A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

What is the FiW Consortium Doing to Improve Math and Science?

The Consortium is launching numerous activities as part of its effort to improve math and science programs and to identify world-class standards in instruction, assessment, and curriculum development.

The Consortium also works hard to disseminate its findings to educators, researchers, and policymakers by participating in numerous presentations and seminars. Working closely with its partners, it has also taken full advantage of advances in technology to disseminate materials documenting the FiW's progress to others via the World Wide Web. (http://www.ncrel.org /fitw/homepage.htm)

Across the spectrum of activities undertaken by the FiW, educators have maintained their commitment to including all students in the achievement of math and science. Reflecting this commitment, students with disabilities were included in the sample of students taking TIMSS, and special education teachers participate in each of the Consortium's Teacher Learning Networks (TLNs).

This section focuses on one of the most fully developed of these activities, the FiW's efforts to establish TLNs, networks of learning communities involving educators, parents, and community leaders.

This section also describes the FiW efforts in this area, as well as one TLN's efforts to improve science instruction by examining the TIMSS results in light of current FiW instructional practices.

Teacher Learning Networks: Collaborative Learning Communities

The Consortium's TLNs grew out of a cross-district planning effort that involved teachers from all districts and all levels of education, Consortium administrators, and outside advisors. After the Consortium was formed, planning teams were established to conceptualize a structure for developing learning communities that would extend beyond district boundaries.

These learning communities build upon the professional development efforts of the individual districts in order to promote systemic change. The planning teams included teachers from each of the high schools in the Consortium, as well as teachers from the elementary schools.

Working in collaboration with the professional development specialists from North Central Regional Education Laboratory, the planning teams developed a structure to engage teachers across four key domains. These areas are:

• Curriculum models. This network examines the Consortium's curriculum using techniques similar to those used by the International and National TIMSS Centers. It allows teachers to promote cross-district and cross-grade coordination of curriculum, as well as greater alignment with national and international standards. Network members also explore differences and similarities of different districts on the sequence, emphasis, and content covered in math and science courses.

• Instructional practices and models. This network focuses on encouraging the implementation of instructional practices that promote engaged learning for students. Network members explore various instructional methods, including problem-based learning, hands-on science, and activity-centered teaching.

• Assessment strategies. This network assists the Consortium in using assessments to support decisions and establish school improvement plans. It places particular emphasis on the use of performance-based assessments in place of traditional testing formats. Members also look at the importance of integrating teaching with assessment and methods of alternative instruction that inform instructional practices.

• Technology. This network explores the potential for using different forms of technology to support and augment math and science education.

As shown in exhibit 12, the structure of the Teacher Learning Networks relies on the organizational, intellectual, and creative resources of the FiW Consortium, its partners, and the education community. Approximately 75 teachers are involved in the learning network activities.³⁰

The TLNs are supported by the Instructional Support Network (ISN), a group of curricular and instructional directors who provide technical support to the TLNs. The ISN collects and assists in the interpretation of data and assesses the systemic functioning of the networks.

In addition, FiW teachers and staff can draw upon data and expertise available from the Department of Education and/or NCREL. They can also make use of the research on the best practices for teaching math and science being undertaken by these organizations.

Finally, the learning communities themselves also function as a form of intellectual capital to other teachers and administrators for improving math and science achievement.

Teacher Network Grants

Teacher network grants are small grants provided to Consortium staff interested in pursuing staff development activities, locally initiated action research, or curriculum development initiatives in math and science. The FiW leadership identified the two primary objectives of the teacher network grants as follows:

• To improve the teaching of math and science through self-identified and Consortium-identified areas of study. The teacher network grants allow teachers to identify areas of study that have direct links to their abilities to teach math and science.

• To allow practitioners to take an active role in network activities while both providing and receiving services. These cross-district activities allow teachers and others to learn from and interact with their colleagues at other schools within their district, as well as their colleagues in other FiW districts.

To receive a grant, a network member or district must submit a proposal to the Consortium's Grant Review Committee on a topic for study in one of the four network areas (curriculum, instruction, assessment, or technology).

The proposal must outline the project's goals, planned activities, budget, and the methods by which its outcome will be shared with other districts within the Consortium. Grant applications are reviewed by a Grant Review Committee, which is made up of staff and administrative representatives.

