Mentored and On-line Development of Educational Leaders for Science

MODELS is a National Science Foundation Teacher Professional Continuum funded project that enables middle and high schools to design and sustain school-based professional development. This professional development supports teachers as they integrate technology-enhanced science curricula into existing programs. We study how school-based professional development improves teacher practice and student science learning.

Our school-based program builds on a university-based professional development approach and focuses on evidence-based planning and curricular customization. University-based models typically impact teaching practices, sometimes impact student learning, and rarely continue when funding ends. Our studies:

1. Design and test methods for preparing school-based leaders to mentor local teachers
2. Compare the impact of university-based and school-based programs on teaching practices and science learning
3. Design and refine a technology-enhanced support system

To ensure broad impact, we partner with diverse school districts. We track the performance of at-risk and underrepresented groups, enable teachers to use evidence of student progress to customize curricula, and aggregate immediate and longitudinal results of student learning. We use findings to design a flexible professional development model that improves teacher practice and student understanding.

MODELS curricular modules are built on the Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) platform and are developed in conjunction with the TELS Community curricula.