Effects of Integrating Hypermedia into Elementary Science Professional Development on Science Content Knowledge

Past research has indicated that a number of problems in the teaching of science in elementary classrooms are rooted in the preparation of inservice teachers. One continuing concern is elementary teachers' lack of science content knowledge. As indicated by numerous research studies reporting positive results, one method of addressing these problems is through inservice teacher professional development workshops. While improved content knowledge has been reported as a positive result of professional development workshops, elementary science workshops have not resulted in the same success levels as other subject areas. One method of addressing some of the deficiencies in elementary science professional development workshops is with the integration of hypermedia into the professional development environment. This study examined whether the integration of hypermedia into elementary science professional development workshops resulted in greater increases in the science content knowledge of elementary teachers of science than traditional methods of elementary science professional development workshops. Workshops that integrated hypermedia into the professional development environment resulted in a significant increase in inservice elementary teachers' science content knowledge, when compared to the control group. However, when compared to the experimental group that participated in workshops without hypermedia, however, there was no significant difference in increases of science content knowledge. Implications of these outcomes are discussed.     

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.     

教师参与专业发展活动对学生学业成绩影响的实证研究——基于北京市高中学生的分析

教师专业发展是提高学校教育质量和学生学业成就的关键因素。关于教师专业发展的实证研究主要关注的是专业发展活动对教师本身的影响,较少有研究关注专业发展活动对学生带来的影响。本研究基于2016~2019年北京市高中阶段4万多名学生的标准化考试成绩和近2000名教师的问卷调查数据,采用增值模型分析教师对学生学业成绩的增值影响,并进一步聚焦教师参与区级和校本教研活动对学生学业成绩的影响。分析结果显示,教师参与区级教研活动的程度对学生成绩有显著的正向影响,其中聚焦于学科课程内容的教研活动对学生成绩的增值作用尤其显著。此外,教师参与校本教研活动的程度对学生成绩有显著的正向影响,其中教师之间的非正式交流的积极作用不容忽视。     

河北省小学科学骨干教师专业发展现状调查

采用问卷调查对参加河北省"国培计划"的小学科学骨干教师的专业发展现状进行了调查。调查结果表明:河北省小学科学骨干教师年富力强,整体教龄较长,但科学教龄较短;大多数教师专业学科背景缺乏,专业知识结构与能力存在缺陷;专业发展途径不够完善,缺乏专业发展规划指导;教学科研能力薄弱,参加学术会议和培训机会相对较少。针对此种状况提出了促进小学科学教师专业发展的若干建议。     

A Randomized Trial of Teacher Development in Elementary Science: First-Year Achievement Effects

Abstract

This article describes 1st-year experimental effects of a large-scale reform providing professional development to elementary school teachers to implement an extended, inquiry-oriented science curriculum. Known as “immersion teaching” because it “immerses” teachers and students in the full cycle of scientific inquiry, this approach developed through a partnership involving university-based science and mathematics content experts and educators and K-12 educators from the Los Angeles Unified School District. Multilevel analyses, which examined school-level effects of assignment to the professional development intervention, nested Grade 4 students and their science achievement outcomes within the 80 study schools. The analyses revealed a statistically significant negative 1st-year treatment effect of school-level assignment to the initiative on the key science achievement outcome. We also tested whether the treatment had differential effects for English language learners, schools with large proportions of English language learners, and students of new teachers. We found an interaction effect of the treatment by teacher experience level for the teachers who were the primary target of the intervention, with the treatment having positive effects for novice teachers (3 years of experience or less) but a larger, negative effect for veteran teachers. We explore analytically three sets of explanations for the unexpected negative main effect of treatment: potential statistical and design artifacts, possible misalignment between the assessments and content of the treatment, and practical issues related to implementation of the treatment.     

