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1. Workshop Summary
Pages 3-20

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From page 3...
... Norman Webb anti Sarah Mason, of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, investigate(1 the influence of the NSES on assessment and accountability. A team from Horizon Research, Inc., le(1 by Iris Weiss anti Sean Smith, looke(1 at the influence of the NSES on teachers anti teaching practice.
From page 4...
... The hundreds of documents identified were screened using explicit inclusion criteria, e.g., studies focusing on the implementation or impact of the National Science Education Standards and/or the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Benchmarks for Science Literacy.
From page 5...
... . In his paper,1 Ellis distinguishes between the "intended curriculum," the "enacted curriculum," and the "assessed curriculum." The first, he explained, is "a statement of goals and standards that defines the content to be learned and the structure, sequence, and presentation of that content." Those standards are defined by national guidelines such as the NSES, by state standards and curriculum frameworks, iThe full research review by James D
From page 6...
... "I think we need to help schools and states," he said, "learn how to make good decisions, and we need to work on looking at how we enact high-quality, standards-based curricula and the approaches and procedures we go through in doing that." Professional Development In looking at the influence of the NSES on professional development, Supovitz divided the research into three categories: the evidence of influence of the NSES on policies and policy systems related to professional development, which he characterize(1 as "minimal"; the evidence of influence of the NSES on the preservice (lelivery system, which he characterize as "thin"; anti the evidence of influence of the NSES on the in-service professional (levelopment (lelivery system, which he characterize(1 as "substantial." In his papery Supovitz characterizes the overall influence of the NSES on professional (levelopment as "uneven." "On the one han(l," he asserted, "there seems to be substantial evidence that the National Science Education Standards have influencers a 2The full research review by Jonathan ~ Supovitz is in Chapter 3 of this publication.
From page 7...
... WORKSHOP SUMMARY Supovitz added that "one cannot help but to have the impression that the science standards have focused the conversation and contributed to a freshly critical evaluation of the systems and policies that prepare and support teachers to deliver the kinds of instruction advocated by the science standards. What is lacking is empirical evidence that the science standards have had a deep influence on the structures and systems that shape professional (levelopment in this country." In his paper, Supovitz calls for more and better research in order to develop a more coordinated body of evidence regarding the influence of the NSES on professional development.
From page 8...
... It is reasonable that states would also attend to the Standards and Benchmarks over time as they revise standards and refine their accountability and assessment systems." They also point out that although a clear link could not be established between assessment and accountability systems used by states and districts and the Standards and the Benchmarks, "there is evidence that assessment and accountability systems do influence teachers' classroom practices and student learning." What is needed, they argue, is a comprehensive study of policies in all 50 states that would reveal linkages between science standards, science assessment, and science accountability. Among Webb and Mason's other findings: · Accountability systems are complex, fluid, and undergoing significant change.
From page 9...
... Teachers who participate in standards-based professional development often report increased preparedWORKSHOP SUMMARY ness and increased use of standards-based practices, such as taking students' prior conceptions into account when planning and implementing science instruction. However, classroom observations reveal a wi(le range of quality of implementation among those teachers." Weiss began her remarks by restating a point made by Jonathan Supovitz: reform-oriented education programs tend to be studied more than others and are more likely to be published if the conclusions are positive, resulting in a bias toward positive reporting.
From page 10...
... No comprehensive picture of the science content that is actually delivered to students exists. This lack of information on what science is being taught in classrooms, both before the NSES and since, makes it very difficult to assess the extent of influence of the NSES on teaching practice." StucIent Achievement Anderson, in researching the influence of the NSES on student achievement, tried to answer two questions posed in the Framework (Figure 111: Among students who have been exposed to standards-based practice, how have their learning and achievement changed?
From page 11...
... We have just begun the design work in curriculum, professional development, and assessment that will be necessary to enact teaching practices consistent with the standards, so the data reported in this chapter are preliminary at best." At the workshop, Anderson noted that he also looked at several case studies that "tended to look very specifically at particular teaching practices and very specifically at particular student learning outcomes." Some of those studies showed a convincing relationship between teaching practices anti student learning. Anderson called for more case studies and design experiments to help us evaluate and improve upon standards-based work to see "what is reasonable, what is realistic, how they fit together in kids' minds...." Such studies, he said, are also useful in designing the particular systems and practices that enact standards-based teaching.
From page 12...
... In response, Webb said that based on an analysis of mathematics standards in 34 states done for Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in 1997, it is fair to say that at least some states with high-stakes testing have standards that were influenced by the national standards, but we do not know if all of those states do.
From page 13...
... Bond stated that, in reading the papers, she was reassured that the NSES have been "a powerful policy force for making investments in science, math, and technology education and that the preliminary evidence is pretty good." The NSES, she added, are having a "substantial influence" on curriculum (levelopment anti teacher preparation. "The bottom line, though," she sai(l, "is that there have been only mo(lest gains in student performance as a result of all the work that has taken place." Therefore, she noted, we need to focus more on long-term investments.
From page 14...
... Now, however, he said, "we are moving into an 14 era in which in theory the direction wail come from the bottom. The arrows will go the other way, and the leverage point will probably be the assessment box more than anything else." Because of that sea change, Stecher added, it was unclear how applicable the research from the last seven or eight years is in light of "the new, more bottom-up local flexibility mode} of school reform." Sneider thanked the members of the Steering Committee and then made several points of his own: the common themes among the NSES, the AAAS Benchmarks, and other related documents set forth a vision of what science education should be; the NSES themselves must continue to be scrutinized over time; and improvements must be made based on what is learned from implementation in the classroom.
From page 15...
... Juanita CIay-Chambers, of the Detroit Public Schools, spoke for Group B She urged caution when drawing implications trom the research presented at the workshop.
From page 16...
... Such organizations, she said, could offer pre-service teachers incentives for getting additional training within their disciplines for example, state certification rules could influence this. More research is needed, she said, to determine the effectiveness of in-service professional development activities "across the continuum," including activities like lesson studies and action research, particularly "as these activities relate to the desired outcomes." Diane Tones, of the U.S.
From page 17...
... · Does the vision of science education represented by the NSES match that of teachers, the public, employers, etc.? Do inquiry and critical thinking improve .
From page 18...
... 18 QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS After the panelists finished making their presentations, Sneider solicited questions and comments from the workshop participants. Martin Apple, of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, pointed out that nearly every presenter touched on the need for more information regarding the NSES and pre-service teacher education.
From page 19...
... He also said that one member of his group, a publisher, pointed out that just because book publishers make certain materials available Spanish language curriculum materials, for example doesn't necessarily mean there is a large market for such materials. Iris Weiss emphasized a previously made point, about the need to broaden the research to WORKSHOP SUMMARY include schools and districts that aren't engaged in school reform, and not just those that are.
From page 20...
... 'VVe need a more comprehensive vision of research to provide answers," he said, "so that three or four or five years down the road, there won't be all the gaps. There wail be some information to fill those gaps." We need to "map out the terrain of unanswered questions and be systematic about making resources available to address them." Stecher called for more research that looks at student learning and the act of teaching.


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