Year 1 Implementation of A TIME for Freshman Physics
Abstract
This paper addresses the following claim(s):"Our project's two research questions are:
Research Question 1: In a teacher professional development project, can enhancement of pedagogical practice, student content acquisition and teacher leadership growth through participation in an online learning community achieve results comparable to sustained classroom coaching support?
The project intends to test whether the inherent challenges in training and maintaining qualified coaches, addressing teacher needs outside a particular coach's range of skills, and managing logistics of travel and the associated burden of costs in the coaching model may be offset by a well-implemented, active and engaging online alternative. The researchers/evaluators are in the process of publishing results from a previous NSF MSP in which content gains for students of participating teachers exceeded those for students of control teachers. These teachers were engaged in a Moodle-based online community without individualized coaching, and the greater student gains apparently occurred as a result of pedagogical rather than content-knowledge
changes among their teachersxix
Hypothesis: We expect that the online learning community will achieve comparable results to the in-person coaching support cohort .
Research Question 2: Does implementation of Freshman Physics through the project curriculum yield positive results aligning to National Science Foundation goals for improved student math and science achievement, compared to more traditional educational sequencing of science?
Hypothesis: The implementation of the Freshman Physics curriculum will exceed in student achievement."
Copyright © 2010 by Dorina Kosztin, Sara S. Torres, Keith S. Murray, and Martha A. Henry Meera Chandrasekhar.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.