Supporting Science Teacher Learning: The Role of Educative Curriculum Materials

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Designing a Curriculum for Teacher Educators

This article describes the experiences of a small group with designing a curriculum for beginning teacher educators in teacher education institutes as well as in schools. Based on the Dutch professional standard for teacher educators, literature study, case studies and discussions with colleagues and experts, six groups of competences were formulated and an educational approach consisting of three learning tracks was developed.     

Teacher Implementation and the Impact of Game-Based Science Curriculum Materials

Research-based digital games hold great potential to be effective tools in supporting next-generation science learning. However, as with all instructional materials, teachers significantly influence their implementation and contribute to their effectiveness. To more fully understand the contributions and challenges of teacher implementation of digital games, we studied the replacement of existing high school biology genetics lessons over a 3- to 6-week period with Geniverse, an immersive, game-like learning environment designed to be used in classrooms. The Geniverse materials infuse virtual experimentation in genetics with a narrative of a quest to heal a genetic disease; incorporate the topics of meiosis and protein synthesis with inheritance; and include the science practices of explanation and argumentation. The research design involved a quasi-experiment with 48 high school teachers and about 2000 students, student science content knowledge and argumentation outcome measures, and analysis using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicate that when Geniverse was implemented as the designers intended, student learning of genetics content was significantly greater than in the comparison, business-as-usual group. However, a wide range of levels of Geniverse implementation resulted in no significant difference between the groups as a whole. Students’ abilities to engage in scientific explanation and argumentation were greater in the Geniverse group, but these differences were not statistically significant. Observation, survey, and interview data indicate a range of barriers to implementation and teacher instructional decisions that may have influenced student outcomes. Implications for the role of the teacher in the implementation of game-based instructional materials are discussed.     

PROJECT LEARN: Supporting On-Campus Learning with On-Line Technologies

PROJECT LEARN (http://learn.lincoln.ac.nz) was initiated in July 1997 as an in-depth staff development activity which provided targeted academics with a team of instructional designers, graphic artists, and computer consultants to help them restructure their instruction to take advantage of the interactive capabilities of the World Wide Web (WWW). A key premise was that any resources developed would engage students in exercises that promote an active learning experience. Students interact with subject-specific material, related resources, and other students and teachers. By systematically focusing on academics teaching compulsory subjects, PROJECT LEARN staff were able to create materials which are used by the greatest number of students—thereby increasing the campus-wide impact of their work. This article includes the development model, results from implementation, and a discussion of factors which have contributed to the project’s ongoing success. It concludes with a discuss of how the implementation of PROJECT LEARN compares to the University of Twente’s Implementation Model and generalizes to other university settings.     

Integrating Learning Technologies with Experiential Learning in a Postgraduate Teacher Education Course

This paper discusses how a postgraduate certificate course in third-level learning and teaching for academic staff in the Republic of Ireland has adopted a particular approach in teacher education. An important aspect of the successful integration and use of learning technology is the way in which it effectively reflects and articulates a given learning model; this course has its theoretical basis in the Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle. The work illustrates that no one technology can support all types of tertiary-level learning and teaching; an effective approach is to combine a range of technologies. The self-study focuses on analyzing key experiences regarding the integration of a variety of learning technologies in an effort to determine how the teacher educator can integrate technology into the curriculum effectively. What I learned from this self-study will assist the course participants with some of the integration issues that they, in turn, will be dealing with as they move towards incorporating more learning technology into their own subject disciplines. Course tutors deliberately set out to model what we advocate to our own participants.     

电子包容:学习困难与数字技术研究新进展

本文首先对综述中用到的关键术语进行界定,讨论了本领域中研究的局限和优势;然后描述了学习困难目前和历史理解的一个更宽泛的情境,并解释为什么将学习困难的社会模型作为本综述的框架;接着对本领域中技术使用的范式进行了论述,共鉴别出三种应用类型:技术用于训练或练习、技术用于辅助学习、技术用来产生学习;最后对本领域的研究给出了一个总体看法.同时为开发者、政策制定者、研究者和实践者展望了未来技术发展的方向.     

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.     

Opportunities for Teacher Learning During Enactment of Inquiry Science Curriculum Materials: Exploring the Potential for Teacher Educative Materials

The development of curriculum materials that are also educative for teachers has been proposed as a strategy to support teachers learning to teach inquiry science. In this study, one seventh-grade teacher used five inquiry science units with varying support for teachers over a two-year period. Teacher journals, interviews, and classroom videotape were collected. Analysis focused on engagement in planning and teaching, pedagogical content knowledge, and the match to teacher learning needs. Findings indicate that this teacher’s ideas developed as she interacted with materials and her students. Information about student ideas, task- and idea-specific support, and model teacher language was most helpful. Supports for understanding goals, assessment, and the teacher’s role, particularly during discussions and group work, were most needed.     

