Impact of materials on rural middle school students' understanding of science concepts

Abstract

Newton's Universe (NU) is a professional development (PD) program utilizing hands‐on inquiry based distance learning to improve science content knowledge of rural middle school science teachers. This study examined the impact of NU PD and kits containing laboratory materials and inquiry based activities on student understanding of temperature and heat concepts. Experimental teachers (n=34) received PD and a kit, while control teachers (n=17) received neither PD nor a kit. To account for the impact of laboratory materials independent of PD, kit teachers (n=19) received a kit but no PD. Experimental teachers scored significantly higher than control or kit teachers on a 25 multiple choice question post PD assessment (16.97 + 3.66 vs. 12.71 + 2.71 and 13.00 + 3.72 correct responses, respectively). On 39 multiple choice questions, pre and post instruction assessments, experimental teachers' students' scores significantly increased from pre to post (14.41 + 4.07 vs. 17.95 + 5.67; n = 1091) while control teachers' students' scores did not change (14.26 + 4.10 vs. 14.54 + 0.71; n = 310). Pre and post instruction scores of kit teachers' students (n = 1714) are being evaluated. These data show that NU PD improves student performance in physical science. Thus, using distance learning to increase rural teacher access to effective PD will improve student achievement in middle school science. (Supported by NSF Grant #0437768).