Joseph A Taylor

• Ph. D. Science Education
• University of Colorado Colorado Springs

A priori power analyses allow researchers to estimate the number of participants needed to detect the effects of an intervention. However, power analyses are only as valid as the parameter estimates used. One such parameter, the expected effect size, can vary greatly depending on several study characteristics, including the nature of the interventi...

Developing and maintaining a high-quality science teaching corps has become increasingly urgent with standards that require students to move beyond mastering facts to reasoning and arguing from evidence. Effective professional development (PD) for science teachers enhances teacher outcomes and, in turn, enhances primary and secondary student outcom...

In this chapter, we describe and compare the standards for evidence used by three entities that review studies of education interventions: Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development, Social Programs that Work, and the What Works Clearinghouse. Based on direct comparisons of the evidence frameworks, we identify key differences in the level at which ef...

Toward the goal of more rapid knowledge accumulation via better meta-analyses, this article explores statistical approaches intended to increase the precision and comparability of effect sizes from education research. The featured estimate of the proposed approach is a standardized mean difference effect size whose numerator is a mean difference th...

DESCRIPTION This chapter examines the literature on interventions in physics education through the lens of optimizing and accelerating knowledge accumulation. Specifically, intervention research in physics education is discussed in terms of the prevalence of randomized designs and meta-analyses of effects from similar interventions. The authors mak...

The vast and rapidly growing amount of science education research makes it challenging for researchers to navigate and synthesize developments across the field, particularly concerning broad concepts evolving along divergent paths. To address this issue, a novel review methodology employing bibliometrics and network analysis was tested to identify...

We conducted a comprehensive, systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of the BSCS 5E Instructional Model—and its related variants—on science, math, and motivation outcomes. The 5E Instructional Model is a framework for delivering STEM instruction that is based on constructivist learning theory; it has been used throughout the U.S. and ot...

Increasing and diversifying STEM college graduates, and consequently the STEM workforce, remains a pressing national priority. As such, the purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the Educate to Innovate campaign within higher education. Using preexisting public survey data together with interrupted and comparative interrupted time serie...

The purpose of this synthesis study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST) and its variations across multiple studies, aiming to understand limitations and propose modifications for future application within and beyond the science domain. Given the existence of multiple DAST versions, this study quantified th...

This was a secondary analysis of the study "Taking Note: A Study of Composers and New Music Activity in the U.S.", conducted in 2008 by J. Jeffri. The researchers used logistic regression analysis to estimate differences in the odds of composers increasing their activities (e.g., royalties, performances) based on composer genre (e.g., classical, ro...

Objective: Employee health plays an important role in overall campus health and wellbeing. Therefore, this research explored the physical, mental, and environmental determinants of perceived health in employees of higher education. Participants: 422 full-time employees from one university took the American College Health Association National Facult...

This study pursued two major objectives. The first was to use bibliometric techniques to examine bidirectionality in the relationship between teachers and researchers, as indicated by collaborative authorship among these communities. The second was to explore more deeply knowledge mobilization to classrooms by documenting the extent to which resear...

This is a commentary to the case narrative, “Should Student Exploration Always Come Before Teacher Explanation?” written by Elsun Seung.

A feature of student–teacher–scientist partnerships (STSPs) involves students working with scientists for the purpose of helping them learn more about how scientists work and think. Previous research on STSPs has generally focused on identifying the best practices of partnerships and on identifying challenges of these partnerships. The study report...

In this paper, we critically examine the way in which scholars have traditionally defined and problematized attrition. Through a series of examples of large-scale intervention impact studies, we share insights about the sources and consequences of attrition that expand our notion of how and why attrition occurs. We also discuss potential steps for...

Science education is regularly flooded with new innovations that may be high-quality but are resisted due to "innovation fatigue". The ability to couch new programs and ideas as evolutionary rather than revolutionary, as variations of a known concept, may decrease resistance and increase the efficiency of training teachers to use new approaches. Co...

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are important techniques because they synthesize results from multiple primary studies on a similar topic. To influence policy, practice, and research, however, synthesis researchers must translate the results for various audiences. Ideally, the translation drives future research agendas, informs policymaking, o...

Landscape reviews are an attempt to analyze the broad sweep of an academic discipline. Such a review requires both a large, inclusive sample and a way to capture the rich characteristics of that discipline. Neither statistical meta-analysis nor narrative review, alone, are well-suited to this task. We instead used bibliometric network analysis, a t...

This chapter describes the merits and challenges of large-scale surveys for informing science teacher education.

This systematic review examines empirical research about students’ motivation for NAEP in grades 4, 8, and 12 using multiple motivation constructs, including effort, value, and expectancy. Analyses yielded several findings. First, there are stark differences in the perceived importance of doing well on NAEP among students in grades 4 (86%), 8 (59%)...

