High
quality research
is a fundamental first step
in finding out how today’s
students are best able to
learn science, mathematics, and technology and how instructional,
curricular, and assessment
strategies and materials
can best support their learning.
Project 2061 began by applying the
available research on student
learning to guide its development of grade-level learning goals
in Benchmarks
for Science Literacy (1993). Research
also provided
the basis for Project 2061’s criteria for evaluating the
effectiveness of science and
mathematics textbooks and the alignment of assessment
items with benchmarks
and standards.
Project 2061 is now leading two major research efforts that will
contribute significantly to our understanding of science and
mathematics teaching and learning. With a $5.8 million grant
from the Interagency Education
Research Initiative (IERI), Project
2061—in partnership with the University of Delaware and
Texas A&M University—is studying how to provide, on
a large scale, the professional development and continuing support
teachers need to improve student learning of key ideas and skills
in middle-grades mathematics.
And through the National Science
Foundation’s Centers for Learning and Teaching program,
Project 2061 has received a $9.9 million five-year grant to establish
a Center for
Curriculum Materials in Science, working in collaboration
with Michigan
State University, Northwestern University, and the University
of Michigan. In addition to developing new graduate
and postdoctoral
programs in curriculum materials development, the new Center
will conduct pioneering research on the design
and use of effective curriculum
materials for science learning.
Paper Presented
at AERA Annual Meeting
A paper was presented at the annual
meeting of the American Educational Research Association
(AERA) April 12-16, 2004, in San Diego, California,
with a focus on a five-year Interagency Education Research
Initiative study that explores the interactions of curriculum
materials and professional development and their effect
on teachers' classroom practices and on students' achievement
in mathematics. You can access
the paper here.
Key Initiatives
Center
for Curriculum Materials in Science
The
Center for Curriculum Materials
in Science (CCMS) is a partnership
of AAAS, Michigan State University,
Northwestern University, and
the University of Michigan. It
is focused on the analysis, design,
and use of science curriculum
materials.
Improving Learning in Middle Grade Mathematics
Through a jointly funded program, and in partnership with two universities, Project 2061 is investigating how best to coordinate teaching practices, curriculum materials, and professional development to improve student learning in Middle Grades mathematics.
Benchmarks
for Science Literacy
Benchmarks
for Science Literacy is
the Project 2061
statement of what all students
should know and be able to
do in science, mathematics,
and technology by the end
of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12.
The recommendations at each
grade level suggest reasonable
progress toward
the adult science literacy
goals laid out in the project's
1989 report Science
for All Americans.
Science
for All Americans
Science
for All Americans defines
science literacy
and lays out some principles
for effective learning and
teaching. In coherent prose,
it articulates and connects
fundamental ideas in science
without technical vocabulary
and dense detail.
Dialogue
on Early Childhood Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education
Dialogue on
Early Childhood Science, Mathematics,
and Technology Education represents
some of the latest thinking
about early childhood science,
mathematics, and technology
education. It brings together
11 papers on wide-ranging topics
commissioned by the American
Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS).
Resources for Science Literacy: Professional Development
This is Project 2061’s first CD-ROM tool and the first professional development
tool in science to focus on standards-based teaching and learning. Resources offers
a wide array of materials designed to provide educators with a deeper understanding
of how to help their students achieve science literacy.
Less
Is More: Trimming the Overstuffed Curriculum
Through a science curriculum "diet," districts discover
that less topics could fatten
students' understanding. Instead
of forcing students to digest more and more content and vocabulary
as science continues to advance, experts recommend a science curriculum "diet" to
help take a bite out of the nation's
current science achievement woes.
Solving
the Equation:
Project 2061
Studies Factors
That Improve Student Learning in Mathematics
Project 2061’s evaluation of middle-grades mathematics textbooks
indicates that some materials have high potential for improving
student learning, but empirical study is needed to show how these
materials—and professional development related to these materials—can
actually support effective
teaching practices and improve student learning.
Technology
Education Research Conference
Participants from science education, technology education, and
cognitive science convened in December 1999 to discuss the role of
research in technology education. Technology was discussed from a wide
range of perspectives, including its relationship with science and
society, the notion of design, control mechanisms, materials, energy,
and communication. In April 2001 a second technology conference was
held to build on the high-priority research issues identified in the
first conference.
AAAS Conference
on Improving Science Textbooks through Research and Development
Policy & Student
Learning: What Textbooks, Assessment, and Professional Development
Can Contribute
In
our continuing effort to significantly
improve student learning in science,
mathematics, and technology,
Project 2061 of the American
Association for the Advancement
of Science hosted a conference
that focused on state and district
policies that influence student
learning. The conference, the
third in a series of Project
2061 conferences dedicated to
improving science textbooks and
curriculum, examined policies
that affect the quality of materials
used to instruct and assess students
and the professional development
available to teachers.
Project
2061 Staff Receive Distinguished Article Award
(2003-03-25) The
National Association
for Research
in Science Teaching
(NARST) presented
two Project 2061
staff members
with NARST’s
2003 Distinguished
Paper Award for
a paper which
describes in
depth how Project
2061 conducted
its landmark
study of middle
school science textbooks
to evaluate how likely they
are to support the teaching
and learning of key science
ideas.
