Professional Development Programs for Elementary Science Teachers: An Analysis of Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs and a Professional Development Model

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Developing Understanding of the Nature of Science Within a Professional Development Program for Inservice Elementary Teachers: Project Nature of Elementary Science Teaching

Establishing literacy in science is often linked to building knowledge about the Nature of Science (NOS). This paper describes and evaluates an inservice program designed to build elementary teachers’ understanding of NOS and an awareness of how NOS impacts science classroom instruction. Data sources consisted of surveys, action research plan documentation and classroom observations. Program participants tended to demonstrate some gains in understanding more about NOS and they linked positive experiences in the program to the explicit and activity-based NOS instruction provided. Yet, participation in the professional development project might not have been equally beneficial for all teachers. The understanding of NOS may have been restricted to certain NOS aspects, and the demonstration of the participants’ understanding of NOS may have been short-lived with a somewhat limited impact on sustainable, long-term NOS-based classroom instruction. Implications for designing NOS related professional development programs and suggestions for improvements to further develop teacher understanding of NOS are discussed.     

A Multi-Year Study of the Impact of the Rice Model Teacher Professional Development on Elementary Science Teachers

A teacher professional development program for in-service elementary school science teachers, the Rice Elementary Model Science Lab (REMSL), was developed for urban school districts serving predominately high-poverty, high-minority students. Teachers with diverse skills and science capacities came together in Professional Learning Communities, one full day each week throughout an academic year, to create a classroom culture for science instruction. Approximately 80 teachers each year received professional development in science content and pedagogy using the same inquiry-based constructivist methods that the teachers were expected to use in their classrooms. During this four-year study, scientists and educators worked with elementary teachers in a year-long model science lab environment to provide science content and science pedagogy. The effectiveness of the program was measured using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods that allowed the researchers to triangulate the findings from quantitative measures, such as content test and surveys, with the emerging themes from the qualitative instruments, such as class observations and participant interviews. Results showed that, in all four years, teachers from the REMSL Treatment group have significantly increased their science content knowledge (p?<?0.05). During the last two years, their gains in science content knowledge, use of inquiry-based instruction and leadership skills were significantly higher than those of the Control group teachers' (p?<?0.01, p?<?0.001 and p?<?0.05, respectively). Three themes resonated in the interviews with participants: science content knowledge growth, constructivist pedagogy and leadership skills.     

Teaching as You Would Have Them Teach: An Effective Elementary Science Teacher Preparation Program

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Why Teachers Participate in Professional Development: Lessons from a Schoolwide Teacher Study Group

Because it is not clear that teachers will volunteer for good professional development if it is made available, this study used surveys—including social network analysis—and interviews to examine why teachers did and did not participate in one school’s high-quality study group. While all teachers were motivated by intrinsic incentives, two factors separated participators from nonparticipators. Nonparticipators were more susceptible to barriers like time constraints and personal factors. Participators had more social incentives. They engaged more actively in friendship and advice networks, especially with other participators. Practical implications are suggested.     

Teacher Professionalism and Professional Development of Chinese Secondary Teachers

The paper refers to some classic texts on professionalism/professionalization which offer a spectrum of different interpretations and shed light on the possible confusion of the terms,with critique on the classic functionalist claims and the emergence of new professionalism.The paper illustrates the history of Chinese secondary teachers over the last few decades,and tries to examine the implications of western conception of teacher professionalism and the professional development of Chinese secondary teachers.With the current trend toward globalization,Chinese teachers professionalism will take on a look of global professionalism(dominated by western professionalism),while with China’s own context playing a role in its development.     

Beginning Elementary Teachers' Development as Teachers of Science

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Cooperating Teaching as a Professional Development Activity

This study examined cooperating teachers’ perceptions of how student teacher supervision is aligned with the standards of the National Staff Development Council (NSDC). The conceptual framework of this research advanced that serving as a cooperating teacher is equivalent to a professional development activity. The researcher adapted an instrument from the NSDC to measure cooperating teachers’ perceptions in grades K-12. The survey was completed by 181 out of the 287 sample population. Cooperating teachers moderately agreed that student teacher supervision aligned with the standards of the NSDC. This role used the three categories needed for effective professional development: context, process, and content.     

