The evidence for Proper Science

The curriculum approach in Proper Science combines three evidence-based pedagogical elements that work synergistically to enhance deep learning and knowledge application - mastery learning, model-based inquiry and authentic learning. This page describes the elements and the research that backs them up, including a study on our previous Key Stage 3 course which showed a positive effect size on students' knowledge transfer

1. Evidence for 5As teaching sequence

The 5As teaching sequence is a modernised version of Benjamin Bloom's mastery learning model, adapted for the demands of the National Curriculum and GCSE.
Mastery learning has been extensively researched since the 1980s and is highlighted in the EEF's Teaching and Learning Toolkit. It has two foundational principles:

  • mastery is about deep understanding rather than superficial coverage
  • all students can master concepts given the right kind of instruction, formative assessment, and sufficient time

Research Evidence:

  • A meta-analysis of 108 controlled evaluations showed mastery learning programs have positive effects on student examination performance

  • Effects are stronger for weaker students in a class, making it particularly valuable for closing achievement gaps

  • The Education Endowment Foundation rates mastery learning as having "moderate impact for very low cost, based on moderate evidence"

  • Mathematics Mastery Primary showed two months' additional progress in EEF randomised controlled trials

  • 90% of students achieve at the level previously attained by only the top 10% in mastery learning classes

See 'How Proper Science works'

2. Evidence for Acquire stage teaching

The Acquire stage follows the pedagogical approach known as 'Model-based inquiry'. This is a modern, teacher-guided approach to inquiry that starts with interesting phenomena to make students curious and leads to questions answered using scientific concepts. It is a defining feature of the Next Generation Science Standards in the US. Through a structured process, teachers support students to build more accurate mental models of scientific concepts. Our Acquire lessons structure the inquiry process into 7 steps, to manage the cognitive demands, and provide clear milestones along the path towards understanding. Model-based is not to be confused with 'discovery learning' where students are left to figure out concepts for themselves - an approach that has been discredited for learning new ideas.

Research Evidence:

  • Model-based inquiry supports creative reasoning, motivates inquiry, and facilitates community sense-making

  • Students report feeling "a sense of scientific authenticity and agency" through modeling experiences

  • Studies show significant improvement in knowledge generation - post-test scores averaged 83.6% compared to 60.3% pre-test

  • 50% of students correctly positioned all structures after model-based inquiry instruction compared to none before

  • Model-based inquiry helps students develop deep understanding and science process skills essential for scientific literacy

3. Evidence for the Apply and Analyse stages

Authentic learning is grounded in the philosophy that students should be "doing useful things with knowledge and skill, now" - giving students 'junior versions' of realistic tasks that scientists do. This provides context and motivation to learn concepts and skills through problem-centred learning - situating learning within solving realistic problems that gives students a clear purpose.

Our approach uses Goal-Based Scenarios (GBS) - a variant that adds a story frame, explicit roles, and structured missions to ensure coverage of particular concepts and skills. This is grounded in cognitive apprenticeship and situated learning theory, with teachers scaffolding students and coaching them through authentic problem-solving.

Research Evidence:

  • Problem-based learning shows equal or slightly better performance on basic content and consistently higher performance on tasks requiring transferring, integrating and applying knowledge
  • Meta-analysis of 78 studies found PBL has a large effect size (g = 0.909) on academic achievement
  • Robust positive effect on student skills with no single study reporting negative effects
  • PBL is superior for long-term retention, skill development and satisfaction while traditional approaches are more effective only for short-term retention on standardised tests
  • Students in PBL environments showed better organisation of knowledge and performed better on tests requiring retrieval strategies

Our own research validation

The model-based inquiry and authentic learning approaches were tested in the WIKID research project. It investigated whether students following the course for two years demonstrated improved deep understanding - measured by their ability to apply it to new situations.

Experimental Design

  • Experiment group: 295 students in 6 schools following a 2-year Authentic Mastery science course
  • Matched control group: 194 students in 4 schools using traditional curricula
  • Assessment: Post-test measuring scientific literacy across different cognitive levels, similar to Key Stage 3 assessments

Test Structure

Questions were designed to assess different cognitive processes:

Level Cognitive Process Description
Level 4 Recall Basic factual knowledge
Level 5 Explanation Simple explanations in familiar contexts
Level 6 Multi-step reasoning Complex cause-effect explanations
Level 7 Knowledge transfer Applying concepts to new, unfamiliar situations


Key Findings

Question Level Experiment Group Control Group Improvement Statistical Significance
Level 7 (Transfer) 15.5% 11.7% +33% p<0.001
Level 6 (Multi-step) 20.5% 19.2% +7% Not significant
Combined Level 6 & 7 18.0% 15.5% +16% Significant
Level 4 & 5 (Recall/Basic) 41.5% 42.2% -2% Not significant


Research Impact

  • Significant improvement in knowledge transfer: Students scored 33% higher on questions requiring application to new contexts (p<0.001)
  • No negative impact on knowledge acquisition: Students learned basic content as effectively as traditional approaches
  • Particular benefit for lower-achieving students: Greatest gains observed among students with lower prior achievement
  • Successful teacher adoption: Teachers effectively implemented the pedagogies through educative curriculum materials without formal training

The effect size (Cohen's d = 0.2) represents a small to moderate but educationally meaningful impact, particularly given the 2-year intervention period where multiple factors can influence outcomes.

Study Limitations

  • Quasi-experimental design: Not a randomized controlled trial
  • Self-selected schools: Participating schools volunteered, which may not represent all contexts
  • Post-test only: No baseline measurement before intervention
  • Limited generalizability: Results specific to the English curriculum context

Conclusion

This research provides robust evidence that the Authentic Mastery approach can significantly improve students' ability to apply scientific knowledge to new situations while maintaining equivalent basic knowledge acquisition - a finding that supports the broader research on problem-based learning and model-based inquiry approaches.

Research links