Evidence for the Middle School Science Classroom

July 22, 2013

Melissa Braaten and colleagues examine the personal, organizational, and contextual factors affecting science teachers' data use and pedagogical practices, including (1) motivations and purposes for using data; (2) tools, resources, norms, and communities shaping teachers' data use and pedagogical practice; and (3) organizational, cultural, ideological, and political discourse shaping teachers' data use and pedagogical practice. Braaten examines science teachers in middle schools that are racially, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse. With funding from The Spencer Foundation, she observes and interviews science teachers to uncover how they obtain data about students' science learning, how teachers interpret these data and use findings to make decisions and modifications to instructional practice, and how teachers work to generate additional data about students' science learning. More information is available here.