Science Teachers’ Professional Development and Changes in Science Practical Assessment Practices: What are the Issues?

This paper considers the circumstances under which science teachers can respond positively and productively to educational policy reforms in the area of science practical assessment. To understand what might be involved in linking science teachers’ assessment capacities and their professional development, we present illustrative data from recent research studies conducted in Singapore and Hong Kong showing contrasting approaches taken in the implementation of reforms in science practical assessment. In Singapore, teachers worked together to select, discuss, clarify and refine their practices as they made decisions about what to teach and assess. In Hong Kong, teachers took a critical stance towards the new policy and learnt from their own experiences in order to build their confidence. With the same policy initiative, one group of teachers focused more on the technicalities of complying with requirements imposed on them while in the other group had their professional consciousness of what they thought was best for their students provoked so that their practices would be transformed. In an attempt to draw lessons for other contexts in supporting the implementation of assessment policy reforms through professional development work, we identify and discuss a range of factors in science teachers’ professional development that arise once in situ professional development work has started. Overall, our intent in this article is to recast assessment reform as a driver or pivot in teachers’ professional development and learning. To do this it is necessary, we argue, to afford teachers’ experiences and the processes involved in learning from them greater emphasis in order to ensure the continuance of innovation in the assessment of laboratory-based work.     

Science Teachers’ Meaning-Making When Involved in a School-Based Professional Development Project

A group of teachers?? meaning-making when they are collaboratively analyzing artifacts from practice in local science classrooms in a school-based professional development (PD) project is examined through repeated interviews and represented as meaning-making maps. The interpretation of the teachers?? meaning-making includes both their reference to outcomes from the project and their expressed ideas about teaching and learning of science. All four teachers refer to experiences from experimenting in their classrooms and interpret the collected artifacts in relation to students?? learning. Furthermore, they all felt encouraged to continue collaboration around science. During the interviews, the teachers emphasize various elements apparently connected to concrete challenges they each experience in their professional work. Implications in relation to the design of PD are discussed.     

Teachers’ Professional Development: what are the key change factors for mathematics teachers?

Our purpose is to answer the question: what have been the key factors causing a discontinuity in teachers’ professional development? We gathered data from experienced German teachers (N = 13) during the spring of 1994, with a brief questionnaire and interview. During the interviews, a total of 49 statements about change were mentioned. We could compress these statements into 15 change factors. New findings, that is, change factors which were not earlier reported in the literature, were as follows: experiences and observations with teachers’ own children, teachers’ experiences with other forms of schooling, and changes in society.     

One Science Teacher’s Professional Development Experience: A Case Study Exploring Changes in Students’ Perceptions of Their Fluency with Innovative Technologies

The purpose of this case-study is to narrate a secondary science teacher’s experience of his professional development (PD) education and training in innovative technologies (IT) in the context of engaging students in environmental research projects The sources from which the narrative is derived include (1) the science teacher’s reflective reports during three summer institute programs and (2) the science teacher’s reflective reports while subsequently engaging students in IT-embedded environmental research projects in his classroom. The science teacher’s explanations for changes in students’ perception of their IT fluency illuminate his personal narrative. The science teacher attributed his growth and significant changes in students’ perceptions of their IT fluency to the following mechanisms: (a) a personal commitment to developing his own and his students’ IT abilities in the context of doing environmental research projects, and (b) an increase in class time devoted to science education due to school-time scheduling policy. The study implies that immersive professional development opportunities have the potential to produce significant increases in students’ perceptions of their IT fluency.     

An Analysis of Teachers’ and Paraeducators’ Roles and Responsibilities with Implications for Professional Development

There is a lack of documented evidence related to the relationships existing between paraeducators and teachers working in early childhood classrooms. Based on a 2-year project with three phases of data collection, the authors explore the duties of paraeducators and their working relationships with the teachers with whom they team. Based on findings from the data collected, the authors make specific recommendations for targeted professional development that is designed to improve collaboration and skill sets for paraprofessionals within early childhood learning environments. The position taken is one that supports collaborative teamwork designed to maximize the learning of young children.     

High School Biology Teachers’ Views on Teaching Evolution: Implications for Science Teacher Educators

In the US, there may be few scientific concepts that students maintain preconceived ideas about as strongly and passionately as they do with regard to evolution. At the confluence of a multitude of social, religious, political, and scientific factors lies the biology teacher. This phenomenological study provides insight into the salient aspects of teaching evolution as viewed by public high school biology teachers. Transcribed interviews were coded, and data were sorted resulting in key themes regarding teachers’ views of evolution education. These themes are presented against the backdrop of extant literature on the teaching and learning of evolution. Suggestions for science teacher educators are presented such that we can modify teacher preparation programs to better prepare science teachers to meet the challenges of teaching evolution.     