A Professional Development System as a Catalyst for Changing Science Teachers

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

论科学课程教师专业素养:挑战与发展

师资问题能否解决好关系到课程改革的成败。当前,初中《科学》课程已经在全国各试验区开设,但随着课程改革的进行,师资问题尤其是教师的专业素养已经成为制约科学课程改革的瓶颈性因素。先进的教育理念和课程观念、融合的知识结构、不断发展的教学技能和教学研究能力等是构成科学课程教师专业素养的重要内容。提高科学课程教师专业素养是一项复杂、长期、艰巨的系统工程,需要从教师自身和外部环境两方面着手。     

我国幼儿教师专业发展政策回顾与展望

自新中国成立以来,我国政府为幼儿教师的专业发展提供了很大的政策支持,但当前仍然面临着幼儿教师学历普遍偏低、专业自主意识不强、综合素质不高、职前职后教育滞后、社会地位低等诸多挑战。政府应进一步重视幼儿教师队伍的规划和建设,不断深化幼儿教师培养制度改革,加快幼儿教师教育一体化进程,完善幼儿教育法律体系,为幼儿教师专业发展提供更有力的政策保障。     

从教师专业发展视角谈英语新教师的教学机智培养

要使教学效果达到最佳状态,教师必须发挥教学机智,有高度的灵活性和智慧,善于根据情况变化,创造性地进行教学活动,给人指导和启发。教学机智是教师专业素质的综合体现,英语作为第二语言,英语教师的教学机智在教学过程中更为重要,这对英语新教师来说,更是一个挑战。本文从教师专业发展的角度来阐述如何培养英语新教师的教学机智。     

Teacher Change Following a Professional Development Experience in Integrating Computational Thinking into Elementary Science

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Computer science and computer science education are marked by gender and racial disparities. To increase the number and diversity of students engaging...     

Professional Preparation of the Elementary School Physical Education Teacher

This article offers a brief and personal account of the historical background, implementation and principal findings from the Trois-Rivières regional project, a large-scale quasi-experimental intervention that tested the impact of providing a daily hour of specialist-taught quality physical education upon the physical and mental development of primary school students. The intervention continued in grades one through six, and it enhanced maximal aerobic power, physical working capacity, muscle strength and physical performance in both boys and girls in both an urban and a rural setting. However, the programme had little influence upon the immediate health, growth, maturation or prevalence of obesity in the experimental group. A follow-up study was carried out when the students had become adults; this showed positive effects upon attitudes towards physical activity, but only limited long-term effects upon habitual physical activity and other aspects of health behaviour. Strengths and limitations of the Trois-Rivières regional project are considered, and suggestions are offered for those planning future studies of this type.     

Problem-Based Learning as an Effective Strategy for Science Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

The Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Project for Teachers included three days of professional development using PBL to deepen teachers’ content knowledge. Teachers identified the content area in which they wished to work from a list of choices. They worked in facilitated groups of from five to nine participants to solve rich, ill-structured problems. Content knowledge was assessed based on teachers’ written responses to at least one general question and one application question in which they explained some everyday phenomena. Teachers responded to these questions two months before and at the end of the professional development; 80.5 percent of the 41 middle and high school teachers who participated showed improved content knowledge. We also examined the patterns in teachers’ incoming content knowledge and changes in content knowledge. The data indicate that the PBL approach used here was effective in improving the content knowledge of teachers independent of demographic factors and type and degree of incoming content knowledge.     

Beginning Elementary Science Teachers: Developing Professional Knowledge During a Limited Mentoring Experience

The professional development project reported on in this paper, the Beginning Elementary Science Teachers' (BEST) project, was based on the premise that the first years of elementary science teaching can be very important in the development of long-term quality science teaching. Specifically, we report on project experiences that allowed 13 beginning teachers to interact with experienced teachers in a university seminar and during school visits. Results show that these limited mentoring experiences can support the development of professional knowledge and discussion centers on factors that facilitate knowledge growth. Conclusions are presented that compare benefits of these limited mentoring experiences to those reported to be achieved in long-term mentoring programs.     

探究教学在教师专业化发展中的意义建构

教师的专业化集中表现在教师的教学行为和品质上,这也意味在教师成长发展过程中会出现需要教师解决的一系列教学行为和品质问题,而探究教学便是努力解决这些问题的方法之一,它推动教师在真实的教育情景中自觉主动地成长。     

以教学反思来促成语文教师专业成长

语文教师的教学反思能力对教育教学效果有着至关重要的影响,同时也对教师自身的成长与发展有着重要的意义,语文教师的反思能力可以促进教师的发展,有利于教师的转型。教学反思能力的提高可以通过转变观念、处理教材、教学设计、记课后记、录音或录像、模仿学习等途径达到。