As the MoHSES project rapidly draws to a close, we are very pleased to continue publishing project research that reflects our project work over the 5 years of the project.  Our latest study, published in the International Journal of Science Education, explores implementation of the revised FOSS Water unit and 3rd-grade students’ model-based reasoning about water over the first two years of the project.  The study provides evidence that the ‘modeling-enhanced” version of the curriculum positively impacts student learning, though these effects vary greatly by teacher.  How teachers implement the curriculum appears to significantly impact the sophistication of students’ model-based explanations for water-related phenomena.

Zangori, L., Vo, T., Forbes, C.T., & Schwarz, C. (2017).  Supporting 3rd-grade students’ model-based explanations about groundwater: A quasi-experimental study of a curricular intervention.  In International Journal of Science Education, 39(11), 1421-1442.