Impact of the Rigorous Curriculum Design for Project-Based Learning Implementation on Middle School Students’ Science Achievement and MAP Progress

Abstract

The innovative-based economies such as Finland and other developed countries, offer a viable cohesive, and sustainable curriculum centralized around Project-Based Learning (PBL) and built on the Rigorous Curriculum Design (RCD). Such curriculum is developed by schools and warrants examination in developing countries such as the United Arab Emirates to ensure contextual, cultural, and work-driven demands of second language learners and how it impacts students’ achievements and high-stake testing. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the rigorous curriculum design for project-based learning implementation on middle school students’ science achievement and MAP progress in a private American school in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The study followed a quantitative approach by collecting data using the Standardized Science Knowledge Test (SSKT) and the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) in science for 304 middle school students from grades 6 to 8. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The results have shown that the RCD-PBL science units have a positive impact on teaching and learning and largely impact the students’ achievements and improve their MAP progress and scores. All students in the experimental groups of grades 6, 7, and 8 showed improvement in the SSKT and outperformed their corresponding control groups. Participating middle-grade students on all levels who implemented the RCD-PBL demonstrated greater science academic growth, as indicated by both tools, the SSKT and the MAP, than their counterparts who received textbook-based instruction and thus, confirmed the positive effect of implementing and centralizing PBL in the curriculum using the RCD model.