Effecting Principled Improvement in STEM Education: Student Engagement and Learning in Early Secondary-School Physical Science and Mathematics
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Faculty of Education
Abstract
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Publications
Hofmann R
(2018)
Operational, interpersonal, discussional and ideational dimensions of classroom norms for dialogic practice in school mathematics
in British Educational Research Journal
Hofmann R
(2021)
The Covid-19 Learning Crisis as a Challenge and an Opportunity for Schools: An Evidence Review and Conceptual Synthesis of Research-Based Tools for Sustainable Change
in Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal
Hofmann R
(2015)
Teacher interventions in small group work in secondary mathematics and science lessons
in Language and Education
Howe C
(2015)
Rational number and proportional reasoning in early secondary school: towards principled improvement in mathematics
in Research in Mathematics Education
Howe C
(2014)
Principled Improvement in Science: Forces and proportional relations in early secondary-school teaching
in International Journal of Science Education
Kenneth Ruthven (Author)
(2011)
A dialogic approach to plenary problem synthesis
Kenneth Ruthven (Author)
(2012)
The epiSTEMe pedagogical approach: essentials, rationales and challenges
Reiss M
(2011)
ENHANCING THE PARTICIPATION, ENGAGEMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION: INTRODUCTION
in International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
| Description | The epiSTEMe project designed a research-informed intervention which sought to improve the teaching of mathematics and science at early secondary level. The intervention emphasised dialogic teaching: teachers using discussion to identify and examine different students' points of view as to a particular mathematical or scientific problem. The classroom intervention consisted of an introductory module preparing students and teachers to use the dialogic teaching approach and two topic modules in each of mathematics (fractions, ratio and proportion; probability) and physical science (forces and proportionality; electricity). The project conducted a large-scale field trial of the intervention, using an experimental design with intervention and control groups. For only one of the four topics (fractions, ratio and proportion) can it confidently be concluded that students subject to the epiSTEMe intervention made greater learning gains than those subject to schools' normal teaching. For one of the four topics (electricity), the intervention group made learning gains lower than those of the control group. Within the intervention group, the level of implementation of dialogic teaching was generally higher in mathematics - particularly for the probability module - than in science, and the size of class learning gains was positively associated with the level of implementation of dialogic teaching in mathematics but not in science. |
| Exploitation Route | Implementing the mathematics component of the epiSTEMe intervention provides a proven means for schools and teachers to develop a more dialogic teaching approach and improve the learning gains of students. |
| Sectors | Education |
| URL | https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/episteme/ |
| Description | Findings have now been peer reviewed and published. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |