Evaluations Conducted on the NIH Curriculum Supplement Series

The Curriculum Supplement Series is the result of collaborations between various NIH institutes and centers and the NIH Office of Science Education.

The NIH Curriculum Supplements are lesson plans and student activities (classroom and Web-based) designed for use by K-12 science teachers. The supplements highlight research from one or more of the NIH institutes and centers. The student activities are aligned to the National Science Education Standards to make them broadly applicable in science classrooms nationwide. They are also aligned with individual state education standards to help teachers meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. The supplements are designed to present challenging content to students and encourage the development of skills that will prepare them for jobs in a global economy.

The supplements are an on-going project started in FY 1997. There are currently six supplements for high school, nine for middle school and one for elementary school.Two more titles, one for middles school and one for high school, will be released in the fall of 2011. Free print copies of the supplements are sent upon request to any teacher in the USA– including home school teachers and teachers working overseas in Department of Defense schools. Foreign teachers may use Web-based copies of the supplements (links to on-line versions of individual supplement titles are provided below.)

Teacher request print copies of supplements through the Office of Science Education.

The supplements have been designed to incorporate the latest scientific research on how students learn. To see two reports (2006 and 2010) on these research underpinnings click on the following icons:
'06_5E_Model.pdf '10_5E_Model_Research.pdf'10_5E_Model_Research.pdf

In 2007, a randomized-controlled trial showed that the teaching method used in the NIH curriculum supplements yielded increased student achievement over traditional means of instruction.The resulting paper by Wilson, et al. was published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (Vol 47, Issue 3) in 2010:
'10_WIlson-Inquiry v Commonplace Teaching.pdf


As of January 2013, over 450,000 supplement titles have been requested by more than 101,000 individual teachers across the United States. To see a map of the geographic distribution of these requests...

U.S map of the geographic distributions of request
click here.



The individual icons below link to the online curriculum supplement. The PDF icons allow you to download specific evaluation reports.

NIH Curriculum Supplements 1999 series
Three high school curriculum supplements were released in 1999. They were evaluated during their development (field tested) and after their release.




Field Test Evaluation of 1999 series

99_NIH_FieldTest.pdf
Three evaluations of 1999 series after their release

2000 - Pilot Evaluation of the NIH Curriculum Supplements
00_NIH_VonSecker.pdf

2004 - Review of NIH Curriculum Supplements on Cell Biology and Human Genetics
04_NIH_CellBioEd.pdf

2005 - An Evaluation of the Impact of Adoption and Use of the NIH Curriculum Supplements on Students' Scientific Knowledge
05_NIH_Tushnet.pdf



NIH Curriculum Supplements 2002 series
Three curriculum supplements for high school, middle school and elementary school were released in 2002.
They were evaluated during their development (field tested).



Field test evaluations of 2002 series

2000 Field Test Evaluation - Addiction
00_NIH_Addiction.pdf

2000 Field Test Evaluation - Chemicals
00_NIH_Chemicals.pdf

2000 Field Test Evaluation - Oral Health
00_NIH_Oral.pdf


NIH Curriculum Supplements 2004 series
Three curriculum supplements for high school and middle school were released in 2004.
They were evaluated during their development (field tested).



Field test evaluations of 2004 series

2001 - Field Test Evaluation - Hearing
01_NIH_Hearing.pdf

2001 - Field Test Evaluation - Sleep
01_NIH_Sleep.pdf

2001 - Field Test Evaluation -Alcohol
01_NIH_Alcohol.pdf



NIH Curriculum Supplements 2005 series
Three curriculum supplements for high school and middle school were released in 2005.
They were evaluated during their development (field tested).
Field test evaluations of 2005 series

2002 - Field Test Evaluation - Self
02_NIH_Self.pdf

2002 - Field Test Evaluation - Energy
02_NIH_Energy.pdf

2002 - Field Test Evaluation - Technology
02_NIH_Tech.pdf



NIH Curriculum Supplements 2006 series
Three curriculum supplements for middle school were released in 2006.
They were evaluated during their development (field tested).
Field test evaluations of 2006 series

2003 - Field Test Evaluation - Science
04_NIH_Science.pdf

2004 - Field Test Evaluation - Looking Good
04_NIH_Good.pdf

2003 - Field Test Evaluation - Mental
03_NIH_Mental.pdf
Peer-reviewed evaluations of "The Science of Mental Illness" from 2006 series

2004 - Changing Middle Schoolers’ Attitudes About Mental Illness Through Education
04_NIH_Watson.pdf

2006 - How Do Children Stigmatize People with Mental Illness?
06_NIH_Corrigan.pdf

NIH Curriculum Supplements 2007 series
One curriculum supplement for middle school was released in 2007.
It was evaluated during its development (field tested).
2005 - Field Test Evaluation -Behavior
05_NIH_Behavior.pdf


NIH Curriculum Supplements 2009 series
One curriculum supplement for high school was released in 2009.
It was evaluated during its development (field tested).
2008 - Field Test Evaluation -Bioethics

NIH Curriculum Supplements 2011 series
Tow curriculum supplements for high school and middle school were released in 2011.
They were evaluated during their development (field tested).
Field test evaluations of 2011 series
2011 - Field Test Evaluation - Evolution and Medicine
NIH10_EM_field test final report.pdfNIH10_EM_field test final report.pdf
2011 - Field Test Evaluation - Rare Diseases and Scientific Inquiry

NIH10_RD_FINAL_Eval_Report_061310.pdfNIH10_RD_FINAL_Eval_Report_061310.pdf

For further information, please contact Bruce Fuchs, NIH Office of Science Education, bruce.fuchs@nih.gov, (301) 402-2469