Browsing by Author "Lawrenz, Frances"

Now showing 1 - 14 of 14
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    Achieving the Science Standards: A National Study of Inquiry-Based Instruction in High School Science
    (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 1999) Huffman, Douglas; Lawrenz, Frances
    The National Science Teachers Association's SS&C(Scope, Sequence & Coordination)project created a new high school science curriculum that coordinated the content in the four basic sciences (life, earth, physics and chemistry) to allow students to study every science every year. The curriculum sequenced activities to encourage teachers to use inquiry-based instruction where students engage in hands-on activities before teachers define concepts.To examine the impact of SS&C, researchers at CAREI designed a comprehensive study comparing students who took SS&C science in 9th and 10th grade to students who did not take the new course. The study used a time-lag design which compares the prior year's science students to the present year's science students. The purpose of the study was to closely examine the effect of the standards-based curriculum on both the classroom learning environment and on students' achievement in the sciences. Thirteen schools implemented the new science course. The schools were located in California, Iowa, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Texas and the District of Columbia and included more than 4,000 ninth graders and 2,500 tenth grade science students.
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    Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) Evaluation, 2001-2002
    (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2003-03) Lawrenz, Frances; Michlin, Michael; Appeldoorn, Karen; Hwang, Eunmi
    The National Science Foundation (NSF) has played a major role in the attempts to improve science and mathematics education. According to the NSF, the Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP) program was designed to significantly improve the science, mathematics, and technology preparation of future K-12 teachers and their effectiveness in these areas. The NSF funded the Core Evaluation Project to design and develop a data collection and reporting system for the CETP program. The CETP Core Evaluation developed surveys, a classroom observation protocol, and a teacher artifact scoring rubric to gather information on the impact of the CETP program. The Core Evaluation collected a variety of data in 2001-2002 derived from open ended and scaled survey items and classroom observations and artifacts. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were necessary to provide a complete picture of the CETP collaboratives.
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    Evaluating the Long Term Effect of Teacher Enhancement
    (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 1999-01) Lawrenz, Frances; Huffman, Douglas
    Although the ultimate goal of teacher enhance projects is to improve student outcomes, the causal path from teacher enhancement projects to changes in student outcomes is difficult to verify. Therefore this evaluation was designed to examine the long term effects of a teacher enhancement project on classroom activities and student outcomes at five different schools through case studies. The longitudinal approach is necessary to determine not only what happens initially but what remains after the funding and “newness” wears off. The enhancement effort was part of the Scope, Sequence and Coordination Project (SS&C) and consisted of two summer workshops, during the year contact, and curricular materials matched to the instructional philosophy presented at the workshops. The measure of persistence is the effect of the teacher enhancement on the schools, as demonstrated by teacher classroom performance and achievement of ninth grade students year after year. This report presents information gathered over four years, 1995-1998, from the five teacher enhancement sites.
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    Evaluating the Long Term Effects of Teacher Enhancement: Final Report (2001)
    (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 2001-02) Lawrenz, Frances; Huffman, Douglas; Lavoie, Beth
    This is the culminating report of an in-depth, six- year study of science education reform. The reform included teacher enhancement activities as well as curricular materials and was designed to help science students achieve the National Research Council’s Science Standards (NRC, 1995). The longitudinal evaluation project was quite complex, used several data gathering methods and sources, and produced several reports and articles. The evaluation effort had two major components. The first component was designed to compare students who had participated in the reform effort with students from the same site who had not participated in the reform. The second component was to follow a subset of the sites to identify the long-term effects of the reform effort. For all six years of the evaluation effort both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from principals, teachers and students through extensive site visits and assessment of student outcomes. The purpose of this report is to summarize and condense the findings from the subset sites. It presents the data gathered throughout the course of the evaluation effort by discussing the data from all of the sites as a set and by providing detailed information about each site individually. Furthermore the data are synthesized into a theoretical model for teacher enhancement and curricular implementation, and recommendations for future implementation and evaluation efforts are provided.
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    Evaluative Follow-up of Former Medical Students, Resident Physicians, and Other Health Professional Students Participating in 1972-80 Minnesota Area Health Education Center Programs
    (University of Minnesota, 1981-10) University of Minnesota. Area Health Education Center; Higgins, Paul S.; Lawrenz, Frances
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    Nature as Impression for Dao: A Theory of Spiritual Tourism Development in Da Nang - Vietnam
    (University of Minnesota Tourism Center, 2013) Tran-Tuan, Hung; Gartner, William C.; Schneider, Ingrid E.; Erkkila, Daniel L.; Lawrenz, Frances
    This research aims to generate a theory of spiritual tourism using data from a site in Việt-Nam, the city of Đà-Nẵng. Given that this form of tourism is young for Da-Nang, the issue is how the city should develop its spiritual tourism offering in a determinative and authentic way for the efficiency of its environment, socio-cultural, and economic sectors. Academically, spiritual tourism theory is wanting. Development and discussion of the grounded theory is based on cultural, heritage, and spiritual tourism.
