Reform is a way of life in education.
Finding ways to evaluate the effectiveness of that reform in terms of children's learning is a big priority in today's atmosphere of more and better accountability in the nation's preK-12 schools. Frances Lawrenz and Doug Huffman , professor and assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, are involved in numerous projects, some national in scope, to determine if recent changes in curricula and teaching methods for junior and senior high school science students are improving learning and comprehension. Teachers take reform into their classrooms and shape it in individual ways. It can take a while for change to filter down. Science classes today are more investigative and are emphasizing depth rather than breadth.