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The 378 experimental students outperformed 620 controls on epidemiology-related gains and showed evidence of a dose-response beyond 10 lessons, with noted limitations in school-level randomization and reliance on short-term, partly self-reported results.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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Kaelin, Wendy W. Huebner, Mark J. Nicolich, and Maudellyn L. Kimbrough  \nABSTRACT  \nThe purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a middle school epidemiology curriculum called Detectivesin the Classroom. The curriculum presents epidemiology as the science of public health, using health-related issues that capture the interest of young students and help prepare them to make evidence-based health-related decisions. The curriculum was field tested among seventh-grade urban students using a quasi-experimental design. Analysis of covariance of pre-and post-test scores examined five outcomes, including students’ perceptions of their abilities in science as inquiry, scientific literacy, and knowledge about five enduring epidemiologic understandings; their self-reported interest in science, and assessment of students’ epidemiological reasoning ability. The 378 experimental students, compared to 620 controls, had generally higher post-test improvements in epidemiology-related outcomes and smaller increases in the other measures. A dose-response was suggested by higher scores among students exposed to more than 10 lessons. Strengths of this evaluation include a large sample and availability of data to account for differences in demographic and school performance variables. Limitations of this evaluation include randomization by school as opposed to student, the relatively short-term and generally self-reported outcomes, and inconsistencies in proportion of the curriculum actually taught. The findings offer encouragement about the potential for Detectives in the Classroom to improve students’ perceptions of their science abilities and scientific literacy, their interest in science and their abilities in basic epidemiologic reasoning. Further tests of this and other epidemiology curricula are needed to respond to the growing interest in teaching public health science to younger students. And while it is important to test near-term impacts, an additional challenge from a curriculum evaluation standpoint will be to follow students over several years to examine subsequent choices concerning selected courses, college  \nmajors, and career paths.  \nINTRODUCTION  \nFrom both an individual and societal perspective, it is important for students to develop scientific literacy. Recent data suggest that schools in the U.S. are not preparing a scientifically literate citizenry. These data are collected by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, under the auspices of the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education.1 Representative samples ofchildren at ages 9, 13, and 17 have been tested at least eight times between 1970 and 1999 in areas of science, mathematics, and reading. The testing has tracked students’ science achievement by five performance  \nlevels since 1977. Although there has been improvement, by 1999, only 47% of 17-year-olds were able to perform at the fourth level (“has some detailed scientific knowledge and can evaluate the appropriateness of scientific procedures”), and only 10% at the fifth level (“can infer relationships and draw conclusions using detailed scientific knowledge”) .1  \nScientific literacy has important public health implications. For example, at an individual level, it is reasonable to assume that greater scientific literacy will empower students to make evidence-based decisions about personal health behaviors. This is critical because as students become increas-  \nMark Kaelin, EdD, is associate professor, Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, College of Education and Human Services, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043; E-mail: [kaelinm@mai.montclair.edu. Wendy W. Huebner](kaelinm@mai.montclair.edu. Wendy W. Huebner), MPH, PhD, is senior scientific associate–epidemiology, Epidemiology and Health Surveillance Section, ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, In","cbCaiqafYRuwvJ0e","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqafYRuwvJ0e","pdf",137809,16,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction","[{\"question\":\"What was the goal of the field test of Detectives in the Classroom?\",\"answer\":\"The study tested whether the middle school epidemiology curriculum Detectives in the Classroom improved learning outcomes related to epidemiology, scientific literacy, and students’ science inquiry perceptions.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the curriculum evaluated among students?\",\"answer\":\"The curriculum was field tested with seventh-grade urban students using a quasi-experimental design and pre- and post-test measures analyzed with analysis of covariance.\"},{\"question\":\"What outcomes showed improvement for the experimental group?\",\"answer\":\"Compared with controls, the 378 experimental students had generally higher post-test improvements on epidemiology-related outcomes, smaller increases on other measures, and evidence of dose-response for students exposed to more than 10 lessons.\"}]","Field Test of an Epidemiology Curriculum for Middle School Students | PDF",1792074059]