What are critical features of science curriculum materials that impact student and teacher outcomes?

Abstract

Large investments are made in curriculum materials with the goal of supporting science education reform. However, relatively little evidence is available about what features of curriculum materials really matter to impact student and teacher learning. To address this need, the current study examined curriculum features associated with student and teacher outcomes. We reviewed sample curriculum materials and documentation reporting on the instructional outcomes of 51 research-based K-12 science curriculum materials.Our findings reveal that teacher supports, rather than student supports, had positive impacts on both student and teacher outcomes. Specifically, positive student outcomes were associated with curriculum materials with a larger scope and with materials that provide teachers with information about students' ideas and recommended instructional strategies. Positive teacher outcomes were associated with the presence of information about targeted standards and recommended instructional strategies. Relatively fewer studies reported on teacher outcomes, and evidence about other dimensions of curriculum materials impact (e.g., spread, sustainability) was difficult to find. Overall, these results reveal the broad importance of embedding teacher supports and ensuring sufficient scope of content across coordinated curriculum units to support the development of conceptual understanding over time.Implications for the design of new curriculum materials and further research are discussed. K E Y W O R D Scurriculum materials, science education, student learning, systematic review, teacher learning 260

Curriculum‐based teacher professional development in middle school science: A comparison of training focused on cognitive science principles versus content knowledge

“…The results contribute to a growing body of evidence (e.g., Garet et al, 2001) demonstrating that improving teacher content knowledge through professional development is a difficult task. Our results provide no evidence that the Content PD boosted teachers' content knowledge and, not surprisingly, no evidence of benefits to student achievement, similar to Roblin, Schunn, and McKenney (2018).…”

Work-Based Curriculum to Broaden Learners’ Participation in Science: Insights for Designers

“…Materials such as printed teacher guides facilitate teachers' daily instructional practice (Davis et al 2016). The written supports may provide teachers with procedural assistance in implementing the curriculum and supporting learners' understandings, for example, strategies or tips for orchestrating whole class discussions (Roblin et al 2018). Curriculum materials may also contain educative elements that are designed explicitly to promote teachers' knowledge of scientific ideas and disciplinary practices (Davis and Krajcik 2005).…”

“…Attending to teacher materials is crucial for achieving impact on learner outcomes (Roblin et al 2018). Well-designed supports can influence teachers' curricular planning and actual instructional practices during enactment, and thereby the opportunities available to learners (see Davis et al 2016 for review).…”

“…Indeed, previous research suggests that science teachers may not always be familiar with enacting scientific practices (Knight-Bardsley and McNeill 2016; Krajcik and Blumenfeld 2006;Simon et al 2006) or engineering design process (Mehalik et al 2008), and may even hold misconceptions about authentic practices (Zangori et al 2013). To simulate engineering design projects in the classroom, therefore, the authors recommend designing materials to include procedural supports (Roblin et al 2018) as well as educative elements to facilitate teachers' enactment of the curriculum (Bismack et al 2015;Davis et al 2014;Davis and Krajcik 2005).…”

“…These kinds of supports may help teachers implement key instructional activities stressed by educators, for example, performance tasks, open-ended questions, and discussions (NRC 2015;Tytler 2007). These kinds of supports have been shown to have positive impact on learner outcomes (Roblin et al 2018). Here, too, a careful review of other curricula can generate insights into crafting appropriate materials for teachers.…”