Expert Perspective
Expert Perspective
Lori Norton-Meier is a professor of literacy education at the University of Louisville's College of Education and Human Development. Some of her main emphasis areas include The International Science Literacy Project: Research studies of inquiry-based science, language, and literacy; Play, literacy, and the pursuit of happiness: An ethnographic study across the life span; and Parent-Kid-Teacher Investigators (PKTI): A study of the development of a learning community.
Lynn Hockenberry is a 24-year teaching veteran and currently a consultant for literacy and continuous improvement for the Green Hills Area Education Association.
Mark McDermott is a professor of Science Education at the University of Iowa's College of Education, where he also serves as the STEM coordinator.
Deborah Nichols is a professor of Early Childhood Development at Purdue University's College of Health and Human Sciences, where she also serves as the director of the Children's Media Laboratory.
Brian Hand is a professor of science education at the University of Iowa College of Education. He is co-creator of the Science Writing Heuristic and actively researches its results.
Research
Research
The SWH approach has been studied through a series of quasi-experimental studies and a federally funded random field trial study (IES Goal 3 RCT grant #R305A090094). The quasi-experimental studies only focused on student performance on teacher-generated and standardized tests. As the SWH approach was designed as an approach to learn science regardless of grade level, these studies ranged from upper elementary, middle school and college level classrooms. The results from these studies indicate that the achievement gap can be greatly reduced at the middle/high school level, and at the tertiary level.
IES Randomized Field Trials
- Reduced the disadvantage for gender, race, socio-economic status, and IEP students
- Significant growth in critical thinking and reasoning improvement for SWH students
- transfer to mathematics and reading
A study by Chanlen (2013) who used an HLM analysis to track changes in Iowa Test of Basic Skills science scores over a nine-year period to examine the difference between SWH students and traditional science students within a single school district, showed that there was a significant initial increase in score, with an ongoing cumulative benefit for students – particularly with special education and low SES students. Chanlen’s study indicates that length of exposure and beginning grade level are critical factors in terms of significant gains..
Dr Kyong Mi Choi and Dr Brian Hand investigate the growth of math reasoning skills for students in and out of SWH classrooms.
Adaptive Expertise
Exploring student reasoning in argumentative and explanatory writing.
Teacher and student language use comparisons for SWH and non-SWH classrooms.
Books & publications
Books & publications
Quality Research in Literacy and Science Education: International Perspectives and Gold Standards
By Mack C. Shelley, Larry D. Yore, and Brian Hand (Eds.)
Using Multimodal Representations to Support Learning in the Science Classroom
By Brian Hand, Mark McDermott, and Vaughan Prain (Eds.)
Examining the Literacy Component of Science Literacy: 25 Years of Language Arts and Science Research
By Larry D. Yore, Gay L. Bisanz, and Brian Hand
Using the Science Writing Heuristic as a Tool for Learning from Laboratory Investigations in Secondary Science
By Carolyn W. Keys, Brian Hand, Vaughn Prain, and Susan Collins
Using a Science Writing Heuristic to Enhance Learning Outcomes from Laboratory Activities in Seventh‐Grade Science: Quantitative and Qualitative Aspects
By Brian Hand, Carolyn W. Wallace, and Eun-Mi Yang
A writing in Science Framework Designed to Enhance Science Literacy
By Brian Hand, Chris Lawrence, and Larry D. Yore
Comparing an Inquiry‐based Approach known as the Science Writing Heuristic to Traditional Science Teaching Practices: Are there differences?
By Recai Akkus, Murat Gunel, and Brian Hand