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 six 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
Evaluation of Texas Instruments Model District program.
This study will evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the Texas Instruments Model Districts program, an ambitious systemic intervention for closing the achievement gap in mathematics at the middle and high school level. Currently being implemented in Palm Beach County Public Schools, the intervention has eight goals shown to be necessary for effective, sustainable change of instructional practice: improved teacher content knowledge, increased instructional time, use of common assessments, high expectations for all students, increased administrative support, appropriate use of technology to increase motivation and learning, parental support of teaching and learning, and use of an accelerated curriculum.
Principal Investigators: J. Michael Spector, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Jakubowski, Ph.D.
Time period: 2007-2008
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
Technologically-based Math & Science Instruction.
Research studies to date indicate that technology-based instruction, if properly used, is associated with increased student engagement in learning and improved student learning, particularly the acquisition of higher-order thinking skills. The purpose of this study is to describe the extent to which technology-based instructional materials and teacher supports are being used in Florida’s middle and high schools. The focus will be on what kinds of instructional technologies are being used in the classroom, by whom (teachers and/or students) and for what purposes (e.g., procedural versus conceptual learning).
Principal Investigators: Marcy Driscoll, Ph.D., Robert Reiser, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Jakubowski, Ph.D.
Time period: 2007-2008