Proposals are assessed according to criteria established by the FiW Board of Directors. Funding is provided for proposals that meet these four criteria:

(1) congruence with the Consortium's annual working plan;

(2) direct teacher or staff input;

(3) the availability of activities and outcomes for all Consortium districts; and

(4) focus on math and science.

During the 1997-98 school year, approximately 20 grants were awarded.³¹ Grants were awarded for work on the following general topics in the four network areas:

Curriculum Models

• Curriculum continuity for math and science from kindergarten through grade 12;

• Analyzing physics concepts and the systematic introduction of concepts to students; and

• Mentoring program for females in math and science.

Instructional Practices and Models

• Implications of brain research in the teaching and learning process;

• Staff development to improve instruction for students with moderate to severe learning disabilities; and

• Training staff in problem-based learning.

Assessment Strategies

• Determining teacher knowledge about assessment;

• Aligning instruction and assessment practices for students; and

• Retooling science activities and assessments for students with disabilities.

Technology

• Designing web pages to further math and science learning experiences.

As they pursue their projects, the TLNs are responsible for organizing themselves to promote their own learning.

In particular, the networks are intended to foster exploration of the extent to which teachers' classroom practices are consistent with both

(1) their stated beliefs about teaching and learning, and

(2) current and emerging research and best practice.

Furthermore, the networks are exploring ways to enhance consistency between current classroom practice and research on best practices.

In addition, network members are expected to lay the groundwork for the expansion of these networks into larger, more inclusive learning communities.

Example of a FiW Teacher Learning Network: Analysis of FiW Physics Achievement

To provide an illustration of the types of activities undertaken by a TLN, this section presents an example of work being undertaken a group of teachers to use the TIMSS results to improve the Consortium's science curriculum and instruction.

With assistance from researchers at NCREL, high school physics teachers decided to take a close look at the performance of FiW students on physics-related questions on TIMSS, FiW physics-related curriculum, and instructional practices and beliefs of FiW physics teachers.

Although much of this report focuses on differences in math achievement, this example was chosen because it illustrates how FiW educators are using the TIMSS benchmark, along with supplemental data, to improve science achievement.

This section describes the project's goals and participants, its initial results, and the potential areas initially identified for future research by the project's participants.

As noted earlier, the FiW results on the twelfth grade physics exam were lower than anticipated, with twelve nations scoring significantly above the FiW, three nations obtaining scores not significantly different from the FiW, and one nation scoring significantly below the FiW.

To gain fuller insight into what it takes to become first in the world in physics achievement, six current and former physics teachers³² met over the summer of 1998. At these meetings, they reviewed the FiW physics results from TIMSS, as well as their instructional and curricular practices and discussed what they could do to improve physics achievement.

This cross-district effort built on the teachers' considerable experience and commitment to improve science instruction. Between them, the six teachers have more than 100 years of combined physics teaching experience, and all are extremely active in professional development activities and organizations.

Project Activities

After initial meetings with NCREL staff to review the TIMSS physics questions and discuss the high school results, team members identified three project activities. These activities were designed not only to give the network members a better understanding of the FiW students' relative strengths and weaknesses in solving physics problems, but also to give them a better understanding of the context for learning and teaching physics in FiW and the variety of instructional approaches used across the Consortium.

The project activities are:

• Analyzing FiW students' performance on physics exams using groups of similar TIMSS test questions. This analysis was limited to the use of released TIMSS test questions, a relatively small sample of questions. To conduct this analysis, the released physics questions from the eighth grade science exam and the twelfth grade physics exam were grouped according to conceptual models in physics (e.g., particles, matter, light, ideal gas, systems, relativistic physics, and force laws). FiW student response patterns were then compared to the response patterns of U.S. students and the international average.

• Extending the TIMSS teacher survey to a sample of FiW high school science teachers. The TLN administered one of the two TIMSS teacher surveys that had been prepared for TIMSS but not used during the study. (Unlike in the fourth and eighth grades, TIMSS did not collect data from twelfth-grade teachers). The TLN collected data on teacher beliefs and attitudes using one of these surveys.

• Creating and administering a pilot teacher survey to collect data on values, style, and "rigor" in physics classrooms. This task involved creating and administering the Teacher Survey of Rigor, a new survey to a sample of physics teachers. The new survey was intended to collect additional data on how physics courses are similar or different in style of delivery, expectations for students and what teachers value as important. The anticipated survey results also are expected to complement the results from the TIMSS teacher survey.

