Supports and Concerns for Teacher Professional Growth During the Implementation of a Science Curriculum Innovation

Internationally, considerable reform in science education is occurring which promotes constructivist philosophies and advocates constructivist-inspired pedagogical strategies that are new to many teachers. This paper reports on the supporting factors necessary for teacher professional growth and the issues of concern that were evident during one primary teacher's successful implementation of a unit of work based on a draft of a new state-wide science syllabus which proposes such approaches. One researcher (CEP) provided guidance during the writing and implementation of the unit through professional development workshops complemented by ongoing collegial support. The analysis of the teacher's practice reveals that professional growth required a willingness of the teacher to engage with change and modify his professional practice. The support factors for teacher growth consisted of an appropriate program of professional development, teacher understanding of the elements of the curriculum innovation, and successful experiences in implementing new approaches. In contrast, the issues of concern were: the adequacy of support for planning including the time required to understand the innovation and make changes to teaching practice; science equipment; teacher knowledge; classroom management strategies; and ways to cope with change. Understanding of these support factors and issues of concern is vital for the successful implementation of science curriculum innovations.     

Risk-taking and teachers' professional development: The case of satellite remote sensing in science education

The introduction of satellite remote sensing into the U. K. National Curriculum for Science, and the tasks facing teachers in bringing about this innovation, are discussed in terms of risk, its evaluation, reduction, and address. Conclusions are drawn about strategies by which teachers can confront the risk involved in curriculum innovation in school science and technology. Specializations: science and technology education     

Post-primary science teachers' perceptions of primary science education

Post-primary science teachers in Victoria were asked to express views about primary science curriculum design and implementation. They were also asked about the value of continuity between primary and post-primary science education. The post-primary teachers generally had favourable attitudes to primary science education and considered that cooperation would be useful-though it is not common at the moment. However, the data revealed a considerable range of opinion. Post-primary science teachers' views about primary science curriculum are similar to those of primary teachers themselves, but many post-primary teachers would place more emphasis on formal or textbook knowledge. Post-primary teachers see a number of systemic problems in implementing primary science education but their positive perceptions suggest the value of encouraging more structured links. The notion of continuity across the two sectors was well supported. Specializations: science education policy and practice, teacher education, school effectiveness. Specializations: science education, teacher education in science.     

The reluctant primary school teacher

The study attempts to identify the factors which affect teacher's reluctance to teach science, then explains an approach to help teachers teach science in a worthwhile manner over the school year while monitoring any changes in their confidence and competence. It was found that the condidence and competence of the teachers improved during the year such that they were able to teach successful science lessons on a regular basis. Specializations: primary science and technology education, curriculum development and implementation, teacher education. Specializations: primary science curriculum, early childhood education, gender and science. Specializations: primary science and technology education, issues related to girls in science and technology.     

The development of a K-3 science program in the context of the National Science Statement and Profile

This paper highlights the challenges and problems in developing an innovative K-3 science program to support teachers in the implementation of the national Statement and Profile in science. The program has been developed by the authors in association with the Curriculum Corporation. The paper outlines the assumptions made about teachers of young children, the role of research in the construction of the program, and the extent to which the Statement and Profile have influenced the process. The resolution of a number of key problems in this curriculum development is discussed: responding to teachers' needs for a base of science discipline knowledge, developing strategies for working scientifically with very young children, and helping teachers develop an extended understanding of the nature of science. Specializations: early childhood science and technology education. Specializations: primary science education, teacher education in science, adult experiences of science and technology, and curriculum development.     

Teachers' perspective: Developing and implementing an sts curriculum

This article explores science TEACHERS' perceptions of and consequent decisions about the development and implementation of a nontraditional science curriculum. It is a case-study analysis that examines the perceptions of 14 secondary teachers of a model science/technology/society (STS) curriculum designed to promote scientific literacy. Although the TEACHERS' decisions varied on whether to accept, alter, or reject the STS curriculum, they shared similar concerns about the development and implementation of this multidisciplinary curriculum. There existed a common set of five factors that the teachers believed to be critical, and that strongly affected their daily teaching decisions. This study offers insights into how science teachers perceive an STS curriculum, and the influence those perceptions have on their teaching decisions. It explores curricular issues from the frame of reference of teachers, the key factor in successfully implementing innovations.     

Principal's Management Style and Patterns of Teacher Implementation Across Multiple Innovations

ABSTRACT

Traditional studies of educational change fail to explain how principals and teachers deal with change in curriculum and instruction on an ongoing basis. This study investigated the management and implementation of multiple innovations in curriculum and instruction over a two year period in two elementary schools. The study provides empirical support for theories which hold that principal's management style tends to be stable across multiple changes. The study also reveals that the innovation adoption and implementation behaviours of teachers in an elementary school can be patterned across multiple changes. Recurrent levels of use, outcomes and patterns of interaction between innovations were found across innovations in each school. These differences were consistent with the different management styles of the two principals.     

Integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to monitor an intervention program

Teachers in one-teacher schools have often experienced problems when implementing enquiry-based science programs. An innovation was developed to address these problems in isolated one-teacher schools in the far-west of NSW. It consisted of 18 science kits and an associated teaching sequence. Each kit contained 15 student activity sheets, equipment and supplementary resources. An intervention program was designed to support the implementation of the innovation. The purpose of this study was to monitor the teacher's process of change and to ascertain the outcomes of the intervention program in one of the schools. Data were collected using, diagnostic dimensions from the Concerns-Based Adoption Model Project as well as qualitative methods. The results indicated that the teacher's concerns about the innovation focused on how it affected the students. The teacher used the innovation to support her student-centred teaching methods and the students had positive perceptions about learning science. Specializations: K-6 Science and Technology curriculum and instruction.     

Pre-service teachers' use of problem-solving in primary science

The use of problem-solving in science instruction implies a change in the teacher's role from dispensing content information to encouraging critical reflective thinking in the student. For problem-solving to become an integral part of the science curriculum, teachers must make it the focus of their instruction. This study investigated the extent to which pre-service primary teachers used the problem-solving approach in their science instruction. It also identified the factors affecting their efforts to teach science using this approach. The issues considered are important in whether problem-solving becomes part of the science curriculum, as teaching behaviour influences student learning outcomes. Specializations: science eeducation Specializations: educational measurement, research methodology.     

How confident are primary school teachers in teaching science?

The recent nationalDiscipline Review of Teacher Education in Mathematics and Science outlines the lack of confidence of many preservice primary school teachers in teaching science. This study explores the attitudes of 170 primary school teachers in a Perth school district. By means of a simple questionnaire the perceptions and attitudes of these teachers about the following aspects have been examined: (1) background understanding of science; (2) preservice training; (3) interest in teaching science; (4) skill in teaching science; (5) confidence in the plant, animal, matter, energy areas, and (6) time spent teaching science. Besides compiling frequency responses for all teachers on these aspects comparisons have also been made on the basis of: (1) gender; (2) time of graduation, and (3) grade level taught. Specializations: Primary science, teacher attitudes. Specializations: Primary science, science teaching strategies, curriculum implementation, cognitive studies.     

Assessment in the science classroom

This paper reports on research into two teachers' views and practices about assessment at the classroom level. Emphasis was given to practical work and its assessment. Findings suggest it is unhelpful to define practical work as distinct from other activities in the science classroom. Various methods used for assessing activity within the participant teachers' classrooms are described. The participant teachers were found to be primarily concerned about issues of ‘fairness’: task validity, reliability of assessment based on co-operative work and assessment of the affective domain. The place of teacher intuition in assessment is raised and briefly discussed. Directions for the ongoing research are foreshadowed. Specializations: science education, technology education, assessment and curriculum development.     

Teacher perceptions of professional development needs and the implementation of the K-6 science and technology syllabus

This study examines teacher perceptions regarding professional development practices used in a region of the NSW Department of School Education to support the implementation of the K-6 Science and Technology Syllabus. The findings from a survey of 97 teachers indicate that teachers have a preference for ‘traditional’ models of in-service which may not bring about significant changes. Teachers also perceive that change is brought about through the influence of external factors such as in-service and resources which are not directly the responsibillity of individual teachers. This contrasts with the perception that the inability to change is due to internal personal qualities. Specializations; K-6 teacher education in science and technology education, children's learning in science and technology.     

Determinants of implementation of an elementary science program

Concern with the problem of science curriculum implementation has been highlighted by surveys which have shown that the impact of the major NSF sponsored curriculum projects has not been as pervasive as might be expected. Although there has been some recent research and theory development on the problem of implementation, little work has been done on the determinants of implementation, especially in science. This article describes a replicated study of factors influencing implementation of a hypothetical elementary science curriculum. The instrument used allowed teachers to respond to a particular implementation scenario devised by combining a number of statements about properties of an innovation with school and teacher reactions to the innovation. Responses were given as estimates of the probability of implementation under the conditions described in the scenario. Results showed that the staff attitude factor was by far the most salient influence on implementation. An inservice factor which was highly significant in one of the applications of the instrument failed to replicate. This suggested the possibility that context differences between the two samples may have been important for this factor. The findings are interpreted in relation to Fullan's

1 See: Fullan, M. The meaning of educational change. Toronto: OISE Press, 1982.

model of implementation and to other research which highlights the importance of individual interpretation of the properties of an innovation.     

