Student' achievement in science can be affected by teacher subject matter knowledge, ineffective instructional methods, and lack of student engagement. Although all schools provide professional development opportunities, not all teachers choose to engage in a program that provides teaching and learning through experiential techniques for the science classroom. This study examined the impact an experiential professional development program for rural teachers had on their students' academic achievement scores on the grade eight Maine Educational Assessment in Science. Moreover, the study examined if there were any significant differences in students' achievement scores between teachers who participated and those who did not. The study was an ex post facto, quantitative study using a causal--comparative design. A total of 25 rural schools whose teachers participated in an experiential professional development cohort constituted the sample for this study and a comparison group of 100 non-participating schools. Results from a paired samples t-test showed that science scores were significantly higher on the posttest (M = 67.84, SE = 1.95) than on the pretest (58.92, SE = 2.36). On average, posttest scores were 8.56 points higher than pretest scores (95% CI [0.210, 1.038]). There was a significant effect for the instructional method learned in a professional development cohort and used in the classroom. The results of the current study indicate that experiential professional development has a positive effect on student academic achievement. However, the difference in mean proficiency averages on the posttests for both treatment and comparison groups was not statistically significant. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]