Improving nature of science instruction in elementary classes with modified science trade books and educative curriculum materials

This study investigated the effect of including explicit nature of science (NOS) content in read-alouds of elementary science trade books on the teaching and learning of NOS. We focused on three aspects of NOS: the creative, the empirical, and the inferential NOS. The trade books were read aloud by teachers in three hierarchical levels: Level I served as a control and consisted of a trade book that remained unmodified, Level II consisted of a trade book that had been modified to include explicit references to NOS, and Level III consisted of a modified trade book accompanied by educative curriculum materials that were aimed at improving the teachers' views of NOS as well as supporting teaching about NOS. We used the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire-form CE (VNOS-CE) preintervention and postintervention to determine changes in teachers' views of NOS and interviews preintervention and postintervention to determine changes in students' views. Audio recordings of read-alouds were used to determine changes in teaching practice, including the frequency and the quality (i.e., naïve or informed) of the NOS references in the discussions. Interviews were used to determine teachers' perceptions of the modified trade books and educative curriculum materials. We found that both teachers and students developed more informed views of the targeted NOS aspects after the intervention and that teachers addressed NOS more often, and in a more informed manner, when they had trade books that explicitly supported NOS instruction and educative curriculum materials that supported their learning about NOS. Furthermore, they perceived the intervention materials favorably. Teachers' views and practices were able to change in tandem because of the intervention materials that supported explicit NOS instruction. We highlight the need for more widespread development of similar educative curriculum materials.     

Differential effects of three professional development models on teacher knowledge and student achievement in elementary science

To identify links among professional development, teacher knowledge, practice, and student achievement, researchers have called for study designs that allow causal inferences and that examine relationships among features of interventions and multiple outcomes. In a randomized experiment implemented in six states with over 270 elementary teachers and 7,000 students, this project compared three related but systematically varied teacher interventions—Teaching Cases, Looking at Student Work, and Metacognitive Analysis—along with no‐treatment controls. The three courses contained identical science content components, but differed in the ways they incorporated analysis of learner thinking and of teaching, making it possible to measure effects of these features on teacher and student outcomes. Interventions were delivered by staff developers trained to lead the teacher courses in their regions. Each course improved teachers' and students' scores on selected‐response science tests well beyond those of controls, and effects were maintained a year later. Student achievement also improved significantly for English language learners in both the study year and follow‐up, and treatment effects did not differ based on sex or race/ethnicity. However, only Teaching Cases and Looking at Student Work courses improved the accuracy and completeness of students' written justifications of test answers in the follow‐up, and only Teaching Cases had sustained effects on teachers' written justifications. Thus, the content component in common across the three courses had powerful effects on teachers' and students' ability to choose correct test answers, but their ability to explain why answers were correct only improved when the professional development incorporated analysis of student conceptual understandings and implications for instruction; metacognitive analysis of teachers' own learning did not improve student justifications either year. Findings suggest investing in professional development that integrates content learning with analysis of student learning and teaching rather than advanced content or teacher metacognition alone. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 333–362, 2012     

Supporting university content specialists in providing effective professional development: the educative role of evaluation

Evaluation of professional development (PD) has traditionally been composed of summative and formative feedback, and has focused on assessing the extent to which the PD impacts participating teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices. This study establishes an additional purpose for PD evaluation – as educative opportunities for professional developers, particularly for PD providers who are university-level content specialists (e.g. scientists, mathematicians, statisticians, engineers). Through analysis of data collected as state-wide evaluators for one US Midwest state’s Improving Teacher Quality Grant PD programs, and utilizing an analysis methodology which we term ‘recommendation traces,’ we examine formative evaluation recommendations that we made to four different PD projects over three years. Findings from this study shed light on how content specialists who work in PD projects can learn about effective PD through project evaluation efforts.     

Curriculum-based teacher professional development in middle school science: A comparison of training focused on cognitive science principles versus content knowledge

This study investigates, through a cluster-randomized trial, the effectiveness of two approaches to increasing middle school students’ science learning using a traditional science curriculum. Ninety schools were randomly assigned into one of three arms: (a) a treatment arm in which the textbook curriculum was modified based on four principles of cognitive science coupled with teacher professional development (PD), (b) a second treatment arm in which teachers received PD designed to improve their knowledge of the science content, and (c) a business-as-usual control group. The PD was able to change teacher practice but barely improved teacher knowledge. No significant boost in student achievement was observed, except in a few instances, where there were some promising findings. Exploratory analyses were conducted to examine what makes the interventions more effective. Implications for future research were discussed.     

