Horizon Research, Inc

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Project DELTA: Digital Environments for the Learning and Teaching of Algebra

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Research Foundation of City University of New York

Project DELTA was a collaboration involving City University of New York, the Freudenthal Institute, and Horizon Research, Inc. Project DELTA extended an existing library of 17 interactive CD-ROM digital learning environments on numbers and operations by adding an algebra strand. Each of the digital environments features classroom sessions allowed for exploration of a mathematics topic, children learning over time, and teachers’ instructional techniques. HRI led the project’s research on the impact of the new algebra materials on teacher development.

Evaluation of NSF’s Traineeship Programs: The IGERT and GK–12 Programs

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Abt Associates, Inc.

NSF’s GK–12 program funds projects that provide graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines with training that will prepare them for professional and scientific careers. The projects establish relationships between graduate students and teachers in K–12 schools, with the goal of improving graduate students’ communication and teaching skills while enriching STEM instruction in K–12 schools. Abt Associates conducted an evaluation of the GK–12 program. As a subcontractor, HRI designed questionnaires for K–12 teachers and district coordinators, as well as provided technical assistance on the overall evaluation.

Science: It’s Elementary

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ASSET, Inc.

Science It’s Elementary (SIE) was an initiative of the Governor of Pennsylvania to improve science education across the state. The initiative was implemented by ASSET, Inc., an independent, nonprofit education organization dedicated to continuously improving the teaching and learning process. In its first year, SIE sought to train nearly 1,500 elementary teachers in 78 schools to successfully implement kit-based instructional materials, with the goal of improving teaching and learning of science across the state. HRI served as the external evaluator.

Knowledge Management and Dissemination for the MSPs

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National Science Foundation

HRI, in collaboration with the Education Development Center and WestEd, synthesized findings from the work of the National Science Foundation’s Math and Science Partnership projects; integrated these findings into the larger knowledge base for education reform; and disseminated this information to MSPs and the broader education community. The work included three phases: (1) knowledge acquisition, which involved the collection and organization of MSP knowledge and related literature; (2) knowledge sharing, which is the packaging of knowledge for access by the various audiences; and (3) research on what knowledge packages are utilized, and in what ways. (website)

Assessing Teacher Learning About Science Teaching

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National Science Foundation

HRI, in collaboration with Project 2061 of the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS), created and disseminated instruments that assess teacher opportunities to learn, and that measure changes in teacher science content knowledge, teacher pedagogical content knowledge, classroom practice, as well as changes in student achievement. Three sets of instruments were developed, one for each of three science areas-force and motion; processes that shape the Earth; and flow of matter and energy in living systems. (website)

Inside the Classroom

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National Science Foundation

NSF provided funding for the Inside the Classroom observation study, which involved over 350 observations of science and mathematics lessons nationally. The study was designed to complement the information provided by the 2000 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education by describing factors that may have affected the selection of topics, instructional materials, and instructional strategies for science and mathematics lessons and how the lessons played out in the classroom. (website)