Teachers’ Practice a Decade After an Extensive Professional Development Program in Science Education

Science teachers are expected to teach in innovative ways that are different from their long experience as students. Professional development programs are planned to help teachers’ development, yet, there is little knowledge of the long-term effects of professional development programs (PDPs), and especially on actual practice. The purpose of this study is to gain a long-term perspective of the ways in which the process and outcomes of a reform-oriented, extended PDP are expressed in science teachers’ practice. Data sources included interviews and documents. The study presents four case studies of the practices of junior high school science teachers (grades 7–9) in Israel, with respect to a past PDP in which they took part a decade ago. The cases are presented in pairs of a leader and a follower. Each case details the teacher’s work context, sustained implementation, coherence of tools and approaches, and adaptations. All four teachers shared the view that scientific skills are important to their students as learners in a changing world. All four teachers adopted one or two major approaches, which were the PDP’s main focus. In addition, the two leaders adopted two more approaches. The teachers were still using many strategies associated with the major foci of the PDP. The level of enactment and modifications of the strategies varied. Usability of innovations is discussed in relation to the teachers’ context. We suggest that science teachers’ professional development include the ability to adapt the innovation to their teaching context in order to sustain the changes for a long period of time.     

Mapping Changes in Science Teachers’ Content Knowledge: Concept Maps and Authentic Professional Development

Two studies were conducted to examine content knowledge changes following 2 weeks of professional development that included scientific research with university scientists. Engaging teachers in scientific research is considered to be an effective way of encouraging knowledge of both inquiry pedagogy and content knowledge. We used concept maps with two cohorts of teachers to assess changes in science teacher knowledge. In study 1, 34 teachers developed pre- and post-concept maps in one of the nine different content areas. A repeated measures analysis of six quantitative scores showed statistically significant increases in knowledge representation. Quantitative and qualitative scoring methods indicate that concept maps are effective for assessing teacher knowledge gains from professional development. Study 2 replicated the results with 24 teachers and provided further information about how knowledge changes.     

Tensions and the Teacher’s Role in Student Teacher Identity Development in Primary and Subject Teacher Curricula

This paper describes a 2-year follow-up study on teacher identity development in different types of teacher education programmes. Teacher identity development was analysed with a focus on student teachers’ views of teacher’s roles and tensions experienced during their studies. Student teachers (n?=?20) were interviewed at the beginning and end of the master-level studies. Three types of tensions were identified: (1) conception of self versus professional role, (2) role expectations versus university training, (3) and multiple professional role expectations. The follow-up study showed that tensions tended to accumulate to some extent. However, successful consolidation of tensions appeared to depend on how the student teachers were able to recognise resources at their disposal, with implications for organisation of reflection support in teacher education.     

What’s the Technology For? Teacher Attention and Pedagogical Goals in a Modeling-Focused Professional Development Workshop

This paper explores the role that technology can play in engaging pre-service teachers with the iterative, “messy” nature of model-based inquiry. Over the course of 5 weeks, 11 pre-service teachers worked in groups to construct models of diffusion using a computational animation and simulation toolkit, and designed lesson plans for the toolkit. Content analyses of group discussions and lesson plans document attention to content, representation, revision, and evaluation as interwoven aspects of modeling over the course of the workshop. When animating, only content and representation were heavily represented in group discussions. When simulating, all four aspects were represented to different extents across groups. Those differences corresponded with different planned uses for the technology during lessons: to teach modeling, to engage learners with one another’s ideas, or to reveal student ideas. We identify specific ways in which technology served an important role in eliciting teachers’ knowledge and goals related to scientific modeling in the classroom.     

Supporting Teachers’ Use of Technology in Science Instruction Through Professional Development: A Literature Review

Professional development is critical in supporting teachers’ use of technological tools in classrooms. This review of empirical research synthesizes the effective elements of professional development programs that support science teachers in learning about technology integration. Studies are examined that explore how professional development supports technology use within inquiry-based and traditional science instruction. Implications for future research are discussed in four areas: understanding and building on teachers’ beliefs about science and technology; supporting teacher learning by supporting teachers’ examination of students’ work; using technology to support teacher communities and social networks; and sustaining teachers’ learning beyond formal professional development programs.