The Impact of a Professional Development Program on Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching,Instruction, and Student Achievement

In this paper, we describe findings from a three-year evaluation of a well-developed mathematics professional development program that is commercially available on a wide scale. The professional development is designed to improve teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching and to enable them to elicit more student thinking and reasoning during mathematics lessons. Specifically, it focused on helping teachers (a) learn more mathematics, (b) understand how children learn math, (c) use formative assessment to develop insight into what specific students know and do not know, and (d) develop effective classroom instructional strategies that enable student problem solving. Participants included 105 fourth- and fifth-grade teachers teaching in 19 low-income schools within a single district. Teachers were randomly assigned within schools either to a “business as usual” control group or to receive the professional development. The training consisted of a week-long summer institute and four to six in-service days during the school year. The training was run by full-time trained associates. We find some limited evidence of positive impacts on teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching, but no effects on instructional practice or student outcomes.     

The Effect of an Analysis-of-Practice,Videocase-Based,Teacher Professional Development Program on Elementary Students' Science Achievement

This article describes the effects of an analysis-of-practice professional development (PD) program on elementary school students' (Grades 4–6) science outcomes. The study design was a cluster-randomized trial with an analysis sample of 77 schools, 144 teachers and 2,823 students. Forty-two schools were randomly assigned to treatment, (88.5 hours) of integrated analysis-of-practice and content deepening PD (over the course of one year) while 35 schools were randomly assigned to receive an equal number of PD hours in science content deepening alone. Students' content knowledge, as measured by a project-specific test, was compared across treatment groups. The effect size for this comparison was 0.52 standard deviations in favor of students whose teachers participated in the PD that included analysis-of-practice. This effect compares favorably to that of other elementary school interventions whose effectiveness was studied with a narrowly focused outcome measure. Analysis of the demographics of the study schools suggests that the treatment effect could be relevant outside the local study context. Implications for future research include tests of mediation for teacher-level outcomes and efficacy tests of specific teaching strategies (intervention subcomponents).     

小学科学教学中课程资源的开发与利用

科学课程资源的开发与利用是科学课程实施的关键。为了实现本轮课改中间小学科学课程肩负的提高学生科学素养的总目标,科学教学中必需加强小学科学课程资源的开发与利用。根据教育部《科学(3~6年级)课程标准》中的有关要求,文章在如何提高小学教师科学课程资源意识,拓宽小学科学课程资源开发与利用的途径方面作了探讨。     

Teacher Professional Development and Student Reading Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Effects

Abstract

Research-based instruction is necessary to support students’ reading development, and professional development (PD) is a critical avenue to ensuring high-quality instructional practices. To date, there has been no comprehensive review focused on the effects of teacher PD on student reading achievement. As such, the purpose of the present meta-analysis was to examine the impact of teacher PD on reading outcomes for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. A secondary aim was to determine whether study, program, or participant characteristics were potential moderators of these effects. A comprehensive search of published and unpublished research between 1975 and 2017 resulted in 28 studies that met prescribed criteria. Results indicate that teacher PD has a moderate and significant, positive average effect on reading achievement. However, moderator analyses did not explain the variance in the effects of PD on student outcomes. Primarily, studies represented typically-developing students in the elementary grades, with only three studies including middle school students and four studies including reading outcomes of students with or at-risk for reading disabilities. Recommendations for improved study designs that allow for more in-depth investigation of the characteristics of effective PD and mechanisms of change in student outcomes are discussed.     

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.     

教育信息化背景下公共基础课教师专业化发展策略

为了更好地促进高职院校公共基础课教师专业化发展,详细分析了当前公共基础课教师专业化发展过程中面临的尴尬窘境,阐述了教育信息化对教师专业化发展的影响,在教育信息化背景下,从教育行政、院校管理、教学单位和教师个体4个层面论述了促进高职院校公共基础课教师专业化发展策略.     