Positional identity and science teacher professional development

The aim of this study was to understand the positional identity of three African American secondary science teachers. Positional identity was operationally defined in terms of race, ethnicity, economic status, gender, religion, and age. Positional identity was posited to inform why diverse teachers with differing knowledge and experiences in science exist. An analysis of the findings suggested that the teachers' positional identity was defined beyond race, ethnicity and gender. Although the three science teachers came from very similar social backgrounds and were members of the same racial/ethnic group (African American), their positionality manifested itself in different ways: meanings of their life experiences; orientations to professional development; and future career goals in science education. Thus they possessed multiple positional identities that intersected in various ways which resulted in them having different perceptions of the world and subjectivities as science teachers. Implications included addressing positional identity and the creation of professional development models that are framed around incorporating teacher identity in addition to furthering teachers' personal and professional advancement within science education. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 684–710, 2008     

Providing school-based learning in elementary school mathematics: the case of a professional development school partnership

Abstract

School–university partnerships also known as professional development school (PDS) partnerships provide potential for universities and schools to establish partnerships that can benefit university faculty, school teachers, university students, and school students. This study examines the impact of a PDS partnership in which the author served as a school-based mathematics coach for two years in a high-need elementary school. Data sources included interviews, surveys, and field notes from classroom observations. Inductive qualitative analyses which were situated in a multi-level framework for researching professional development found that teachers posed more cognitively demanding mathematical tasks and high-level questions in year two compared to year one of this project. Further, student achievement was noted on both state-wide and district-created assessments. Also teachers reported that the school-based approach to professional development led to some teachers taking on more informal leadership roles to support their colleagues’ mathematics instruction. Implications for school-based learning opportunities across the world include the need to establish specific university–school partnerships, and carefully designing research studies to examine the impact of these learning opportunities.     

Teaching about sustainability through inquiry-based science in Irish primary classrooms: the impact of a professional development programme on teacher self-efficacy,competence and pedagogy

Abstract

Research suggests that innovative and engaging professional development is instrumental in supporting teachers in developing their competence and confidence in teaching sustainability. An international initiative was developed to explore whether a competencies-oriented Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) professional development model was transferable across three different international contexts (Ireland, Germany and Mexico). This paper reports on the adaptation of this model within the Irish context, through the development of an innovative professional development programme for primary teachers. Through a mixed-methods approach which gathered data via pre- and post-programme surveys, teachers’ reflective journals and post-programme group interviews, the paper explores Irish primary school teachers’ experiences of, and attitudes towards, teaching sustainability through science education after participation in a professional development programme. The findings suggest that this programme, structured around the existing evidence for effective professional development in science education and ESD, positively influences teachers’ self-efficacy, supports teachers’ critical engagement with sustainability competencies and promotes the development of transformative pedagogies for sustainability through Inquiry-Based Science Education.     

Understanding the complexity of teacher interaction in a teacher professional learning community

In this study, we examine a professional learning community of primary school teachers developing a joint school-based curriculum for science and technology (S&T) education. Team meetings were observed over the course of one school year and the participating teachers and school head were interviewed. An essential factor in the team’s collaboration was its ability to achieve synthesis, that is, the extent to which the teachers were able to abstract from concrete experiences in S&T education in order to formulate and develop a shared vision and curriculum. They exchanged many examples and were able to create a shared idea highlighting critical elements in their approach to teaching this school subject. However, the teachers experienced difficulties in determining the level at which a school-based curriculum should be defined. The outcomes of this team’s collaboration are discussed in terms of leadership and the aims of the S&T innovation.     

Current trends and missing links in studies on teacher professional development in science education: a review of design features and quality of research

This review provides an overview of the the current state of research on professional development in science education. An analytical frame was used, based on what is known about PD from educational research. Clarke and Hollingsworth’s model for teacher professional growth was also used to categorise the studies according to their aims and outcomes. Exemplar studies in each category are highlighted. In total, 44 recent studies were selected, all referring to science PD. The results show an increase in the number of PD studies in science education in recent years. Most PD programmes are aimed at enhancing teacher cognitions as well as classroom practice. Most recently, there seems to have been an increase in programmes that also aim at improving student outcomes through PD. All studies applied most of the characteristics drawn from research on what makes PD effective. However, school organisational conditions were not usually taken into account. Moreover, there has been a very little research on the role of facilitators and their impact on the outcomes of a PD programme.     

