Student Achievement Through Active Science Learning
Dr. Michael Klentschy, SuperintendentEl Centro School District
El Centro, California
A Field Trip to El Centro, California
Valle Valle Imperial Imperial Project in Project in Science Science
Imperial Valley Imperial Valley
Science ProjectScience Project
In partnership with
Case Study Critical Questions
What is the context?
What is the infrastructure?
What is the evidence?
What are the implications?
Context
Need
Our Region
Our Community
Our Students
Where is El Centro?
El Centro
Our Community and StudentsIn Imperial County Mean income $16,322 Poorest of all 58 counties
in California 30% unemployment rate 22,500 students in 14 Districts
In El Centro
6,500 K-8 students11 Title I, School-wide Project Schools77% Free/Reduced Lunch61% English Language Learners10% Migrant81% Hispanic, 12% Caucasian, 4% African-American, 3% Asian
Five Critical Elements for Reform
High Quality CurriculumSustained Professional DevelopmentMaterials SupportAdministrative and Community SupportAssessment and Evaluation
VValle alle IImperial mperial PProject roject inin SSciencecience
High Quality Curriculum Developmentally Appropriate Researched Based Leads to a “big idea” in Science Balanced
-Physical-Earth-Life
3-4 Units Per Year
High Quality Curriculum Middle School
High Quality Curriculum
Provides Opportunities to:ExploreInvestigateInquireQuestionTest HypothesisCollect DataAnalyze Data
Sustained Professional Development University Level - Preservice School District Level-Inservice
Initial TrainingAdvanced TrainingLesson Study GroupsInstitutesDebriefing
In-classroom Support Leadership Advanced Degrees
Set Goals Plan Do Reflect
ContextCriticalIssues
Knowledge& Beliefs
15Strategies
Professional Development Design
Loucks-Horsley (1998)
Sustained Professional Development
School-Based Professional Development
Lesson Study Focus on lesson
• Design• Implementation• Content• Culture
School District Level In-Service Lesson Lab
Lessonlab/Lesson Study Reflective Teaching Practices
School District Level Inservice Leadership Training
Materials Support SMRC VIPS Offices Training Center Materials Center
Materials Support Training Center
-University Classes
-District Inservice
Materials Support Materials Center
-Order
-Manufacture
-Inventory
-Refurbish
-Deliver Cost Sharing
Materials Support Materials Center Staffing
• Director• 2 Media Technicians• Administrative Clerk
Administrative and Community Support Vertical Team Administrative Training Science Volunteers Parent Education Periodicals
Administrative and Community Support• Vertical Team
• Superintendents• Central Office
• Curriculum and Instruction• Business Services
• Principals• Science Director• Business and Industry• University
• Decisions by Consensus
Administrative and Community Support
Administrator Training
-Content
-Pedagogy
-Classroom Supervision
-Teacher Evaluation
-Assessment
Administrative and Community Support Volunteer Scientists
• Recruitment Strategies
Administrative and Community Support Volunteer Scientists in El Centro come from
• Cal Tech• Agriculture• Veterinarians• Pharmacists• El Centro Regional Medical Center• San Diego State University• University of California• Water and Power Company• El Centro Naval Air Station• Union Pacific Mining
Administrative and Community Support Science Volunteers
• Training
Administrative and Community Support Periodicals
Administrative and Community Support Parent Education
• Family Science Nights School Board Meetings
Assessment and Evaluation
Performance Tasks/Products Standardized Tests Notebooks
Evidence
SAT 9 TIMSS Released Science Science-Literacy Connections Science-Mathematics Connections
Assessment and Evaluation Stanford Achievement Test: Science Scores
1998-99 NPR
Gr4 Gr6
# Tested 630 638
Mean NPR 36 40
Participating 43 49
n=393 n=358
Non-Participating 25 31
n=237 n=280
Assessment and Evaluation Stanford Achievement Test: Science Scores
1998-99 NPR - Sorted by Years in ProgramYears Gr4 Gr6CUM 36 40
0 21 27n=137 n=174
1 32 32n =150 n=121
2 38 42n=141 n=132
3 47 50n=111 n=107
4 53 64n=91 n=104
Student AchievementScience Raw Scores By English Proficiency Grade 4 - 1999
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Limited Proficiency English Fluent 50th %ile
Student AchievementScience Raw Scores By English Langugage Proficiency
6th Grade 1999
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Limited English Proficiency English Fluent
Assessment and Evaluation TIMSS Released Multiple Choice: Science Scores
2000-2001 Mean Raw Scores- Sorted by Years in Program
Years Gr7 Gr8 Gr7/8CUM 9.4 11.1 10.2
0 8.7 10.0 9.5n=48 n=107 n=155
1 8.9 10.5 9.7n =136 n=103 n=239
2 9.0 10.7 9.8n=168 n=112 n=280
3 10.4 11.1 10.7n=125 n=90 n=215
4 11.0 13.3 12.7n=84 n=93 n=177
p<.023 p<.001 p<.01
Assessment and Evaluation TIMSS Released Multiple Choice: Science Scores
2000-2001 Mean Raw Scores- Sorted by Units Completed
Grade 7 Mean SD
High (4+ units) 10.335 3.998Low (3 or less units) 8.892 3.435
p<.001
Grade 8
High (4+ units) 12.137 4.319Low (3 or less units) 10.558 3.551
p<.001
0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
8.00%
10.00%
12.00%
14.00%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004Imperial County
California
UC Eligibility Rate for Underrepresented Students
For additional information on this research
http://brj.asu.edu/content/vol26_no2/pdf/ART2.PDF
Amaral, O., Garrison, L. and Klentschy, M. (Summer 2002). Helping english learners increase achievement through inquiry-based science instruction. Bilingual Research Journal, 26:2, 213-239.
