A major goal of FCR-STEM is to conduct scientifically rigorous research that can inform policy and practice and answer questions of critical importance to educators, parents, students and leaders in business, industry and government.
FCR-STEM is conducting five research projects in Florida’s public schools which, over a multi-year period, will inform state and district-level decisions on curricula, professional development, and effective use of technology in the classroom.
Integrated Math, Science and Technology in the Middle Grades
This study will investigate the effectiveness of an integrated approach to instruction in math, science, and technology in grades 6 -8 at a high-minority middle school in Leon County. The Integrated Math, Science, and Technology (IMaST) curriculum, developed by the Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology at Illinois State University, will serve as the treatment condition. This curriculum has a strong emphasis on application and will be taught by interdisciplinary teacher teams. The comparison condition will be the school’s traditional math and science curriculum. Student outcomes will include math and science achievement, problem solving and higher-order thinking, and motivation and attitudes toward math and science.
Principal Investigator: Laura Lang, Ph.D.
Time period: 2007-2009
Individualized Science Instruction (ISI)
With ever increasing focus on reading, teachers and administrators believe that time spent on science will impede students’ reading development. However, correlational evidence found by an FCR-STEM researcher suggests that overall, time spent in science instruction may enhance rather than harm students’ literacy skills although this appears to depend, in some instances, on students’ incoming vocabulary and background knowledge. This study will develop and test the effectiveness of Assessment-to-Instruction (A2i) software – a tool that has been successfully used to support student reading growth. By taking a child’s vocabulary and background knowledge into account, this tool is designed to help teachers individualize the amounts and types of science instruction for each child in the classroom and increase science learning.
Principal Investigator: Carol Connor, Ph.D.
Time period: 2007-2010
Professional Development Approaches for Reform-Based Curricula
National reforms have produced promising, well-designed instructional materials that have undergone years of development, field-testing, and revision. However, because these reforms require fundamental shifts in the way teachers understand both their content and the appropriate ways to teach this content, a central issue is teacher professional development. This study will investigate the effectiveness of Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) professional development in improving middle-school students’ learning in science. It will help answer questions such as what kinds of professional development do teachers need? How must they be supported over time in their use of new ideas and curricula to improve student math and science learning?
Principal Investigators: Ellen Granger, Ph.D. and Sherry Southerland, Ph.D.
Time period: 2007-2009
Expert Performance Approach to Examining Superior Performance in Advanced Placement Courses.
The expert-performance approach examines fundamental research questions regarding the nature, structure and acquisition of skill and expertise, and tests these theories in real-world situations. At FCR-STEM, a series of studies, over multiple years, will focus on student performance and the cognitive processes leading to superior performance in advanced placement (AP) math- and science-related courses. We also will assess the extent to which teachers’ domain-specific knowledge and ability to perform on domain-specific tasks is related to their ability to improve the knowledge and performance level of their students.
Principal Investigators: Paul Ward, Ph.D., and David Eccles, Ph.D.
Time period: 2007-2012
Principal PROMiSE Research Project.
Studies of existing practice in mathematics and science teaching indicate that classroom instruction is not reflective of the standards-based approach that researchers and policymakers suggest. The purpose of this study is to investigate how principals can best support student achievement in mathematics and science by increasing their content and pedagogical knowledge related to Florida’s new standards and preparing them to support improved instruction through professional learning communities and other strategies. Participants will include principals who are registered for Florida PROMiSE (www.flpromise.org) professional development in 2009 and 2010. A subsample of 60 schools where principals and teachers of mathematics and science in grades 3-5 will provide more indepth information about .
Principal Investigator: Laura Lang, Ph.D.
Time period: 2008-2012