The lost promise of teacher professional development in England

This paper explores three influences on the effectiveness of teacher professional development for improving schools – the individual teacher, the learning activities in which teachers participate and the structures and supports provided by schools for teacher learning. It does so by relying on survey data collected for a national study of teacher professional development in England. The analysis indicates that while the professional development of teachers in England is generally ineffectual and lacks school level systems and supports, the professional development and supports for professional learning by teachers in high performing schools display many of the characteristics associated with effective professional learning. Given the results showing a link between school factors and professional learning and the lack of influence of individual teacher factors, the paper concludes that the previously reported importance of school capacity in influencing learning and improvement is supported by the findings.     

突破职业认同困境 谋求农村学校体育教师专业发展

教师整体素质主要取决于教师专业化水平。关注农村学校体育教师生存现状,探索个体自我发展的内驱式教师专业自我发展路径,增强农村学校体育教师专业自我发展意识,督促在岗体育教师制定专业发展自我规划,优化专业知识结构,开展教师行动研究,是农村在岗体育教师专业发展的有效策略。     

The development of elementary teacher identities as teachers of science

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the contributions of pre-service teachers’ memories of science and science education, combined with their experiences in a STEM-focused teacher preparation programme, to their developing identities as elementary school teachers of science. Data collected over three years include a series of interviews and observations of science teaching during elementary teacher preparation and the first year of teaching. Grounded within a theoretical framework of identity and using a case-study research design, we examined experiences that contributed to the participants’ identity development, focusing on key themes from teacher interviews: memories of science and science instruction, STEM-focused teacher preparation programme, field experiences, first year of teaching, and views of effective science instruction. Findings indicate the importance of exposure to reform strategies during teacher preparation and are summarised in main assertions and discussed along with implications for teacher preparation and research.     

Analysing teacher professional development through professional dialogue: an investigation into a university–school partnership project on enquiry learning

The paper considers data in one Higher Education Institution (HEI) from written reports and from interviews with trainee teachers and their teachers charged with the assessment of one training standard for secondary Initial Teacher Training in England: Professional Values and Practice. It explores the extent to which four elements of this standard can be measured as outcomes of performance. It reveals that assessment judgements draw on a wide range of evidence and are often subjective, context‐specific and broadly interpreted. In their current form these statements do not lend themselves easily to assessment. Recommendations include greater clarity in the statements about what might be expected of a beginning teacher in terms of particular professional competences as performance statements; opportunities for assessment in relation to a ‘developing professionalism’ rather than ‘managed professionalism’ (and compliance); and a broader framework that can take account of two dimensions in particular: (1) creating an environment for pupil learning and (2) teacher professionalism.     

The impact of a professional development model for a mobilized science curriculum: a case study of teacher changes

Background and purpose: To date, there has been little research on the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) for delivering a mobile technology-supported science curriculum. To address this, a TPD model for a science curriculum supported by mobile technology was developed and evaluated in this paper. The study reported focuses on the establishment of the TPD model and exploration of its impact on teacher behaviors in the curriculum implementation.

Sample, design, and methods: In the study, two representative science teachers’ implementation of the science curriculum was presented together with an in-depth study of the TPD sessions. The data from the teacher-led PD working sessions, classroom observation and teacher interview were collected. Mixed methods and case study were used to analyze the teacher performance on the PD working sessions and on the curriculum implementation.

Results: Our findings suggested that teachers benefited from the structured TPD which provided opportunities for sharing, extensive feedback, and reflection of the curriculum implementation. It showed that teachers had transformed questioning from traditional ways into constructivist-oriented patterns in the classroom. More student-centered activities were conducted and complemented with teachers’ various scaffolds for learning. Analysis of learning artifacts attested to improvements in students’ conceptual understanding of science.

Conclusion: TPD refers to a continuing and dynamic system for PD which needs to be changed and elaborated based on teacher needs, school context and the problems and challenges encountered in the teaching practice. TPD development and teachers’ growth in the belief and competences on the instruction constitute a mutual evolution process. Their evolution could guarantee the apt enactment and spread of the curriculum innovation to impact depth, to sustain and to spread.