Understanding Science

Nearly a decade of research and development undertaken by Understanding Science staff and external researchers provide a foundation for the program’s professional development model and materials.

Prior Evaluation Results

An extensive, independent multiyear project evaluation showed that Understanding Science courses build teacher knowledge, strengthen classroom practice, and positively impact student achievement:

• Students of all entering ability levels showed significant gains, with the most dramatic increase among low-performing students.
• Teachers learned science, developed more sophisticated pedagogical content knowledge, and maintained these gains over time.
• Teachers reported changes in their classroom practice in general, not only of the course topics. For example, teachers became clearer as to what students should know and more discriminating regarding what students were actually learning.

Download an executive summary of the independent project evaluation (PDF, 140 KB)

Current Understanding Science Research Projects

Learning Science for Teaching: Effects of Content-Rich and Practice-Based Professional Development Models on Teacher Content Knowledge, Classroom Practice, and Student Learning

Funded by the National Science Foundation, this large-scale study is examining the effects of promising professional development models on teachers, classrooms, and students, and involves teams at the University of California, Berkeley (led by Judith Warren Little); Heller Research Associates (led by Joan Heller); and WestEd.

This study will help improve professional development in science, and ultimately student achievement, by investigating:

• How we can combine science content with pedagogy in professional development courses to produce the most impact on teaching and learning
• The relationships among changes in teacher knowledge, classroom practice, and student learning
• How different professional development approaches achieve their effects on science teaching and learning

The study focuses on three professional development courses on electric circuits at the elementary level — Teaching Cases, Looking at Student Work, and Content Immersion — at six research sites with large populations of underserved students.

Understanding Science Professional Development and the Science Achievement of English Learners

Funded by the Institute for Education Sciences and led by Joan Heller of Heller Research Associates, this study is investigating how to prepare middle-school teachers to improve all students’ science content knowledge, including that of English learners. Using a randomized-cluster experimental design, the research will test the effectiveness of WestEd’s Understanding Science model of professional development. The model will be evaluated by comparing it with a control condition that provides no additional science professional development beyond that already received in each school. The experiment will evaluate the value added for teachers who take an Understanding Science course in addition to the science professional development they ordinarily would receive. The ultimate outcomes of interest will be the impact of the professional development on students’ science achievement, especially that of English learners. To provide a basis for explaining the results, impact will also be studied on teachers’ science content knowledge as well as on selected aspects of classroom science instruction.