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    Recent Changes in the Supply and Distribution of Physicians, Dentists, and Registered Nurses in Minnesota: A Compilation of Available Data
    (University of Minnesota, 1980-11) University of Minnesota. Area Health Education Center; Higgins, Paul S.; Lawrenz, Frances
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    Scope, Sequence & Coordination: 10th Grade Science (Evaluation Report)
    (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvementr, 1997-09) Lawrenz, Frances; Huffman, Douglas
    Scope, Sequence & Coordination (SS&C) is a national teacher enhancement and curriculum development project committed to developing activities that help students become more scientifically literate as defined by the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1995). The SS&C project is guided by the following principles: 1) every student should study every science subject every year, 2) science should explicitly take into account students' prior knowledge and experience, 3) students should be provided with a sequence of content from concrete experiences and descriptive expression to abstract symbolism and quantitative expression, 4) concepts, principles, and theories should be revisited at successively higher levels of abstraction, and 5) learning should be coordinated in the four science subjects so as to interrelate basic concepts and principles. SS&C was funded by the National Science Foundation to develop and implement the first year of a four year set of activities and this evaluation was designed to document the effect of the SS&C project in relation to the NRC standards. The purpose of this evaluation was to ascertain the effectiveness of the Scope, Sequence, and Coordination project on tenth grade student achievement of the National Science Education Standards.
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    Scope, Sequence & Coordination: 9th and 10th Grade Science (Synthesis)
    (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 1997-12) Lawrenz, Frances; Huffman, Douglas
    The purpose of this report is to synthesize the 9th and 10th grade evaluation reports ascertaining the effectiveness of the SS&C project on ninth and tenth grade student achievement of the National Science Education Standards. Scope, Sequence & Coordination (SS&C) is a national teacher enhancement and curriculum development project committed to developing activities that help students become more scientifically literate as defined by the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1995). The SS&C project is guided by the following principles: 1) every student should study every science subject every year, 2) science should explicitly take into account students' prior knowledge and experience, 3) students should be provided with a sequence of content from concrete experiences and descriptive expression to abstract symbolism and quantitative expression, 4) concepts, principles, and theories should be revisited at successively higher levels of abstraction, and 5) learning should be coordinated in the four science subjects so as to interrelate basic concepts and principles. SS&C was funded by the National Science Foundation to develop and implement the first year of a four year set of activities and this evaluation was designed to document the effect of the SS&C project in relation to the NRC standards.
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    Scope, Sequence & Coordination: 9th Grade Science (Evaluation Report)
    (Center for Applied Research and Eduational Improvement, 1996-10) Lawrenz, Frances; Huffman, Douglas
    Scope, Sequence & Coordination (SS&C) is a national teacher enhancement and curriculum development project committed to developing activities that help students become more scientifically literate as defined by the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1995). The SS&C project is guided by the following principles: 1) every student should study every science subject every year, 2) science should explicitly take into account students' prior knowledge and experience, 3) students should be provided with a sequence of content from concrete experiences and descriptive expression to abstract symbolism and quantitative expression, 4) concepts, principles, and theories should be revisited at successively higher levels of abstraction, and 5) learning should be coordinated in the four science subjects so as to interrelate basic concepts and principles. SS&C was funded by the National Science Foundation to develop and implement the first year of a four year set of activities and this evaluation was designed to document the effect of the SS&C project in relation to the NRC standards. The purpose of this evaluation was to ascertain the effectiveness of the Scope, Sequence, and Coordination project on ninth grade student achievement of the National Science Education Standards.
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    Supporting Standards-Based Teaching and Learning in Mathematics and Science: Lessons from the Minnesota TIMSS Data
    (Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, 1999-08) Lawrenz, Frances; Huffman, Douglas; Palmer, Elisabeth
    More and more school districts are consciously collecting and using a wide variety of data to inform their decision- making processes. This report is an effort to support Minnesota school districts in using data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to assess the extent to which they are engaging in and supporting standards-based education in these two subject areas. This report is intended for teachers, curriculum coordinators, school and district administrators, and policy- makers who wish to systematically examine how we educate our children in science and mathematics. It is It is not possible to look at our educational practices and outcomes as cause and effect. Rather, the data are intended to highlight the relationships between how we educate our children and what they learn. Introduction Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement 3 organized into five main sections, each of which begins with a summary of the Minnesota TIMSS data on key issues in science and mathematics education at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. At the end of each section are questions to guide educators in reflecting upon their practices at the classroom, school, and district levels and the extent to which these practices promote standards-based teaching and learning.
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    Transforming the University: Preliminary Recommendations of the Task Force on Collaborative Research
    (University of Minnesota, 2006-03-27) Lawrenz, Frances; Paller, Mark S.
    The University must: • enhance the value of collaborative research and foster a culture in which it can flourish • provide incentives and recognition for collaborative work • develop mechanisms for bringing scholars together to promote the synergy provided by collaborative work • develop, recruit, retain, and provide opportunities for highly talented researchers to lead and administer important collaborative projects • support educational and training opportunities to make collaborative research understood and accessible to all participants • publicize internally and externally the important findings and outcomes of collaborative work
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    Transforming the University: Recommendations of the Task Force on Collaborative Research
    (University of Minnesota, 2006-05-01) Lawrenz, Frances; Paller, Mark S.
    The task force envisions a University that will be known internationally for its innovation and excellence in collaborative research and scholarship and for the ease with which collaborations are established. This substantive and culturally supportive environment will attract highly talented investigators and team leaders from all over the world. Our vision requires a new model which incorporates supportive policies and procedures and an infrastructure with facilities, equipment, and resources that fosters interaction and removes administrative and logistical barriers.