中小学心理教师专业化现状调查及发展探究

中小学心理教师的专业化发展是促进学校心理健康教育工作有效开展的重要条件。采用北京师范大学教育心理与学校咨询研究所编制的调查问卷,通过分层随机抽样的方法,对全国8个省、自治区、直辖市72所中小学心理教师队伍现状进行问卷调查。采用SPSS对调查结果进行统计分析,从心理教师的基本情况、工作开展状况、专业培训制度以及心理教师获得的环境支持四个方面概括了中小学心理教师队伍的专业化发展现状及存在的问题,据此提出明确心理教师的专业角色、加强专业培训与训练、建立健全管理制度、加强与其他科任教师和学生家长的合作等建议。     

我国科学教育专业发展的现状及面临的困境透析

科学教育作为一个新兴专业,由于缺乏权威性的指导意见,在我国的发展面临诸多困境：专业建设缺乏规范化研究;课程体系、教学内容、教学方式陈旧落后;教学资源匮乏,师资队伍薄弱。针对存在的问题,借鉴美国的成功经验,科学教育专业发展应出台《科学教师专业标准》,改革课程体系、教学内容和教学方式,加强教学资源建设。     

STS与基础科学教育

在各种的教育改革方案里，对于STS内容越来越多的引进，已成为一种趋势。然而，联系到我国目前教育界和学术界的现状，对有关的问题仍缺乏必要的了解和深入研究。根据若干国外的科学教育标准进行比较研究，关注的是在其中STS观念与内容的体现，以及在不同方案中表现出来的特点与差异，我们可以理解STS对于基础科学教育已经产生的影响，看到我国基础科学教育与国际相比较显示出的差距，从而对当前的认识与未来的发展都有重要的意义和借鉴作用。     

Effective Professional Development in Science and Mathematics Education: Teachers' and Facilitators' Views

This study compares the views of teachers and professional development facilitators about effective professional development (PD). We analyzed interviews with 72 teacher participants and 23 PD facilitators involved in nine science and mathematics PD projects. The teachers' themes for characterizing effective PD included classroom application, teacher as learner, and teacher networking. Similarly, the PD facilitators discussed effective PD as having classroom application and experiences for teachers as learners. In addition, PD facilitators shared the need to develop collegial relationships with teachers and improve teacher knowledge. These views correspond to some of the standards and recommendations described in policy and research documents on effective PD. Criteria of effective PD in these documents that the participants did not mention included: (1) challenging teachers' content and pedagogical content knowledge with transformative learning experiences, (2) encouraging teacher leadership for sustained support, and (3) focusing on student learning by instructing teachers on how to use student data to inform their teaching practice. Our findings have implications for designing PD that reflects the criteria of standards-based reform.     

我国科学教师专业发展阶段及途径初探

目前,我国科学教师专业发展还处于探索阶段,既没有统一的标准,也缺乏相应的鉴定制度,存在着诸多问题。文章结合我国科学教师专业发展现状,对我国科学教师专业发展的阶段及具体途径进行初步探讨。     

教师课程意识与专业成长

教师课程意识属于社会职业意识范畴之一,是教师个体与群体基于职业实践,在其职业环境中通过履行专业职责而形成的关于课程规律的体认。课程意识指导着教师的课程实践,映射着教师职业的专业化程度。课程意识的生成与提升,需要相应的实践环境。     

新课程改革与教师专业发展

新课程改革不仅将改变学生的学习方式，影响他们的终身发展，而且也将改变教师的教学生活。新课程改革一方面对教师全面素质提出了新的要求，同时又促进教师自身的成长，为教师专业发展提供了良好的契机，因而，必须采取有效策略促进教师专业发展。     

校本课程开发视野下教师专业发展论证

教师专业发展是现代教育发展的一个必然趋势，教师成为研究者是教师专业发展的核心内容，我国传统的教师教育模式实效性不强，对相应的转化模式缺乏有效探索，而在基础教育课程改革背景下参与校本课程开发为广大教师的专业发展提供了一个极好的平台。