Beginning secondary science teacher induction: A two‐year mixed methods study

Those who study secondary science teachers are often concerned with preservice or in‐service teacher development. Science teacher educators have acknowledged that this focus is limited, as the induction years of beginning teachers are an important component of teacher development. This mixed methods study focuses on the induction years of beginning content specialists, with the intention of adding to the literature in this underexamined area. The secondary science teachers in this study were followed during their first and second year of teaching in order to understand the changes in their beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and practices as a group, and as they participated in different induction programs. Analysis by induction program revealed that first year teachers who participated in science specific induction programs strengthened their beliefs, PCK, and practices. By the end of the second year, regardless of program, most of the teachers shared similar beliefs and PCK. However, the teachers in the science specific induction programs continued to enact more interactive learning environments that had more investigations and laboratories than did their peers in the other induction programs. For those who work with beginning science teachers, this study suggests that the induction of science specialists is an important area of work. It also explores the complex process of induction, and calls for more research into how beginning secondary science teachers learn and what types of induction experiences can best support beginning science teachers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 1199–1224, 2011     

Lesson study for accessible science: Building expertise to improve practice in inclusive science classrooms

The Lesson Study for Accessible Science (LSAS) project created middle school teams comprised of both science and special education teachers who engaged in collaborative work to improve instruction in inclusive classrooms. The intervention is based on Lesson Study, a professional development approach that originated in Japan, which supports the systematic examination of practice and student understanding. Using an experimental design, teams of teachers were randomly assigned to the LSAS intervention or to a wait‐list comparison group. The results of this study suggest that science and special educators in the LSAS intervention were able to generate more accommodations for students with learning disabilities, and they increased their ability to set an instructional context and adapt an instructional plan to meet science learning goals for all students in an inclusive classroom. They did not, however, show significant increases in their knowledge of science content or learning disabilities. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1012–1034, 2012     

Impact of a multiyear professional development intervention on science achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students

This study examined the impact of the 3‐year implementation of a professional development intervention on science achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students. Teachers were provided with instructional units and workshops that were designed to improve teaching practices and foster positive beliefs about science and literacy with diverse student groups. The study involved third, fourth, and fifth grade students at six elementary schools in a large urban school district during the 2001 through 2004 school years. Significance tests of mean scores between pre‐ and posttests indicated statistically significant increases each year on all measures of science at all three grade levels. Achievement gaps among demographic subgroups sometimes narrowed among fourth grade students and remained consistent among third and fifth grade students. Item‐by‐item comparisons with NAEP and TIMSS samples indicated overall positive performance by students at the end of each school year. The consistent patterns of positive outcomes indicate the effectiveness of our intervention in producing achievement gains at all three grade levels while also reducing achievement gaps among demographic subgroups at the fourth grade. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 726–747, 2008     

Kindergarten standardized testing and reading achievement in the U.S.: Evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study

Drawing from data use theory (i.e., a theory for making data-driven educational decisions), the present study sought to understand how frequency of standardized testing is related to student learning, mediated by reading instruction, after controlling for child-level (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity) and school-level covariates (e.g., private/public, proportion of students eligible for free lunch). Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort of 2010–2011, the sample included 12,241 children attending 1067 kindergartens in the U.S. findings from a multilevel structural equation mediation model suggest that the frequency of state/local standardized testing in kindergarten did not have a direct effect on reading achievement near the end of kindergarten, after controlling for covariates. However, the amount and type of reading instruction mediated the relationship between the frequency of testing and reading achievement, after controlling for covariates. The implications for policy and practice on the use of standardized tests in kindergarten are discussed.     

The road to culturally relevant science: Exploring how teachers navigate change in pedagogy

In this study, two middle‐school teachers who participated in a professional development program utilizing the transformative professional development (TPD) model are followed as they embarked upon becoming culturally relevant science teachers of Hispanic students. Using Ladson‐Billings (1994) theory of culturally relevant pedagogy, teacher interviews, focus groups, journals, and field notes are examined to reveal aspects of culturally relevant pedagogy that the participants translate into their daily science instructional practice in this longitudinal case study. Findings revealed TPD enabled participants to transform their practice to focus on culturally relevant science pedagogy resulting in a more effective instructional environment for their Hispanic students. Implications for further research on professional development and other supports for teachers integrating culturally relevant pedagogy are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., J Res Sci Teach 48: 170–198, 2011     

