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.     

Conceptualising self-generating online teacher professional development

In 2012, a research project was implemented to investigate the possibility and effectiveness of instituting a personalised and virtually networked mode of professional development to promote teacher confidence and competence with information and communications technology and its use as a key component of teachers’ pedagogy. The aim of the project was to examine an online mode of professional development where a network of teachers was built without any face-to-face contact and where the approach for professional development was personalised and self-directed. Six geographically dispersed schools in Queensland were involved, with 12 teachers participating over the school year supported by a mentor. Findings reveal that teachers operated in an independent manner, acknowledging community but taking from rather than contributing to the generation of co-created knowledge. Implications drawn from the case studies suggest that greater milestone-setting, multiple levels of leadership and special interest groups are required to support interaction between users and content while still maintaining an agile approach.     

The use of poetry in a spiral-patterned methodology for research about love in early childhood

Research about love in early childhood education and care is rare. Love is difficult topic to research and write about in scholarly contexts. In order to properly explore love in professional contexts, practitioner narratives on the topic were sought through individual, unstructured interviews. A spiral-patterned methodological approach was conceived of to convey the slow, recursive research process, with poetry-writing as a principle method of analysis. Other research activities took place as part of the process of making meaning, including mapping, reflective blogging, autobiographical compositions and thematic analysis. The topic of love was constructed as important in early childhood education and care. The spiral-patterned approach, with multiple methods and time to dwell on the data, was found to be helpful concept in research about affective matters.     

Initial Efficacy of a Fraction-Vocabulary Intervention for Students Experiencing Mathematics Difficulty in Grade 4

This quasi-experimental study was designed to investigate the initial efficacy of a fraction-vocabulary intervention for Grade 4 students with mathematics difficulty (MD) and to explore its impact on relevant fraction competencies. Thirty-three students were assigned to either the intervention condition (n = 16) or a business-as-usual comparison condition (n = 17). The intervention occurred 3 sessions per week for 4 weeks, for a total of 11 sessions. Results indicated the main effect of the fraction-vocabulary intervention was significant for fraction-vocabulary posttest and one fraction competency—fraction arithmetic. That is, students with MD can successfully learn fraction vocabulary via a brief intervention, and improved fraction-vocabulary knowledge may positively affect their fraction competencies.