Research Activities
TELS researchers investigate how to improve learning and instruction in science classes for students in grades 6-12, with a focus on the role that information technology can play. We conduct research in four main areas:
 
Designing and testing curricula that integrate step-by-step guidance for scientific inquiry and dynamic simulations of scientific phenomena
 
Developing programs and tools to help teachers and schools use the new curricula most effectively
 
Assessing the impact of the new curricula on student learning
 
Creating technological tools to support designers of curricula, professional development, and assessment
 
We are especially interested in knowledge integration. We examine the extent to which students develop a deeper, better integrated understanding of complex scientific topics when their classroom instruction:
 
Engages them actively in scientific inquiry
 
Incorporates computer simulations of real-world phenomena
 
Involves collecting and analyzing data



TELS has already reached more than 14,000 students and 200 teachers in 28 schools. Many of the students are economically disadvantaged and speak languages other than English at home. Our research to date documents that students in every TELS classroom make gains in understanding complex scientific concepts, such as chemical reactions, mitosis, kinematics, and geological processes.
 
TELS researchers have designed and classroom tested 20 projects in the 28 TELS schools that serve diverse learners. In five of the TELS schools, between 9% and 25% of the students do not speak English at home. On average, 25% of the students in TELS districts receive free or reduced price lunches. Nine TELS schools serve a population with more than 50% of the students from cultural groups underrepresented in science. Five schools have between 20% and 49% of students from underrepresented cultural groups.
 
Assessments demonstrate the strengths of this instruction for all learners and for learners with both high and low pretest scores.