Abstract
Among a sample of 2,071 Australian high school students nested within 188 science classrooms, the present study explored the role of science teachers’ “load reduction instruction” (LRI; instruction that seeks to reduce cognitive load by appropriately balancing explicit instruction with guided autonomy) in student- and classroom-level science engagement and the role of engagement in student- and classroomlevel science achievement. Using doubly latent multilevel structural equation modeling, results showed that, at the student- and classroom-level, student reports of their teacher’s LRI was significantly and positively associated with self-reported engagement, and engagement was significantly and positively associated with achievement. Thus, (a) LRI was associated with greater individual student engagement, that in turn was associated with greater individual student achievement in science, and (b) beyond student-level effects, LRI was associated with greater classroom engagement that in turn was associated with greater classroom achievement. We also found that the association between LRI and achievement was mediated by engagement. Implications for educational practice in science are discussed
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1126-1142 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Journal of Educational Psychology |
| Volume | 113 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank the participating schools for assisting with data collection and Vera Munro-Smith, Carolyn Imre, Brad Papworth, Rebecca Collie, and Herb Marsh for advice on study design and analysis. This study was funded by the Australian Research Council (Grant LP170100253) and The Future Project at The King’s School
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Psychological Association
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Education
- Developmental and Educational Psychology