Measuring Instructional Quality in Science in the Next Generation Science Standards Era

• In Event: 15.028 - Quantitative Research in Qualitative Spaces

Abstract

Recent instructional reforms in science education bring a new vision that aims to move science teaching away from a focus on discrete facts covered at a superficial level. The success of these reforms depends on the quality of instruction in science classrooms. The purpose of this study is to develop and test an instrument to assess the quality of science instruction (i.e., to assess whether students learn science through the kinds of cognitive and epistemic opportunities envisioned in these recent reforms). Data collection involves collecting in–class assignments, students’ work, and video-records of 9 science teachers’ classrooms at a local secondary school. The preliminary findings indicate that the instrument can reliably capture the variation in academic rigor in science classrooms.

Authors

• Miray Tekkumru-Kisa, Florida State University

• Courtney Preston, Florida State University

• Zahid Kisa, Florida State University

• Elif Oz, Florida State University

• Jennifer Morgan, Florida State University