Investigating the Impact of NGSS-Aligned Professional Development on PreK-3 Teachers’ Science Content Knowledge and Pedagogy

This pilot study investigates the impact of a 2-week professional development Summer Institute on PK-3 teachers’ knowledge and practices. This Summer Institute is a component of [program], a large-scale early-childhood science project that aims to transform PK-3 science teaching. The mixed-methods study examined concept maps, lesson plans, and classroom observations to measure possible changes in PK-3 teachers’ science content knowledge and classroom practice from 11 teachers who attended the 2014 Summer Institute. Analysis of the concept maps demonstrated statistically significant growth in teachers’ science content knowledge. Analysis of teachers’ lesson plans demonstrated that the teachers could design high quality science inquiry lessons aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards following the professional development. Finally, examination of teachers’ pre- and post-Summer Institute videotaped inquiry lessons showed evidence that teachers were incorporating new inquiry practices into their teaching, especially regarding classroom discourse. Our results suggest that an immersive inquiry experience is effective at beginning a shift towards reform-aligned science and engineering instruction but that early elementary educators require additional support for full mastery.     

Critical Incidents in the Development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching the Nature of Science: A Prospective Elementary Teacher’s Journey

While teacher educators have had some success in helping prospective teachers understand the nature of science (NOS), they have been less effective in helping prospective teachers teach NOS. Though several studies have alluded to impacts of various interventions on developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for NOS, the nature, source, and development of PCK for NOS has not yet been investigated in any systematic way. This study addresses that gap by identifying critical incidents in the development of PCK for NOS of a prospective elementary teacher as she transitions from her methods course to student teaching. Analysis of data collected over a 2-year period illuminates pedagogical dilemmas faced by the prospective teacher in enacting NOS instruction within a school culture of primarily “traditional” science teaching. Through construction of critical incident vignettes, narrative inquiry is employed to illustrate the changes in her PCK for NOS over time, and the experiences that facilitated these changes. Implications for supporting the development of PCK for NOS within teacher education are discussed.     

Exploring the Development of Preservice Science Teachers’ Views on the Nature of Science in Inquiry-Based Laboratory Instruction

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of the inquiry-based and explicit–reflective laboratory instruction on preservice science teachers’ (PSTs) conceptions of the nature of science (NOS) aspects. This study was carried out during the Laboratory Application in Science II course. All 52 preservice elementary science teachers enrolled in the course consented to participate in the study; 37 were female and 15 were male, with a mean age of 22.8 years. All had the same science major background, and all of them were juniors. The course provided meaningful and practical inquiry-based experiences, as well as explicit and reflective instruction about NOS. Each week, a specific NOS aspect was targeted related to the inquiry-based laboratory investigation. The design of the study was qualitative and exploratory in nature. At the beginning of the study, the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire Version B open-ended questionnaire was applied to explore PSTs’ NOS views. At the end of the semester, the same questionnaire was conducted to determine the impact of the explicit–reflective and inquiry-based laboratory instruction. The results showed that many PSTs improved their views of NOS in each element, although to different degrees.     

The Impact of Professional Development on Elementary Teachers’ Strategies for Teaching Science with Diverse Student Groups in Urban Elementary Schools

This study examined elementary teachers’ instructional strategies for promoting scientific understanding and inquiry and supporting English language development with diverse student groups including English language learners. The study was part of a 5-year research and development project consisting of reform-based science curriculum units and teacher workshops aimed at providing effective science instruction to promote students’ science and literacy achievement in urban elementary schools. Data consisted of 213 post-observation interviews with third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers. The teachers reported using instructional strategies to promote scientific understanding, but generally did not employ more sophisticated inquiry-based strategies. They also reported using instructional strategies to support English language development. There were significant differences among grade levels and by years of teacher participation.     

Supporting Science Teachers in Alignment with State Curriculum Standards through Professional Development: Teachers’ Preparedness, Expectations and Their Fulfillment

Since A Nation at Risk was released in the 1980s, standards-based reform has been the most dominant trend in American educational policy, and the No Child Left Behind Act pushed the trend further by requiring states to develop rigorous curriculum standards. Though much has been said about these new standards, less has been said about whether or how well professional development helps teachers link their instruction to these standards. This study examined the impact of a professional development program for K-12 science teachers in helping teachers meet state curriculum standards. Seventy-five science teachers in Michigan participated in a 2-week summer workshop that used Problem-Based Learning for improving teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Researchers surveyed participating teachers about the change of teachers’ preparedness for standards-based teaching, their expectations to meet state curriculum standards, and whether their expectations were met. In addition, the usefulness of workshop activities was examined. Data analysis showed that to align teaching with state curriculum standards, participating teachers expected to learn instructional strategies and enhance science content knowledge through professional development, and by and large their expectations were well met. Collaboration with colleagues and facilitators helped teachers achieve their goals in terms of teaching within state curriculum standards. These findings have important implications for designing professional development to help teachers align instruction with curriculum standards.     

Teachers’ Role in Students’ Learning at a Project-Based STEM High School: Implications for Teacher Education

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - This study explored how teachers engage and support students at a project-based STEM high school to identify key elements defining...