A Case of Early Positive Results in Student Gains: The Institute for Chemistry Literacy Through Computational Science MSP
3. Design, Data & Analysis
The project utilizes a two-cohort delayed-entry randomized control trial quasi-experimental research design, with the second cohort entering treatment one year following the first. Cohort 1 (C1) was to serve as the initial treatment group, with Cohort 2 (C2) serving as the control group with treatment delayed until a year later. Cohort selection was performed by pairwise random assignment after participants were ranked by their school districts' standardized high school math scores. At the time of the analyses presented in this presentation, the treatment (C1) group (n=39) had undergone about seven months of treatment, and controls (C2) (n=38) had not yet entered the project for active treatment. To test student content gains, the American Chemical Society High School Tests were used, with pre-tests delivered to students in high school chemistry classes at the start of the school year following the first C1 summer academy, and post-tests delivered by the end of April. The number of students with matched pre-/post-tests totaled 963 for C1 teachers and 862 for C2 teachers.
