Project - "Has Curriculum Reform Made a Difference? Looking for Change in Classroom Practice" (2005 - 2008)
 
Project Information 
Sponsors: Research Grant Council of HKSAR, CERG-462405, and Ministry of Education of People's Republic of China
 
Abstract 

The purpose of the study is twofold. Firstly, the study is to determine whether or not the current curriculum reform initiative has reached the classroom and influenced classroom practice and student learning. Four types of evidence for change as a result of the curriculum reform are being investigated. These include the beliefs of teachers about learning and teaching, the cognitive features of the learning tasks that are being implemented, the characteristics of classroom interaction, and student learning outcomes. Secondly, the study is to establish the relationship between the agents of change (beliefs of teachers), the products (tasks) and processes (classroom interactions) of these agents of change, and student learning outcomes. Two groups of elementary math teachers are recruited by using a stratified sampling method. One group have participated in the reform implementation in the classroom for several years, and the other group have adopted the original curriculum. A total of 90 videotaped class sessions and 180 learning tasks are being collected from each group. Survey methods are being used to probe the changes in the beliefs of teachers about implementation of the reform. The student learning outcomes, that include math achievement and attitudes towards the subject matter, are being assessed. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are being carried out to determine whether the curriculum reform has brought about changes, and to understand the relationships between changes in teacher beliefs, teaching behavior, and student learning outcomes.