Negative school factors and their influence on math and science achievement in TIMSS 2003

The aim of the present study was to conduct an analysis of TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2003 database and to determine how negative school factors, such as aggression, are associated to the mathematical and science achievement of students. The analyses were conducted separately for national and international data. National analyses for Slovenia show significant associations between math and science achievement and the experience of aggressive behaviour. Students who experienced aggressive behaviour scored lower in math and science, both in the fourth and in the eighth grade. The results of the regression analysis show that negative factors, such as aggressive behaviour, are good predictors of educational achievement in Slovenia. International analyses for the selected countries (high‐ and low‐achieving countries from the whole TIMSS population) confirm that this type of finding is culturally impartial as well as valid for the level of achievement both in math and in science.     

How teachers' perceptions of the parent–teacher relationship affect children's risk for early childhood expulsion

Rates of expulsion from early care and education settings (e.g., childcare and preschool programs) exceed those in K‐12, and relatively little is known of how to prevent such disciplinary decisions. In addition, expulsion disproportionately affects children of color, especially boys. The present study explores a potential protective strategy existent in all early care and education settings, the parent–teacher relationship. Surveys with early childhood teachers (N = 295) outline the association between teachers' perceptions of the parent–teacher relationship and a child's risk for expulsion. Findings indicate that teachers' perceptions of high‐quality parent–teacher relationships are related to a lower risk for expulsion for children who have not been expelled, with the strongest association found for Black children. In contrast, for children identified as previously expelled, we found no association between teachers' perceptions of the parent–teacher relationship and future expulsion risk. Each finding will be described in detail with an eye towards implications and intervention.     

The consequences of “school improvement”: Examining the association between two standardized assessments measuring school improvement and student science achievement

For more than half a century concerns about the ability of American students to compete in a global workplace focused policymakers' attention on improving school performance generally, and student achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) specifically. In its most recent form—No Child Left Behind—there is evidence this focus led to a repurposing of instructional time to dedicate more attention to tested subjects. While this meant a narrowing of the curriculum to focus on English and mathematics at the elementary level, the effects on high school curricula have been less clear and generally absent from the research literature. In this study, we sought to explore the relationship between school improvement efforts and student achievement in science and thus explore the intersection of school reform and STEM policies. We used school‐level data on state standardized test scores in English and math to identify schools as either improving or declining over three consecutive years. We then compared the science achievement of students from these schools as measured by the ACT Science exams. Our findings from three consecutive cohorts, including thousands of high school students who attended 12th grade in 2008, 2009, and 2010 indicate that students attending improving schools identified by state administered standardized tests generally performed no better on a widely administered college entrance exam with tests in science, math and English. In 2010, students from schools identified as improving in English scored nearly one‐half of a point lower than their peers from declining schools on both the ACT Science and Math exams. We discuss various interpretations and implications of these results and suggest areas for future research. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 804–830, 2012     

A study of practical‐moral knowledge in science teaching: Case studies in physical science classrooms

This study further extends a conceptual framework that explores science teaching as a “practice” not reducible to the application of formal knowledge, but as informed by teachers' practical‐moral knowledge. A hermeneutic model was developed to examine practical‐moral knowledge indirectly by investigating teachers' commitments, interpretations, actions, and dialectic interactions between them. The study also aimed to analyze teachers' actions in terms of their interpretations and commitments as they realize “internal goods” of their practice. Ethnographic case studies of three science teachers were conducted through classroom observation, in‐depth interviews and dialogues, and artifact analysis. A commitment of preparing students for national exams was common to the three teachers but was manifested differently in classroom practices. This commitment originated from interpretations about the duty of “good” teachers not letting students and schools down. Other emergent commitments were commitments: to conceptual understandings, to “challenge” learners, and to social modeling. We present each with associated interpretations and actions. The concepts of practical wisdom (phronesis) and gap closing are used to characterize teachers' practical knowledge and its development respectively. Implications for teacher education are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 929–951, 2010     

Engaging in science practices in classrooms predicts increases in undergraduates' STEM motivation,identity, and achievement: A short-term longitudinal study

