Testing a Professional Development Model for High School Science Reform and the Relationship of Key Variables to Student Achievement

该项目由生物科学课程研究（BSCS）进行测试的有效性，一个密集的，为期三年的专业发展计划，BSCS国家课程领导学院（NACL）在华盛顿州的学生科学成就。NACL的目标是发展以地区为基础的中学科学领导团队的能力，以持续实施以研究为基础的科学教学材料，促进教学和学习的改进。 本研究探讨了该计划对学生成绩的影响后，学校和地区有足够的时间的影响，采取。该项目使用现有的数据收集从两组总部设在华盛顿的NACL队和存档的学生成绩数据从华盛顿州？公共教育监督办公室（OSPI）。通过调查和访谈收集了更多的数据-参与NACL的地区和人员。该项目使用倾向评分方法比较了参加NACL的27个地区和至少27个精心匹配的非NACL地区之间的学生成绩。地区经历了不同剂量的NACL，该项目研究了随着时间的推移参与NACL的不同影响。 这项研究为多个利益相关者提供了一个机会，包括NSF，资助NACL，BSCS的开发和实施的其他企业基金会，以及参与学区，以确定专业发展在多大程度上促进了学生科学成绩的提高。这项研究的更广泛影响是测试教师专业发展模式的基本要素与学生成绩的相关程度，并以一种可以在类似情况下被其他人复制的方式这样做。拟议的工作将向教育工作者介绍有证据表明有效的基于研究的专业发展方法。此外，通过确定专业发展计划可能会影响学生成绩的时间尺度，研究结果为政策制定者和研究人员提供了新的信息，这些信息涉及到新的教育政策和计划产生积极影响所需的时间。

This project conducted by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study(BSCS) tests the efficacy of an intensive, three year professional development program, the BSCS National Academy for Curriculum Leadership (NACL) on student science achievement in the state of Washington. The goal of the NACL is to develop the capacity of district-based secondary science leadership teams to sustain the implementation of research-based science instructional materials that promote improvement in teaching and learning. This study examines the influence of the program on student achievement after the schools and districts have had sufficient time for the effects to take hold. The project uses existing data gathered from two cohorts of Washington-based NACL teams and archived student achievement data from Washington State?s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Additional data are collected NACL-participating districts and personnel through surveys and interviews. The project compares student achievement between the 27 districts that participated in the NACL, and a minimum of 27 carefully matched, non-NACL districts using propensity-scoring methodology. Districts have experienced different dosages of the NACL, and the project examines the differential effects of being involved in the NACL over time. This research study provides an opportunity for multiple stakeholders including NSF, other corporate foundations that have funded the development and implementation of the NACL, BSCS, and participating school districts to determine the extent to which professional development promotes the improvement student science achievement results. The broader impact of the research is testing the extent to which basic elements of teacher professional development models correlate with student achievement and to do so in a way that could be replicated by others in similar contexts. The proposed work would inform educators about the research-based approaches to professional development that has evidence of efficacy. Moreover, by determining the time-scales by which professional development programs might be shown to influence student achievement, the findings provide new information to policymakers and researchers regarding the amount of time that could be required to see a positive impact from new educational policies and programs.