Esther Dabagyan
SED 625
11/12/06
Dr. Rivas
Current Event #3
Focusing my search on project based methods (PBM) in the science classroom,
has led me to wonder how it specifically impacts a diverse group of students. There seem
to be many articles that show PBM to work better in the science classroom than
traditional curriculum structures. However, most of this research has focused on limited
sample size and homogenous grouping of students. In the article Examining the Effects of
a Highly Rated Science Curriculum Unit on Diverse Students: Results From a Planning
Grant, the authors explore the effects of PBM on a diverse group of 1500 eighth graders
finding that in almost every subgroup, PBM prevailed, showing higher post-test scores.
The purpose of the study was to reveal how highly rated science curriculum
materials that are aligned with reform goals, help diverse student populations succeed in
science on a large scale. The current reform goals that the article presents are to make
standards-based curriculum correspond to a project based format where the unit:
starts from ideas that are familiar or interesting to children; explicitly
conveys a sense of purpose; takes into account student ideas, and conveys
suggestions for teachers to find out what their students think about the
phenomena related to the benchmark; provides for the first-hand
experiences with phenomena; and has students represent their own ideas
about phenomena and practice using the acquired knowledge and skills in
varied contexts. (Lynch et al, 2004)
In other words, the current trend in U.S. science curricula reform seems to be moving
towards the inquiry method of learning. The study was only the first part of a major grant
research project and was used later to scale-up their study to a larger number of schools.
The researchers used a highly rated curriculum titled Chemistry That Applies (CTA) in a
large Maryland school district. They chose the 10 most diverse middle schools and
matched them on demographics, resulting in 5 matched pairs. One school from each pair
was randomly chosen to implement CTA while the other school used curriculum
materials that were normally available. All students were given a pretest, a posttest, a
delayed posttest (given 4 months after CTA was completed), along with a motivation and
engagement questionnaire. The data was split into several subgroups including gender,
ethnicity, FARMS (Free and Reduced-price Meals System), and ESOL (English for
Speakers of Other Languages).
As diverse as the Maryland school district seems to be, its ESOL student
population just doesn’t compare with what we face here in LAUSD. With in the study,
only 10 current ESOL students were in the comparison schools and 35 in the CTA
schools. With such a low sample size, how can the results concerning the ESOL
population be significant? The article stated that in the last state assessment, 62.4% of
eighth graders met the science standards. That is so much higher than the 38% of LAUSD
eighth graders that scored proficient or above in last year’s CST. (California Department
of Education, STAR 2006 Results, pg. 9 http://star.cde.ca.gov) On top of that, the authors
attributed a slight decrease in achievement due to an increase in student population
diversity (their percentage went down from 63.3% the previous year). Clearly, this study
will not translate well to all of the LAUSD schools.
The authors also completed a close study of a single group of 4 students, 2 of the
students were gifted, one was recently transitioned of our ESOL and all were ethnically
diverse. These students were filmed and all aspects of their speech were analyzed. The
student who was formally of ESOL status was characterized as an avid reader. This entire
in-depth study struck me as wishful thinking. I do not know many students, let alone
recent English language learners, that love to read. This group was documented as
demonstrating a lot of “accountable talk”. However, if you put together 2 gifted students
with an avid reader, some of that is bound to go on. Why did they select that particular
group of students? I found their choice and this particular part of the study less than
convincing.
The most impressive part of the study was how great the difference in test scores
was among the student population who performed the lowest on the pretests. CTA moved
them farther along in understanding that the comparison schools thus raising my hopes
that the purpose of project based methods can be to level the playing field and reduce the
achievement gap. The results simply support the idea that student who “get it” in school,
will do so practically regardless of how they are taught. It is those that don’t “get it” that
need PBM style programs like CTA to help them move forward.
The authors show that CTA had a consistently beneficial effect across all ethnic
subgroups which is a valuable point to make for a country that is a melting pot.
Moreover, the data showed that CTA benefited all ethnic subgroups equally. The only
subgroup that did not receive the same benefit was the students currently receiving ESOL
services. While this result was disappointing, I am not willing to accept it as the final
word on the matter. The ESOL student sample size was not great enough to warrant a
final no on PBM for English language learners.
In reflecting upon the results, given that CTA and similar inquiry based learning
such as the current Density and Buoyancy immersion unit that I’m enacting relies heavily
on group discussion and investigation; shouldn’t group composition be analyzed as well
as ethnic subgroups? This can be especially important for students who are English
language learners and who may succeed or fail depending on who they are grouped with.
I feel that project based science (inquiry learning at its best) has so many complicated
facets to it. It is a bit overwhelming to account for all the variables that influence the
success of PBM in a science classroom from group composition, to addressing
preconceptions and English language level of the students. I am further motivated to learn
about the different variables of inquiry learning, especially the effect of a very large
English language learner population.
References
Lynch, S., Kuipers, J., Pyke, C. Szesze, M. (2004). Examining the Effects of a Highly
Rated Science Curriculum Unit on Diverse Students: Results From a Planning
Grant. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42 (8), 912-946.