Our short-term longitudinal study explored undergraduate students' experiences with performing authentic science practices in the classroom in relation to their science achievement and course grades. In addition, classroom experiences (felt recognition as a scientist and perceived classroom climate) and changes over a 10-week academic term in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) identity and motivation were tested as mediators. The sample comprised 1,079 undergraduate students from introductory biology classrooms (65.4% women, 37.6% Asian, 30.2% White, 25.1% Latinx). Using structural equation modeling (SEM), our hypothesized model was confirmed while controlling for class size and GPA. Performing science practices (e.g., hypothesizing or explaining results) positively predicted students' felt recognition as a scientist; and felt recognition positively predicted perceived classroom climate. In turn, felt recognition and classroom climate predicted increases over time in students' STEM motivation (expectancy-value beliefs), STEM identity, and STEM career aspirations. Finally, these factors predicted students' course grade. Both recognition as a scientist and positive classroom climate were more strongly related to outcomes among underrepresented minority (URM) students. Findings have implications for why large-format courses that emphasize opportunities for students to learn science practices are related to positive STEM outcomes, as well as why they may prove especially helpful for URM students. Practical implications include the importance of recognition as a scientist from professors, teaching assistants, and classmates in addition to curriculum that engages students in the authentic practices of science.     

Investigating the relation of perceived teacher unfairness to science achievement by hierarchical linear modeling in 52 countries and economies

Abstract

This study used the data from the 2015 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to examine the relationship between perceived teacher unfairness and science achievement with a three-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) as the analytic approach. Data of 188,104 students from 4895 schools in 52 countries and economies were used for analysis. After accounting for student gender, student-, school-, and country-level economic, social, and cultural status, and students’ non-cognitive outcomes, the results of HLM analysis showed that perceived teacher unfairness negatively predicted science achievement with a modest effect size. The possible explanations of the results and the practical implication of the findings were discussed.     

Examining the yields of growth feedback from science teachers and students' intrinsic valuing of science: Implications for student- and school-level science achievement

Students' science knowledge and skills are considered critical to growing the intellectual capital on which societies rely to innovate and prosper. However, recent research has documented notable declines in students' intrinsic valuing of science and science achievement in Australia and other western countries. As a result, there have been calls to investigate factors at both the student- and school-level that can improve intrinsic valuing of and achievement in science. Growth feedback from science teachers to students has been identified as one such factor. Growth feedback, which specifically targets individual student growth and improvement, is considered an effective form of teacher feedback. Because recent research has demonstrated the benefits of effective teacher feedback on intrinsic valuing of science and the positive link between intrinsic valuing of science and science achievement, the present investigation examined (at both the student- and school-level) the extent to which growth feedback in science predicts intrinsic valuing of science and the extent to which intrinsic valuing predicts science achievement and mediates the relationship between growth feedback and achievement. This study examined this hypothesized process with the 2015 Australian PISA sample (N = 14,530 students in N = 758 schools) via a multilevel structural equation model. Findings indicated that at both the student- and school-level, growth feedback significantly predicted intrinsic valuing, and intrinsic valuing significantly predicted achievement; growth feedback also had significant indirect effects of achievement via intrinsic valuing. Taken together, our findings indicate that there are personal and whole-school yields for science achievement from the experiences of growth feedback in and intrinsic valuing of science.     

Transversal traits in science education research relevant for teaching and research: A meta‐interpretative study

This study is a meta‐interpretative analysis that focuses on research conducted and published by other researchers. Concepts central to this study include global practical relevance, curriculum design, and formative situation. We analyzed 35 studies selected from 374 published studies in the years 2000 and 2001 in three journals referenced in the International Scientific Index. Using a replicable methodology developed specifically for this research, we found evidence of s clusters of variables that suggest the existence of transversal traits in the 35 science education research studies. These results form a reference framework of theoretical and practical knowledge relevant for research and practice pertaining to teaching and learning science. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 574–599, 2008     

A longitudinal study of a state-wide reading assessment: the importance of early achievement and socio-demographic factors

Eliminating inequity in public education is a central goal of the No Child left Behind (NCLB) act. Controlling for 3rd-grade performance, the impact of English language learner (ELL) status, socioeconomic status (SES), and special education (SPED) status on a cohort’s reading performance was investigated from elementary to high school through a multilevel framework. Results in Hawaii show that the negative impact of low SES and SPED status persists up to high school, while the disadvantage of ELL status is restricted within the elementary grades. Moreover, individual characteristics, not school characteristics, have a dominant impact on future reading performance. Among individual characteristics, early performance is a crucial factor for future academic achievement. The findings show that educational policies that use incentives and sanctions such as NCLB to close achievement gaps may not be successful.