CAREER: Investigating Core Issues in Learning Progressions Research

本项目对学习进阶进行了两项平行研究。lp体现了一种发展的学习方法，因为它们描述了学生可能采取的路径，因为学生在一个领域中逐渐发展出更复杂的科学概念和实践推理方法。因此，本项目在早期研究结果的基础上调查lp的理论有效性，以更好地了解学生在遗传学方面的知识如何发展。两个研究问题将指导研究。1. 明确定义和高度约束的学习路径的概念在多大程度上反映了学生的实际发展？在一个领域学习？2. 在科学lp中，科学内容的学习和科学实践是如何相互作用的？也就是说，特定内容学习路径对科学实践学习的支持和约束是什么？第一项研究通过对教学单元的双重实施，包括建模实践的重点，通过比较两种遗传学lp来解决这两个研究问题。这种比较提供了额外的证据，说明了驱动学生遗传学知识发展的概念约束和启示的类型和相对强度。参与调查的中型郊区采用了物理优先的课程，在11年级的科学课程中，生物学排在最后。参与者包括四名高中老师和他们的学生。该项目每名教师约影响70名学生，或在两次实施中影响560名学生。第二项研究仅解决了第一个研究问题，并采用横断面设计来检查从小学后期到大学的学生遗传学知识的发展。这种横断面设计提供了关于遗传学知识发展的概念约束和启示的额外证据，给出了来自不同教学背景的更广泛的样本。来自公立和私立学校的5年级、7年级、9年级和11年级的学生，以及来自罗格斯大学、蒙特克莱尔大学和普林斯顿大学的本科生和毕业生参加了第二项研究。样本包括每组约200名学生。

This project conducts two parallel studies on learning progressions (LPs). LPs embody a developmental approach to learning as they describe the paths that students might take as students develop progressively more sophisticated ways of reasoning about scientific concepts and practices in a domain. Therefore, this project investigates the theoretical validity of LPs based on the outcomes of earlier studies to better understand what can be learned about how student knowledge develops in genetics. Two research questions will guide the studies. 1. To what extent does the notion of well-defined and highly constrained learning paths reflect the actual development of students? learning in a domain? 2. In what ways do the learning of scientific content and scientific practices interact in science LPs? That is, what are the affordances and constraints that particular content learning paths pose on the learning of scientific practices? The first study addresses both research questions by comparing two genetics LPs through a dual implementation of instructional units that also include a focus on modeling practice. This comparison provides additional evidence regarding the type and relative strength of the conceptual constraints and affordances that drive the development of student knowledge in genetics. The participating mid-sized suburban district uses a physics-first curriculum where biology is taught last in the science sequence at the11th grade. Participants include four high school teachers and their students. The project impacts about 70 students per teacher or 560 over two implementations. The second study addresses only the first research question and employs a cross-sectional design to examine the development of the genetics knowledge of students from late elementary to college. This cross-sectional design provides additional evidence about the conceptual constraints and affordances in the development of genetics knowledge given a much broader sample from varying instructional contexts. Students at 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th grades from public and private schools as well as undergraduates and graduates from Rutgers, Montclair, and Princeton participate in the second study. The sample includes about 200 students from each group.