Scripted matched science unit pairs with curriculum-based assessments for arts-integrated and conventional instruction

Design · All designs
Evidence · 4 claims (3 for, 1 mixed) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description

The research team developed four pairs of matched science units (Astronomy, Life Science, Chemistry, Environmental Science), each covering 15 days of instruction aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core, following the 5E Learning Cycle model. Units included scripted teacher presentation language, student workbooks, PowerPoint presentations, and lesson materials, with pre, post, and delayed 30-item multiple-choice curriculum-based assessments. Scripting was added, based on a preliminary study, to control implementation fidelity.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• Teachers received ten hours of formal training plus one-on-one coaching, and lesson plan guide books, workbooks, and all activity materials

Constraints

• Fidelity observers were present for 40% to 60% of instructional time; teachers implemented lessons to fidelity at least 90% of the time during observed lessons

Target Learners

• fifth-grade students in an urban mid-Atlantic school district

Learning Goals

• science content knowledge and its long-term retention

Claims

• Arts Integrated No Overall Retention Difference [+M]
• Arts Integration Basic Readers Retention Interaction [+M]
• Neither unit pair nor its interaction with instructional method significantly affected retention of science content [~W]
• A condition-by-timing interaction suggests students who received arts-integrated science first retained more when later taught conventionally [+W]

Related Designs

• Matched-pairs crossover design pattern: equal content, dosage, order, and activity type across treatment and control units

Examples

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Key Sources

• Mariale M. Hardiman, Ranjini Mahinda JohnBull, Deborah Carran. (2017). The Effects of Arts-Integrated Instruction on Students' Memory for Science Content: Results from a Randomized Control Trial Study. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. https://www.aera.net

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	design
id	scripted-matched-arts-science-unit-pairs
title	Scripted matched science unit pairs with curriculum-based assessments for arts-integrated and conventional instruction
description	The research team developed four pairs of matched science units (Astronomy, Life Science, Chemistry, Environmental Science), each covering 15 days of instruction aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and Common...
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-01
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — mariale-m-hardiman-2017

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