States have often introduced programs supporting science, technology, engineering and math in the secondary grades. Yet the evidence of STEM's positive impact on young children's development makes a compelling case for engaging learners in pre-K through third grade in consistent, authentic and high-quality STEM experiences. High-quality P-3 STEM…

The study reports on an investigation about the impact of science-technology-society (STS) instruction on middle school student understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and attitudes toward science compared to students taught by the same teacher using traditional textbook-oriented instruction. Eight lead teachers used STS instruction an…

There has been a wealth of research examining learning environments as one of the variables that contributes to academic success for students studying science. A constructivist learning environment has been explored as one way to assist students in achieving greater success with science learning. There is a lack of research concerning how and if…

This study sought to understand the process of change elementary teachers experienced as they participated in mathematics professional development. This investigation explored the impact of mathematics professional development on teachers' content knowledge for teaching, their ability to implement innovative pedagogical practices, and the…

Case studies of Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) in the Iowa project included four high schools that have been practicing this professional development model for the last five years. The schools, AHST Secondary School, Cedar Falls High School, Spencer High and Middle Schools and Valley High School were visited in April, 2011. The visits included…

The Delaware Enhanced Assessment Grant (DE EAG) project was funded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2006 as an initiative to assist 10 state departments of education (SDE) teams, and local school district and high school teams, in implementing a comprehensive and balanced learning and assessment system (CBAS) with a strong emphasis on a…

Much research has been done and reform is suggested relating to teachers' implementation of student-oriented learning environments, yet research on the role, beliefs, pedagogy, and knowledge of teachers simultaneously in classroom environments has been minimal (Kyle, 1994, "Journal of Research in Science Teaching", 31, 785-786). This…

Lead teachers were a major part of a staff-development program first offered in 1983 for science teachers in Iowa. Later, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) reform project called Scope, Sequence, and Coordination (SS&C) involved 20 school districts and worked annually with new teachers involved during the 7-year funding period,…

This is a study of a science teacher's beliefs concerning how a professional development program affect both the teaching strategies used and the beliefs professed influence classroom instruction after participating in the Iowa Chautauqua Professional Development program. The results of the study indicate that teachers often have problems with…

Describes a job-embedded staff development program that has provided training and ongoing support in implementing cooperative learning and other teaching strategies in one Iowa school district. Job embedded means that leaders teach others and view their role as staff developers as important. (SM)

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of a federally funded project that was designed to develop, validate, and disseminate a training program for teachers of students with autism. The strategies taught to teachers were those that have been accepted as best practice in autism literature. Since 1996 more than 500 teachers,…

The quality of high schools--how well they prepare students for productive employment as well as active citizenship--has been part of the state and national agendas for several years. To help complete an action plan for addressing the issue of high school quality, the Iowa Department of Education and State Board of Education during the spring of…

This document is a resource for distance education research in Iowa, including information on developing, implementing, and administering distance education systems. This second edition contains the original 16 research papers published previously, as well as 8 additional, more recent research studies. The first section describes distance…

This report examines the types of professional development necessary to implement successful online learning initiatives. The potential for schools utilizing online learning is tremendous: schools can develop new distribution methods to enable equity and access for all students, they can provide high quality content for all students and they can…