A randomized trial study, conducted over two school years in 18 high schools in Washington, finds that "An Inquiry Approach," a three-year, educative curriculum for high school science, has a positive impact on student achievement, teacher practice, and fidelity of implementation of the curriculum when the curriculum is paired with…

Adopting new curricula presents both a need and an opportunity for professional development to advance teacher content knowledge and instructional practices for achieving curriculum-specific student outcomes. This study examines two modalities of professional development: face-to-face in a summer workshop and online that included two days of…

The best science teachers are not only experts in teaching and knowledgeable about science content, but they are also great at teaching science. They have specialized teaching knowledge, including knowledge of effective pedagogical practices in science, student difficulties with understanding content, and curricular purposes. As a result,…

A district harnesses the energy of individuals committed to change to create a new approach to science teaching and learning--one that emphasizes inquiry alongside content. Staff developers helped teachers understand how scientists think and work, using an inquiry process that teachers, in turn, now use with students.

A Pennsylvania district used study groups to help teachers districtwide change their science teaching to standards-based practice of inquiry. Standards-based inquiry instruction requires that teachers have a deeper content knowledge as well as understand the process of inquiry. Making those changes requires support and a collegial environment.

An evaluation mosaic brings together different methods and forms to present an overall picture of the impact this professional learning experience had on teachers' practices and on student achievement. Using this framework, professional developers were able to determine whether they were getting the results they wanted--and they did.