Sharon J. Lynch

Effectiveness of a Highly Rated Science Curriculum Unit for Students with Disabilities in General Education Classrooms

This research is part of a study on scaling-up middle school science curriculum units in a large, diverse public school system. Chemistry That Applies (CTA), a guided inquiry unit based on conceptual change theory and highly rated according to the Project 2061 Curriculum Analysis, was implemented in five middle schools matched demographically with five comparison schools (N = 2,282 students). Eighth grade CTA students outscored their peers overall and when data were disaggregated, with small to medium effect sizes. Of particular interest are students with disabilities in general education science classrooms (n = 202 students with complete assessment records). Those who used CTA significantly outscored their comparison peers on the posttest, with a small to medium effect size.

Inclusive STEM High School Design: 10 Critical Components.

Historically, the mission of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) schools emphasized providing gifted and talented students with advanced STEM coursework. However, a newer type of STEM school is emerging in the United States: inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs). ISHSs have open enrollment and are focused on preparing underrepresented youth for the successful pursuit of advanced STEM studies. They promise to provide a critical mass of nontraditional STEM students, defying stereotypes about who does STEM and creating positive STEM identities. In this article, we advance a conceptual framework designed to systematically capture the qualities of ISHSs that can provide exciting new possibilities for students and communities. An iterative review of the literature suggests 10 critical components that may work together across 3 dimensions: design, implementation, and outcomes. Our goal is to apply this framework in various school models to better understand the opportunity structures that emerge and to create a theory of action of ISHSs.

Metaphor and Theory for Scale-up Research: Eagles in the Anacostia and Activity Systems

This chapter proceeds from two very different views on scale-up theory. Cynthia Coburn (2003) provides a retrospective query into normative dimensions of scale-up (depth, spread, transfer of ownership and sustainability) and argues that scale-up is ‘not about numbers’. In contrast, McDonald and colleagues (2006) take a methodological approach to understanding scale-up research in two stages, intervention effectiveness and intervention scaling in multiple contexts, with the focus primarily about the numbers. This chapter builds scale-up theory further by offering four preconditions for scale-up based on a 6-year study of the scale-up of middle school science units. Preconditions include: a close partnership between the university and the school district; recognition that the success of any intervention is determined by the pervasive policy climate of the school system; scale-up decisions being driven by the quality of assessment feedback and other information; and an organised research agenda for systematically introducing the intervention. This leads to an ecological metaphor on scale-up, with the insight that it is ‘information’ that scales up. Further, scale-up is a socio-cultural phenomenon explained by activity theory because it allows overlapping levels of complexity for explanations.

Expanding STEM opportunities through inclusive STEM-focused high schools

Abstract Inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs) (where STEM is science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) admit students on the basis of interest rather than competitive examination. This study examines the central assumption behind these schools—that they provide students from subgroups underrepresented in STEM with experiences that equip them academically and attitudinally to enter and stay in the STEM pipeline. Hierarchical modeling was applied to data from student surveys and state longitudinal data records for 5113 students graduating from 39 ISHSs and 22 comprehensive high schools in North Carolina and Texas. Compared to peers from the same demographic group with similar Grade 8 achievement levels, underrepresented minority and female ISHS students in both states were more likely to undertake advanced STEM coursework. Hispanics in Texas and females in both states expressed more STEM career interest in Grade 12 if they attended an ISHS. Positive relationships between ISHS attendance and grade point average were found in the total sample and each subgroup in North Carolina. Positive ISHS advantages in terms of test scores for the total student sample were found for science in both states and for mathematics in Texas. For the various student subgroups, test score differences favored the ISHS samples but attained statistical significance only for African Americans’ science achievement scores in the Texas study.

Inclusive STEM High Schools Increase Opportunities for Underrepresented Students.

The authors report on a study of eight inclusive STEM high schools that are designed to increase the numbers of students in demographic groups underrepresented in STEM. As STEM schools, they have had broader and deeper STEM coursework (taken by all students) than required by their respective states and school districts; they also had outcome indicators that demonstrated substantial academic achievement and other measures of school success. One of the unique features of the schools’ was how their administrative structures were organized and how leadership was distributed among school administration, teachers, and sometimes students. Each school held a clear sense of its mission-driven purpose: to graduate students prepared for STEM college majors, including students from underrepresented groups. These schools blurred boundaries between formal and informal education, reconfiguring relationships among teachers, students, and knowledge.