Currently Funded Research Projects
OpenSciEd Developers Consortium
This project is developing free high quality middle school science instructional materials and professional learning materials. The Developers Consortium is a group of designers from BSCS, Northwestern, the Dana Center and Boston College who are designing, field testing and revising the materials with ten field test states. The Boston College (BC) team is leading the development of both teacher and facilitator professional learning materials. This includes observing and videorecording classroom enactments to capture examples of key instructional moments for the professional learning experiences and designing the in-person professional development. In addition, the team supports the implementation of the professional learning for the field test states. This includes leading the facilitator professional learning, observing and examining the data from the in-person professional development, and revising the professional learning experiences based on this data for public release.
This project is developing free high quality middle school science instructional materials and professional learning materials. The Developers Consortium is a group of designers from BSCS, Northwestern, the Dana Center and Boston College who are designing, field testing and revising the materials with ten field test states. The Boston College (BC) team is leading the development of both teacher and facilitator professional learning materials. This includes observing and videorecording classroom enactments to capture examples of key instructional moments for the professional learning experiences and designing the in-person professional development. In addition, the team supports the implementation of the professional learning for the field test states. This includes leading the facilitator professional learning, observing and examining the data from the in-person professional development, and revising the professional learning experiences based on this data for public release.
I am looking for new doctoral students to work on these funded projects. Click here for more information on the Ph.D. program in Curriculum and Instruction at Boston College.
Selected Previously Funded Research Projects
Instructional Leadership for Science Practices (ILSP): Resources for principals in evaluating and supporting teachers' science instruction
Funded by the National Science Foundation (co-PI with Rebecca Lowenhaupt, Boston College), this project consists of the research and development of a set of online materials and mobile application software to support principals’ knowledge and instructional supervision of the scientific practices in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The goals of the ILSP project include: 1) investigate principals’ current knowledge about scientific practices and methods for supervision of science instruction; 2) Develop online and a mobile app resources for principals and, 3) evaluate the impact of the ILSP resources on principals’ knowledge of scientific practices and their supervision of science teachers.
Funded by the National Science Foundation (co-PI with Rebecca Lowenhaupt, Boston College), this project consists of the research and development of a set of online materials and mobile application software to support principals’ knowledge and instructional supervision of the scientific practices in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The goals of the ILSP project include: 1) investigate principals’ current knowledge about scientific practices and methods for supervision of science instruction; 2) Develop online and a mobile app resources for principals and, 3) evaluate the impact of the ILSP resources on principals’ knowledge of scientific practices and their supervision of science teachers.
Constructing and Critiquing Arguments in Middle School Science Classrooms
Funded by both the Carnegie Corporation of NY and the National Science Foundation (Co-PI with Dr. Suzanna Loper, Lawrence Hall of Science; Jacqueline Barber, Lawrence Hall of Science; Dr. P. David Pearson, University of California, Berkeley), this project is a collaboration with the Lawrence Hall of Science focusing on reading, writing and talking arguments in middle school science classrooms. The goals of this project include to develop and research 1) a rich assessment system for students reading, writing and talking arguments and 2) multimedia educative curriculum materials (MECMs) to support teacher pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of scientific argumentation. In addition to the development of the curriculum, the resources developed for the MECM work will also be available online through the Argumentation Toolkit website.
Funded by both the Carnegie Corporation of NY and the National Science Foundation (Co-PI with Dr. Suzanna Loper, Lawrence Hall of Science; Jacqueline Barber, Lawrence Hall of Science; Dr. P. David Pearson, University of California, Berkeley), this project is a collaboration with the Lawrence Hall of Science focusing on reading, writing and talking arguments in middle school science classrooms. The goals of this project include to develop and research 1) a rich assessment system for students reading, writing and talking arguments and 2) multimedia educative curriculum materials (MECMs) to support teacher pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of scientific argumentation. In addition to the development of the curriculum, the resources developed for the MECM work will also be available online through the Argumentation Toolkit website.
Science Educators for Urban Schools
This project was funded by the National Science Foundation (Co-PI with Dr. Audrey Friedman, Boston College; Dr. Vidya Madhaven, Boston College). This grant focused on the preparation, support and retention of individuals who received an undergraduate degree in the sciences to earn a masters in science education and then teach science in urban schools.
This project was funded by the National Science Foundation (Co-PI with Dr. Audrey Friedman, Boston College; Dr. Vidya Madhaven, Boston College). This grant focused on the preparation, support and retention of individuals who received an undergraduate degree in the sciences to earn a masters in science education and then teach science in urban schools.
Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Scientific Explanation.
This project was funded by both the National Science Foundation and Boston College. We developed a book for educators about how to support grade 5-8 students in constructing scientific explanations and arguments, which included examples of student writing and video cases from science classrooms (McNeill & Krajcik, 2012). Furthermore, we conducted a research study to investigate the impact of the book and accompanying professional development on teachers' pedagogical content knowledge to support students in constructing scientific explanations (McNeill & Knight, 2013). In addition, this work resulted in a number of professional development series and resources to support student writing in conjunction with the science department and teachers from the Boston Public Schools.
This project was funded by both the National Science Foundation and Boston College. We developed a book for educators about how to support grade 5-8 students in constructing scientific explanations and arguments, which included examples of student writing and video cases from science classrooms (McNeill & Krajcik, 2012). Furthermore, we conducted a research study to investigate the impact of the book and accompanying professional development on teachers' pedagogical content knowledge to support students in constructing scientific explanations (McNeill & Knight, 2013). In addition, this work resulted in a number of professional development series and resources to support student writing in conjunction with the science department and teachers from the Boston Public Schools.