As these activities demonstrate, the FiW teacher learning networks provide a unique opportunity for their members to work with, and learn from, their peers.

Furthermore, they allow FiW teachers to tap into NCREL analysts and researchers, as well as their colleagues in other districts, in their efforts to become first in the world in math and science.

Initial Results

At the time of this writing, the analyses undertaken by this network team are at different stages of completion. Initial results are available from the TIMSS questionnaire analysis, while the two additional surveys are in the very early stages of analysis.

Nevertheless, the preliminary results have already pointed to areas where the FiW might work toward improving its physics instruction.

The initial results from the analysis of TIMSS physics questions done by NCREL point to areas of relative strength and weakness in FiW physics achievement. One area of interest was in the different topical areas and different achievement levels.

For example, FiW results for eighth-grade science show strength in the physical sciences with few exceptions. One of these exceptions was questions associated with the atomic model, on which FiW students showed their lowest performance.

Twelfth- grade FiW students demonstrated strength on questions related to the Newtonian concept of force. Questions in modern physics and mechanical waves showed the lowest performance levels.

One unexpected result highlighted by the analysis was that FiW students scored better on questions dealing with constant gravitational force than constant electric or magnetic force, despite the fact that the same general concepts apply to both areas.

The analysis of TIMSS results on the twelfth grade physics exam also gave the FiW teachers a fuller understanding of the types of problem-solving skills needed to achieve world class standards in physics. For example, the teachers discovered that few questionnaire items could be answered using rote memory.

In addition, they discovered that all of the TIMSS countries obtained relatively low performance levels on the physics assessment. On average, only 31 percent of the items were answered correctly.

Also, FiW physics students performed better when tackling certain types of test questions. In particular, they had higher performance on multiple choice items (as opposed to free response items) than the international sample.

Topics for Further Research Identified by the Physics Teachers' Learning Network

Based on their preliminary research, the team has already identified several questions that they feel may deserve future attention:

(1) Are similar trends repeated in the TIMSS questions that were not released?

(2) Why do all students (International, U.S., and FiW) perform poorly on the TIMSS physics assessment?

(3) Can conceptual models be traced through the fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades?

(4) How do students perform on experimental design and scientific process items?

To address these questions, the TLN has identified some opportunities for expanding their investigation that may be particularly fruitful. In particular, they recommend broadening the analysis to include all FiW schools, as well as an examination of student results on the fourth-grade TIMSS science assessment.

They also hope to work on identifying groups that might yield richer comparisons on what it means to be first in the world (e.g., identifying an appropriate comparison group of FiW physics students or group of nations that might be present for all three test populations).

Finally, based on the results of the survey analysis, they plan to look for appropriate physics content that might strengthen their curriculum in areas where FiW student achievement was not as high.

Summary

The Consortium has begun to embark on a host of activities to define and clarify world class standards and establish learning communities. The establishment of TLNs, networks of learning communities involving educators, parents, and community leaders, represents one of the most fully developed of these activities.

As a result of a cross-district planning effort involving teachers from all education levels, Consortium administrators, and outside advisors, the networks engage participants in four key domains:

(1) curriculum models,

(2) instructional practices and models,

(3) assessment strategies, and

(4) technology.

These learning communities build upon and contribute to the professional development efforts of individual districts and leverage the organizational, intellectual, and creative resources of the FiW Consortium, its partners, and the education community.

To facilitate the work of the TLNs, small grants are available to Consortium faculty interested in pursuing staff development activities, locally initiated action research, or curriculum development initiatives in math and science.

During the 1997-98 school year, approximately 20 grants were awarded. Throughout the upcoming year, the networks and grant recipients will explore ways to enhance consistency among current classroom practice, current and emerging research, and best practice, as illustrated by the ambitious agenda of activities undertaken by a team of physics teachers.

Working with the Consortium's partners, these teachers are successfully using the TIMSS benchmark, along with supplemental data, to examine physics curriculum and instruction across districts and grade levels.

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[ What is the Context for Teaching Math in the FiW Consortium? ]

[ Summary and Conclusion ]

This page last modified on November 23, 1999. (dtm)