Horizon Research, Inc

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Patrick Sean Smith

Report of the 2018 NSSME+

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Authors: Eric R. Banilower, P. Sean Smith, Kristen A. Malzahn, Courtney L. Plumley, Evelyn M. Gordon, Meredith L. Hayes

Date: December 2018

The Report of 2018 NSSME+ details the results of a survey of 7,600 science, mathematics, and computer science teachers in schools across the United States. Areas addressed include: teacher backgrounds and beliefs; science, mathematics, and computer science professional development; science, mathematics, and computer science courses; instructional objectives and activities; instructional resources; and factors affecting instruction.

Report of the 2018 NSSME+

Copyright and Usage: Horizon Research, Inc. (HRI) holds the copyright on this report. HRI grants permission for unlimited use, whether the entire report or excerpts, for non-commercial purposes. The report should be cited as follows:

Banilower, E. R., Smith, P. S., Malzahn, K. A., Plumley, C. L., Gordon, E. M., & Hayes, M. L. (2018). Report of the 2018 NSSME+. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research, Inc.

A Review of Practice-Based Literature on Teaching about Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems to Elementary Students

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This report summarizes the findings of a systematic review of practice-based literature on teaching about interdependent relationships in ecosystems to upper elementary students.  The report is a product of the Knowledge Assets to Support the Science Instruction of Elementary Teachers (ASSET)  project.  ASSET is exploring a method for collecting and synthesizing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK).  Literature reviews and discussions with experts will help determine what is known in the field about teaching and learning of each of the key ideas, including common patterns of student thinking and successful instructional strategies.

A Review of Practice-Based Literature on Teaching about Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems to Elementary Students (PDF, 1M)

Copyright and Usage: Horizon Research, Inc. (HRI) holds the copyright on this report. HRI grants permission for unlimited use, whether the entire report or excerpts, for non-commercial purposes. HRI requires that proper attribution be given if any products or materials, in whole or part, are used. 

Hayes, M. L., Plumley, C. L., Smith, P. S., & Esch, R. K. (2018). A Review of Practice-Based Literature on Teaching about Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems to Elementary Students. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research, Inc.

A Model of Educational Transformation: Developing a Community of Faculty Implementing Next Generation Physical Science and Everyday Thinking

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California State University, San Marcos

Led by physics educators and researchers at CSU-San Marcos, CU-Boulder, San Diego State University, Tennessee Technological University, and the University of Maryland, this project is creating a cohort of 50 physics education faculty who are implementing a physics and physical science curriculum for pre-service elementary teachers (NextGen PET). Faculty will participate in a virtual community that will support their implementation efforts. The project is studying this approach as a means to transform physics instruction at both the individual and institutional level.

Horizon Research, Inc. serves as the external evaluator for the project.

Research to Practice Brief: The Critical Role of Science Teachers in Communicating Accurate Information about Zika

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Authors: P. Sean Smith, Joan D. Pasley

Date: May 2016

This policy brief makes recommendations for how science teachers can address the Zika virus with their students.

Research to Practice Brief: The Critical Role of Science Teachers in Communicating Accurate Information about Zika  (PDF, 78Kb)

Copyright and Usage: Horizon Research, Inc. (HRI) holds the copyright on this report. HRI grants permission for unlimited use, whether the entire report or excerpts, for non-commercial purposes. The report should be cited as follows:

Smith, P. S. & Pasley, J. D. (2016). Research to practice brief: the critical role of science teachers in communicating accurate information about Zika. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research, Inc.

 

Teacher Beliefs about Effective Science Teaching (TBEST) Questionnaire

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Description

Date: 2014
Method: Survey

The TBEST questionnaire was developed as part of two research studies conducted by HRI: Assessing the Impact of the MSPs: K–8 Science (AIM, DUE-0928177) Assessing Teacher Learning About Science Teaching (ATLAST, DUE-0335328).  The purpose of the TBEST is to investigate teacher beliefs as both a dependent variable (an outcome of professional development) and as an independent variable (a predictor of classroom practice and student learning).

The TBEST is based on research on learning summarized in the National Research Council’s volumes How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (2000) and How Students Learn: Science in the Classroom (2005).  There are 21 items on the questionnaire, all of which are answered using a six-point agreement scale.

The questionnaire, as well as a user manual detailing information about the questionnaire’s research base, development process, validity and reliability, and use, can be found below.

Instrument

Knowledge Assets to Support the Science Instruction of Elementary Teachers (ASSET)

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National Science Foundation

Knowledge Assets to Support the Science Instruction of Elementary Teachers (ASSET) is exploring a method for generating collective pedagogical content knowledge (C-PCK).  This method will be tested through the creation of a web-based repository for elementary grades science teachers in two content areas:  (1) properties and structure of matter and (2) ecosystems.  To begin, the two content areas will be unpacked into key ideas.  Literature reviews and discussions with experts will help determine what is known in the field about teaching and learning of each of the key ideas, including common patterns of student thinking and successful instructional strategies.  Once the repository is complete, local teachers will test its functionality and use its resources to plan for and teach lessons related to the two areas of content.  Data collected about the teachers’ understanding and use of the repository will inform revisions to the C-PCK collection and synthesis method.