This paper examines the implementation of the following innovations in the teaching of first-year science: teaching mixed ability groups and guided-' discovery methods. Meanings ascribed to these innovations by the planners are explored through analysis of the curriculum documents, and teachers' interpretations and implementation are investigated through their own commentaries on specific lessons they have taught. The findings suggest that teachers were interpreting and implementing the innovations so that their conventional ways of teaching were minimally changed: strategies appropriate for homogeneous classes were modified in only minor tactical ways for mixed-ability teaching; and the authority of the teacher and the desirability of "correct" results put considerable constraints on pupils' discovery. However, evidence from one school indicated that provision of appropriate procedures for guided-discovery methods can be effective. The paper concludes with a discussion of the sorts of general principles that could guide the planning of an effective strategy for innovation.
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McIntyre et al. (1979) studied this question.