课程政策的执行与设计

执行困难与政策设计 任何一个国家、任何一个时期都会不同程度地发生政策不配套、执行没有力的问题,[1]所以,我们首先应该理性地认识到,课程改革在执行中遇到各种各样的困难是很正常的,改革也不可避免地会出现理想与现实之间的落差,但为了更好地弥补政策现实与理想之间的落差,从理论上我们仍然有必要去探究谁应为政策的这部分失真负责,是政策执行还是政策设计?     

An Exploratory Study of Teacher Development in the Implementation of Integrated Science Curriculum

Research in Science Education - This paper reports an empirical study of teacher development in the process of implementing an integrated science curriculum in a junior high school in China. Six...     

数字技术支持的教师学习:研究与项目综述(上)

本文在系统回顾教师知识与教师学习本质的基础上,讨论了数字技术与教师学习活动之间的关系,主张将数字技术的效用描述为教师学习中有目的的一组活动,即：知识建构、分布式认知、社群与沟通以及约定,通过对五个技术支持的教师学习的典型案例。分析了数字技术对教师学习的支持作用。最后指出了数字技术支持的教师学习与专业发展之方向。     

教师教育课程设置与实施研究

根据师专院校的培养目标,师专院校应努力适应基础教育课程改革和教师专业成长的需要,正确处理好通识教育课程、专业基础课程、学科专业课程、教育专业课程、教育实践课程之间的相互关系,科学构建教师教育课程体系,创造性地进行课程实施,培养有师魂、有底蕴、有特长、能创新的基础教育新师资。     

新课程实施与教师专业发展的互动

教师是课程改革的关键,任何课程改革方案,没有教师的合作和努力,都不会收到预期的效果。新课程的实施对教师自身的专业素养提出了新的挑战和要求,在新课程实施的不同阶段,教师对自身的专业发展有不同的需求,应当关注教师的这些需求,使教师在新课程的实施中不断成长。     

解构与重构:将小学科学课程转换为移动学习课程

移动通讯技术可以支持随时随地的无缝学习,而传统的教学材料没有为学生成为自我导向的社会学习者做好充分准备。文章主要介绍新加坡某小学三年级和四年级将科学课程转换为学生使用移动设备可以在课堂情境中使用的移动课程的一种方法。作者通过与实验班教师合作改造已有的课程,总结了解构和重构课程过程中使用的方法以及经验。第一个三年级实验班通过实施该课程一年的研究结果表明,实验班的教师和学生通过重新设计的课堂在思想认识和实践方面都产生了预期的变化,而且学生的期末考试成绩也有了明显的进步。文章通过分享一种移动课程设计的方法以期为国内的移动课程开发和实施方面的研究提供参考和借鉴。     

Cloud Pedagogy: Utilizing Web-Based Technologies for the Promotion of Social Constructivist Learning in Science Teacher Preparation Courses

The new guidelines for science education emphasize the need to introduce computers and digital technologies as a means of enabling visualization and data collection and analysis. This requires science teachers to bring advanced technologies into the classroom and use them wisely. Hence, the goal of this study was twofold: to examine the application of web-based technologies in science teacher preparation courses and to examine pre-service teachers’ perceptions of “cloud pedagogy”—an instructional framework that applies technologies for the promotion of social constructivist learning. The study included university teachers (N = 48) and pre-service science teachers (N = 73). Data were collected from an online survey, written reflections, and interviews. The findings indicated that university teachers use technologies mainly for information management and the distribution of learning materials and less for applying social constructivist pedagogy. University teachers expect their students (i.e., pre-service science teachers) to use digital tools in their future classroom to a greater extent than they themselves do. The findings also indicated that the “cloud pedagogy” was perceived as an appropriate instructional framework for contemporary science education. The application of the cloud pedagogy fosters four attributes: the ability to adapt to frequent changes and uncertain situations, the ability to collaborate and communicate in decentralized environments, the ability to generate data and manage it, and the ability to explore new venous.     

Science Teacher Attitudes Toward Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study was to determine teachers’ attitudes, values, and beliefs about inquiry. The participants of this study were 275 middle grade and secondary science teachers from four districts in North Carolina. Issues such as class size, accountability, curricular demands, and administrative support are perceived as constraints, impeding the use of inquiry. These are the issues that must be effectively dealt with in the professional education and professional development of all science teachers.     

对教师教育课程设置一体化的思考及建议

教师教育课程设置一体化应处理好学术性与师范性、学科性与教育性、职前培养与职后培训等诸因素之间的关系,在此基础上构建职前培养、入职教育和职后培训相互贯通的一体化的课程体系。     

理科新课程标准和数字化实验技术

分析了我国中学物理、化学、生物等理科新课程标准重视探究学习和实验教学的理念以及以探究为中心的国际科学教育改革潮流,讨论了现代实验技术在中学教学中的应用,介绍了广州市一些学校将传统实验设备与数字化实验技术结合建设探究实验室的情况,提出了探究实验室建设整体解决的建议：