practices; (3) What are the relative effects on students comprehension of general and specific subject matter text, measured by standardized assessments; And (4) How are outcomes mediated by teacher characteristics (e.g., knowledge, self-efficacy), student characteristics (demographics, achievement), and features of school and policy contexts that relate to successful buy-in. Throughout the study, a central focus is on identifying features of successful professional development that are scalable.

This is a multi-faceted project for which the project team is developing, implementing and evaluating a prototype for an integrated assessment system in elementary teacher education in mathematics. The system is: (a) supporting the development of student teachers in using mathematical content and language/reading knowledge for teaching mathematics; (b) supporting the development of the school faculty and university faculty who work with them, in analyzing teaching practice and providing feedback; (c) facilitating cooperation and common understanding across these different communities of practice; and (d) warranting the quality of the teacher education program and the decisions made about readiness-to-teach mathematics. The project is focusing on three settings for professional learning: the subject matter methods course and related field instruction; the student teaching semester and related seminar; and, for assessment purposes, the initial induction year. The project also is documenting both the development of the student teachers in the practice of teaching mathematics to students from diverse backgrounds and of cooperating teachers and field instructors as they learn to analyze the practice of the student teachers and provide feedback.

INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The intellectual merit of this project lies in the development, implementation, research and evaluation of the assessment system. The research questions being examined are:

1. To what extent does the available evidence support the validity of the assessment system for supporting and monitoring learning, for warranting decisions about readiness to teach, and for evaluating the quality of the teacher education program?

2. To what extent does the assessment system differentiate among teachers with different levels of experience?

3. To what extent does the available evidence demonstrate student teachers' capability of working in different contexts and with students from diverse academic, socioeconomic, language and racial and ethnic backgrounds?

4. What is the developmental trajectory of Cooperating Teachers and Field Instructors participating in the curriculum with respect to (a) their mathematical knowledge for teaching and (b) their ability to analyze, evaluate and give useful feedback on teaching practice -- especially as it relates to the use of mathematical content knowledge and knowledge of reading/language for teaching mathematics?

BROADER IMPACTS: The prototype system is being documented and disseminated such that other education programs can either adopt it as is, adapt it to their local context or develop a system of their own following its developmental principles. Implementation of the system is designed to facilitate collaborative learning between school and university communities and to allow educational institutions and agencies to document the validity of local decisions about beginning teachers' readiness to teach. The preparation materials being developed -- which include a set of analyzed records of teaching practice along with guidelines for using these materials -- are being made available electronically and via workshops, presentations and peer-reviewed publications so that teacher education programs and agencies can use them for professional and program enhancement and development.

The goal of this project is to use educative curricula materials to help transform teacher learning and practices and improve student outcomes in science. The PI investigates adding overlays to the Science, Technology, and Children (STC) curricula materials, developed by the Smithsonian Institution, as one way to increase the use of inquiry-based methods by elementary teachers. The educative overlays provide teachers with additional supports to address specific science content. These supports include subject matter content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, sample lessons, and other instructional supplements. Fifty teachers and 1000 elementary students will benefit directly from this effort. The project targets units on ecosystems and electric circuits.

The study will focus on the following: How does teacher use of educative curricula relate to (a) how a teacher learns; (b) how a teacher practice what is learned (and thus how a teacher increases opportunities for students to learn); and (c) how a student learns science content and about scientific practices across scientific disciplines?

The PI will use a quasi-experimental design and an observational study to compare the learning and practice of the teachers to the learning of students when teachers are supported with educative curricula materials and when they are not. The PI intends to draw on a range of data sources (e.g., classroom observations, interviews, and teacher and student assessments and artifacts) to capture the impact of the educative overlays. Content analysis will also be used to generate thematic content maps in the analysis of qualitative data while hierarchical linear modeling and repeated measures (ANOVA) will be used to compute quantitative analyses.

The intended outcomes of this project includes better ways to teach inquiry at the elementary level; educative overlays in both expository and narrative forms; improved theoretical knowledge of teacher learning; an empirical trace of connections among opportunities for teachers to learn, their knowledge, their practice, and the outcomes of their students.

The PIs are proposing an EAGER to assist in the development and study of WeInvestigate, an application that will run on a mobile device. The application will help support learners as they engage in artifact construction using multiple media while two or more learners can be synchronously collaborating either face-to-face or at a distance. WeInvestigate is leveraging the research that learning in collaboration with others associated with higher engagement and learning outcomes. The PIs are investigating the experiences of teachers and students as they implement WeInvestigate to support their engagement and learning about scientific phenomena. They are also looking at the value-added of the support for synchronous collaboration and its impact on student learning. The WeInvestigate application has the potential to reach a high number of students since it is likely that more schools have access to mobile devices and college readiness standards will be looking for collaborative tools such as WeInvesitgage that integrate collaboration and the reading of complex text. PIs are partnering with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) who are building a platform to support the applications for the Next Generation Science Standards.