Knowing and learning about science in a preservice setting: A narrative study

This study employs narrative methods to give a holistic view of the experiences of five mature age preservice teachers in a semester unit of science education. The unit was designed to help teachers examine and make explicit their ideas about science and science teaching and consider ways in which they might put those ideas into practice. The pivotal theme, around which the teachers' experiences could be organised, was found to be learning science. The preservice teachers expressed a need for a supportive learning environment in which concepts were built gradually and introduced using concrete examples. Previous science experience was found to be a major influence on the attitudes the participants brought to the present course. A lack of previous experience or negative past experiences were a major cause of anxiety. Gender was also important as it had limited the science experiences available to some participants in the past and continued to influence the way they participated in classes during the semester. Specializations: primary science, science teacher education, primary school field experience. Specializations: formation of teachers' knowledge, leadership, teacher change, school reform.     

Reconstructing the interactive science pedagogy: Experiences of beginning teachers implementing the interactive science pedagogy

Six beginning primary school teachers pioneering the Interactive Teaching approach to science were studied in their first year of teaching. Interviews with the beginning teachers revcaled that they faced several obstacles to the implementation of the interactive teaching of science. These included lack of collegial support, lack of feedback on their teaching, difficulty assessing the learning of their pupils, and the differences between the culture of learning of the alternative science pedagogy and that of their pupils. By the end of the year, teachers had reconstructed the alternative science pedagogy in ways that reduced these difficulties. The interviews also provided evidence that ongoing support by teachers and teacher-educators versed in the alternative pedagogy can make beginning teacher's implementation of the Interactive Teaching of science less difficult. Specializations: physics education, beginning teachers. Specializations: misconceptions, assessment.     

VCE chemistry as a curriculum innovation

Conclusion The difficulty of sharing meaning of curriculum intentions between different groups is highlighted in this study. The acceptance of the novel features of the Chemistry Study Design is mixed. The longitudinal nature of the study helped to identify the difficulty teachers had in understanding the meaning of these novel features although the experiences of teaching units in the VCE chemistry course have enabled some teachers to shift in their construction of the meaning of the words and messages around them. Specializations: chemistry and science education, technology and industry links with sicence in schools. Specializations: science and technology curriculum, environmental education, educational disadvantage. Specializations: curriculum change, science career paths. Specializations: science education, computers in schools.     

Students' perceptions of an innovative university laboratory program

This paper presents some of the findings of a naturalistic study of a first year university biology laboratory. We report on the affective outcomes for a field trip and a practical exercise that incorporated innovations aimed at increasing the scientific realism and students' responsibility in the learning process. Concern with assessment procedures and a perceived lack of teaching support dominated outcomes for students. Feelings of confusion, lack of satisfaction and hostility were evoked. Recognition of the need to foster greater student input into the learning process is commended, but this paper raises issues about the strategies utilised. Specializations: conceputual understanding in biology students, laboratory work. Specializations: curriculum and assessment in science, teacher Education, metacognition.     

Outcomes of the primary and early childhood science and technology education project at the university of Canberra

The aim of the Primary and Early Childhood Science and Technology Education Project (PECSTEP) is to improve teaching and learning in science and technology of by increasing the number of early childhood and primary teachers who are effective educators. PECSTEP is based on an interactive model of teaching and systematically links work on gender with the learning and teaching of science and technology. The project involves: a year-long inservice program which includes the development of a science curriculum unit by teachers in their schools; linking of the preservice and inservice programs; and the development of support networks for teachers. Each phase of PECSTEP has been researched by means of surveys, interviews and the use of diaries. Research questions have focussed particularly on changes in: teachers’ and student teachers’ attitudes to teaching science and technology; their perceptions of science and technology; their perceptions of their students’ responses and their understandings of how gender relates to these areas. Specializations: primary science curriculum, science teacher education, sociology of science, technology and education. Specializations: gender and science/science teacher education, feminist theory, curriculum theory. Specializations: Science education research, curriculum development.     

Learning in interactive science centres

The potential of informal sources of science learning to supplement and interact with formal classroom science is receiving increasing recognition and attention in the research literature. In this study, a phenomenographic approach was used to determine changes in levels of understanding of 27 grade 7 primary school children as a result of a visit to an interactive science centre. The results showed that most students did change their levels of understanding of aspects of the concept “sound”. The study also provides information which will be of assistance to teachers on the levels of understanding displayed by students on this concept. Specializations: informal science learning, science curriculum Specializations: science education, science teacher education, conceptual change, learning environments.     

Teaching portfolios: Developing quality learning in pre-service science teachers

The premise that underlies the pre-service science teacher education program at Monash University is the need to focus on the nature of learning in ways that encourage student-teachers to reconsider their conceptions of learning and how this relates to their view of teaching. The purpose of teaching portfolios is to act as a prompt for student-teachers to reconsider these conceptions and as a way of helping them to better articulate their professional knowledge. The Science (Stream 3) student teachers construct a portfolio of teaching strategies, episodes, ideas, etc. that demonstrate how they see their role as science teachers. The portfolio is ungraded, openended and organised as a dynamic assessment task, not just a static end product. This paper reports on student-teachers' understanding of, and approach to portfolios as they come to understand its purpose and value. Specializations: chemistry and science education, technology and industry links with science curriculum Specializations: science education, reflection, curriculum and evaluation