A Model of Student Cognitive Processes (Glynn and Muth)
Perception of Science Phenomena
Working Memory
Learning Science
Science Knowledge
Science Process skills
Reading Skills
Writing Skills
Long Term Memory
Metacognition
Speaking/ Listening
Construction Construction
Science/Literacy
Chapter 10Focus on:- Coherence- Context- “Real World”
Experiences
Coherent Instruction…
is teaching that connects. It connects the student’s reading skills to writing. It connects reading and writing to content. It links content learning to student interests. Coherent teaching makes it easy for students to learn because it combines the strange-new with the familiar-old. When the classroom is coherent, teachers help students make connections among reading, writing and content.
(Guthrie, 2000)
Evidence from Imperial County, California Stanford Achievement Test: Reading Scores
1998-99 NPR – Grade 4 Sorted by Years in ProgramYears LEP EOCUM = 33
0 21 30
1 22 39
2 39 51
3 34 57
4 49 64
Evidence from Imperial County, California Stanford Achievement Test: Reading Scores
1998-99 NPR – Grade 6 Sorted by Years in Program
Years LEP EOCUM = 40
0 23 38
1 28 42
2 34 46
3 35 56
4 51 69
Evidence from Fresno, California Stanford Achievement Test: Reading Scores
Study found that students who received 4 years of exposure to a systemic science program (1998-2001) scored significantly higher on the SAT 9 Reading subtest compared to students who did not receive the science instruction
Opportunity to learn in the systemic science program produced achievement results that closed the reading achievement gap between ethnic groups
In all cases, a positive relationship was found between the number of years of participation in the systemic science program and SAT 9 Reading Score gains
Evidence from Dade County, Florida Stanford Achievement Test: Reading Scores 1996
Study found that students ( n = 2420) in grades 3 and 5 who received instruction in a systemic science program (1996) scored significantly higher (10 percentile points in both grade levels) on the SAT 9 Reading subtest compared to students (n = 4145) who did not receive the systemic science instruction.
The same students also scored significantly higher (11 and 14 percentile points) in Mathematics Application on the
same SAT 9 test.
Science - Literacy Notebooks
Things to Consider About Notebooks
Best Record of Lesson/Unit Implementation Student Performance
Quality of communicationConceptual and/or procedural understanding
Teacher Feedback
Ruiz-Primo, Li and Shavelson, 2002, Looking Into Student Science Notebooks: What Do Teachers Do With Them? CRESST Technical Report 562.
Additional Things to Consider About Science Notebooks Writing may enhance thinking Writing demands the learner to
organize knowledge link evidence to claims draw conclusions
Transfer effect to student achievement Opportunity for “student voice”
Klentschy, M. and Molina-De La Torre, E. (2004). Students’ science notebooks and the inquiry process. In W. Saul (Ed.). Crossing Borders in Literacy and Science Instruction: Perspectives on Theory and Practice. Newark, DE: International Reading Association Press.
What Others Have to Say
“Writing provides a status of our thoughts and forces us to grapple with what we know and what we don’t know.”
Santa and Havens (1991)
“If you cannot – in the long run – tell someone what you have been doing, your doing has been worthless.”
Nobel laureate Edwin Schrodinger (1951)
What should a science notebook contain?
Components and Criteria Question/Problem/Purpose Prediction Planning Data/Observations
Claims and evidence What have you learned? Next steps/New questions
What have I learned?
Stages of Teacher Development - 1
Stages of Teacher Development - 2
Stages of Teacher Development - 3
Stages of Teacher Development - 4
Stages of Teacher Development - 5
Getting Started
Today I (or we) __________________
(description of activity) Today I learned__________________ I noticed________________________ I wonder________________________ Questions I have now______________
For additional writing stems visit www.vipsscience.com
Science – Literacy ConnectionsImperial County, CA
District Writing Proficiency
Grade 6
Spring 1999 Results
Cumulative Pass 64%n=636
Participating Classes82%n=357
Non Participating Classes 41%n=279
Science – Literacy ConnectionsImperial County, CA
District Writing Proficiency
Grade 6 Spring 1999
Cumulative Pass 64% n=636
Years %Pass n0 23% 174
1 68% 119
2 71% 132
3 90% 107
4 89% 104
Implications
Project design which is data driven
Project design which develops a local and regional K-16 collaborative partnership between districts, business, volunteer scientists and the university
Project design resulted in improved student achievement in science and other core areas of the curriculum
This work is supported, in part, by National Science Foundation Grant #ESI-9731274. The opinions expressed in this work are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Science Foundation.