Preparing future physics teachers for the demanding nature of their profession is an important and complex endeavor. Teacher education systems must provide a structure for the coherent professional development of prospective teachers. Worldwide, physics teacher education is organized in different ways, but have to face similar challenges, like the...

This study asks: What is the relationship between principal turnover and school performance? We use data on all Colorado public schools for the years 2013 and 2018 to examine the relationship between turnover and school performance. Analyses included difference-in-difference and ordinary least squares regression after first differencing. Results in...

This article describes the effects of a student-teacher-scientist partnership program on high school students' science outcomes. The design was a cluster-randomized trial with an analytic sample of 36 teachers randomly assigned to teach a photosynthesis-and respiration-focused module including student-designed investigations supported by online men...

This study examines how middle school students develop an increasingly coherent understanding of aquatic ecosystems. As part of a broader design research study that used Structure‐Behavior‐Function (SBF) theory as an organizing conceptual representation, we created two instructional units that focused on pond and aquarium environments. We coded and...

Preparing future physics teachers for the demanding nature of their profession is an important and complex endeavour. Teacher education systems must provide a structure for the coherent professional development of prospective teachers. Worldwide, physics teacher education is organised in different ways, but have to face similar challenges, like the...

Experimental research in education and training programs typically involves administering treatment to whole groups of individuals. As such, researchers rely on the estimation of design parameter values to conduct power analyses to efficiently plan their studies to detect desired effects. In this study, we present design parameter estimates from a...

This bibliometric study investigated the extent to which science education practitioner journals (SEPJs) cite science education research journals and other resources, and in what proportions. The study found that articles in SEPJs rarely cite the leading science education research journals; the average citation rate per article is well below one. T...

This bibliometric study investigated the extent to which science education practitioner journals (SEPJs) cite science education research journals and other resources, and in what proportions. The study found that articles in SEPJs rarely cite the leading science education research journals; the average citation rate per article is well below one. T...

This bibliometric study investigated the extent to which science education practitioner journals (SEPJs) cite science education research journals and other resources, and in what proportions. The study found that articles in SEPJs rarely cite the leading science education research journals; the average citation rate per article is well below one. T...

This study used nationally representative data from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (8th-grade Science) and the 2018 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education toward two primary purposes: (a) to examine the association between teachers’ formal (university) content preparation in science and student outcomes in scienc...

Even among the sciences, physics stands out as an unusually White- and male-dominated field. The American Institute of Physics (AIP) reports that only 19% of physics faculty are women, and less than 6% of physics faculty are African American or Hispanic. Particularly for female students, the transition from high school to a college major in physics...

The goal of this article is to provide guidance on teacher attrition rates that can inform power analyses. The subjects were a nationally representative sample of teachers responding to the National Center for Education Statistics Schools and Staffing Survey and Teacher Follow-Up Survey (2011–2013). The findings indicate that at the national averag...

This longitudinal impact study examined the effects of a leadership development program for district-based teams of educators leading science education reform efforts. Propensity score matching was used to construct a comparison group of demographically similar districts who received either none or extant leadership development programming. Treatme...

This study tests the influence of a video-based, analysis-of-practice professional development (PD) program on upper-elementary teachers’ science content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and teaching practice and on their students’ achievement. Using a cluster-randomized experimental design, the study compares the outcomes for teachers in...

Background Most studies of teacher professional development (PD) do not rigorously test impact on teaching practice and student learning. This makes it difficult to define what is truly “effective.” The Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis (STeLLA) PD program, in contrast, was studied in a cluster randomized experimental design that exami...

This user’s guide outlines our brief measure of student motivation designed for use in academic and non-academic learning contexts.

Conducting a large-scale meta-analysis study is a complex process that involves strategic techniques in literature screening and an efficient data management system. In this paper, we discuss our methodology in conducting a large meta-analysis to extract information on the effects sizes of various educational interventions on teacher outcomes. Our...

In this exploratory study, we attempted to measure potential changes in teacher knowledge and practice as a result of an intervention, as well as trace such changes through a theoretical path of influence that could inform a model of teacher professional knowledge. We created an instrument to measure pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), studied the...

This article draws upon the experiences of four recent efforts to synthesize the findings of quantitative studies in science education research. After establishing the need for research syntheses in advancing generalizable knowledge and causal effects research in our field, we identify a set themes that emerged in the process of conducting these sy...

This paper describes the effects of an analysis-of-practice professional development (PD) program on elementary school students' (grades 4–6) science outcomes. The study design was a cluster-randomized trial with an analysis sample of 77 schools, 144 teachers and 2823 students. Forty-two schools were randomly assigned to treatment, (88.5 hours) of...

The Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development were created as a joint effort between the Institute of Education Science and the National Science Foundation in an effort to streamline education research and contribute to an accumulation of knowledge that will lead to improved student outcomes. One type of research that emerged in the...

An exploration of physics first models using NAEP and HSLS data.

This study examined the efficacy of a curriculum-based intervention for high school science students. Specifically, the intervention was two years of research-based, multidisciplinary curriculum materials for science supported by comprehensive professional development for teachers that focused on those materials. A modest positive effect was detect...

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Prior research has focused primarily on empirically estimating design parameters for cluster-randomized trials (CRTs) of mathematics and reading achievement. Little is known about how design parameters compare across other educational outcomes. This article presents empirical estimates of design parameters that can be used to appropriately power CR...

Background: Prior research has focused primarily on empirically estimating design parameters for cluster-randomized trials (CRTs) of mathematics and reading achievement. Little is known about how design parameters compare across other educational outcomes. Objectives: This article presents empirical estimates of design parameters that can be used t...

This paper focuses on the trade‐offs that lie at the intersection of methodological requirements for causal effect studies and policies that affect how and to what extent schools engage in such studies. More specifically, current federal funding priorities encourage large‐scale randomized studies of interventions in authentic settings. At the same...

Developing a Vision of DL Science: Snapshot of a Physics ClassroomReflecting on the Lesson: What the Research Tells usDL Science and the Nature of ScienceA Deeper Look into Scientific Inquiry and DL ScienceBuilding the Vision of DL Science in a Seventh-Grade Life Science ClassroomInstruction and Assessment Drive each OtherThe Role of Scientific Exp...

The grounding of science instruction in practical applications has been strongly emphasized in the science education literature. The notion of concept status change allows one to view the importance of practical applications from a learning theory perspective. This article describes an instructional sequence in which a bicycle context was used to i...

We conducted a laboratory-based randomized control study to examine the effectiveness of inquiry-based instruction. We also disaggregated the data by student demographic variables to examine if inquiry can provide equitable opportunities to learn. Fifty-eight students aged 14–16 years old were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both groups of...

For decades the National Science Foundation has been funding the development of instructional materials whose design is based upon the recommendations of educational research. These recommendations include the idea that learning be sequenced and organized using an experiential learning cycle or an instructional model such as the Biological Science...

Summary Engagement The teacher or a curriculum task accesses the learners' prior knowledge and helps them become engaged in a new concept through the use of short activities that promote curiosity and elicit prior knowledge. The activity should make connections between past and present learning experiences, expose prior conceptions, and organize st...

This book explores exemplary professional development practices in science education. Framed within the NSES, this book is a valuable guide to science educators who are developing and enacting professional development programs.

This article reports the findings of a pilot study where the self-efficacy, concerns, and classroom practice of out-of-field physics teachers were examined. Data collected during the study indicate that when the out-of-field teachers were asked to implement new curriculum, adopt new teaching practices, and teach content outside their major field, t...

In the spring of 2001, the San Diego City Schools (SDCS) initiated a science reform program that involved several significant changes. The first was to resequence the science courses to have students take physics first (in ninth grade), followed by chemistry, then biology. Second was a change in the students' high school graduation requirement to s...

This article describes an exploratory case study of secondary school physics teachers' conceptions of scientific evidence. The nature of teachers' conceptions of evidence was derived from an analysis of data collected from 1 preservice and 2 in-service teachers. Each teacher responded to a series of research prompts in multiple interviews and handw...

The principal aim of this study is to examine one prospective and two practicing physics teachers' evaluations of scientific evidence. The data from this study suggest that the three teachers frequently used their conceptions of scientific evidence in conjunction with physics subject matter conceptions while evaluating evidence. The data also indic...

This study used a multi-participant case study research design to investigate prospective and practicing secondary school physics teachers’ conceptions of statistical significance. Specifically, the researchers examined how each of three participants evaluated the statistical significance of differences in scientific data that were presented in hyp...

The use of everyday materials to support instruction in statics is discussed. Specifically, materials such as cardboard and string are used to demonstrate tension and compression in truss-bridge models.

A collaborative effort between Penn State's College of Engineering and College of Education resulted in the development of an engineering course designed primarily for future elementary school teachers that focuses on the construction of robust conceptual understanding of basic science and engineering ideas. In this article we describe an instructi...

Engaging secondary school students in inquiry-oriented tasks that more closely simulate the scholarly activities of scientists has been recommended as a way to improve scientific literacy. Two tasks that are frequently recommended include students' design of original experiments, and students' evaluation of scientific evidence and conclusions. Yet,...

Teaching physical science to non-majors, who have limited or no background in science, has always been a challenge for science educators. Teaching the content while arousing enthusiasm to learn at the same time was our main concern in designing an innovative new course for non-major university students at Penn State. The framework for authentic ins...