Scope, sequence and coordination: The Iowa Project, a national reform effort in the USA

Abstract The Scope, Sequence and Coordination (SS&C) project is a major reform initiative in the United States conceived by the National Science Teachers Association with major funding by the National Science Foundation. This is a report of the Iowa Project, a broad effort of many stockholders in 20 school districts, where a science-technology-society approach was emphasized through a constructivist philosophy of learning and teaching. Results indicated the successes of SS&C in four areas: (1) SS&C teachers are more confident to teach science and they better understand the nature of science and technology than do control teachers. (2) SS&C teachers can use teaching strategies that reflect a constructivist view of learning, and conduct action research projects related to effective teaching. (3) Students achieve significantly better in SS&C courses than they do in traditional textbookoriented courses. (4) Historically disenfranchised groups of learners, such as low ability students and females, are especially well served by SS&C science.