Using a Professional Development Program for Enhancing Chilean Biology Teachers’ Understanding of Nature of Science (NOS) and Their Perceptions About Using History of Science to Teach NOS

A number of authors have recognized the importance of understanding the nature of science (NOS) for scientific literacy. Different instructional strategies such as decontextualized, hands-on inquiry, and history of science (HOS) activities have been proposed for teaching NOS. This article seeks to understand the contribution of HOS in enhancing biology teachers’ understanding of NOS, and their perceptions about using HOS to teach NOS. These teachers (N = 8), enrolled in a professional development program in Chile are, according to the national curriculum, expected to teach NOS, but have no specific NOS and HOS training. Teachers’ views of NOS were assessed using the VNOS-D+ questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of two modules about science instruction and NOS. Both the pre- and the post-test were accompanied by interviews, and in the second session we collected information about teachers’ perceptions of which interventions had been more significant in changing their views on NOS. Finally, the teachers also had to prepare a lesson plan for teaching NOS that included HOS. Some of the most important study results were: significant improvements were observed in teachers’ understanding of NOS, although they assigned different levels of importance to HOS in these improvements; and although the teachers improved their understanding of NOS, most had difficulties in planning lessons about NOS and articulating historical episodes that incorporated NOS. The relationship between teachers’ improved understanding of NOS and their instructional NOS skills is also discussed.     

An Integrative View of School Functioning: Transactions Between Self‐Regulation,School Engagement,and Teacher–Child Relationship Quality

This study investigates the dynamic interplay between teacher–child relationship quality and children's behaviors across kindergarten and first grade to predict academic competence in first grade. Using a sample of 338 ethnically diverse 5‐year‐old children, nested path analytic models were conducted to examine bidirectional pathways between children's behaviors and teacher–child relationship quality. Low self‐regulation in kindergarten fall, as indexed by inattention and impulsive behaviors, predicted more conflict with teachers in kindergarten spring and this effect persisted into first grade. Conflict and low self‐regulation jointly predicted decreases in school engagement which in turn predicted first‐grade academic competence. Findings illustrate the importance of considering transactions between self‐regulation, teacher–child relationship quality, and school engagement in predicting academic competence.     

Supplementing literacy instruction with a media-rich intervention: Results of a randomized controlled trial

This study investigates whether a curriculum supplement organized as a sequence of teacher-led literacy activities using digital content from public educational television programs can improve early literacy outcomes of low-income preschoolers. The study sample was 436 children in 80 preschool classrooms in California and New York. Preschool teachers were randomly assigned to implement either a 10-week media-rich early literacy intervention that employed clips from Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and SuperWhy! or to a comparison condition. The media-rich literacy supplement had positive impacts (+0.20 ≤ d ≤ +0.55) on children's ability to recognize letters, sounds of letters and initial sounds of words, and children's concepts of story and print. The study findings show the potential for incorporating literacy content from public media programming into curriculum supplements supported by professional development to impact early literacy outcomes of low-income children.     

Education research and educational practice: The qualities of a close relationship

The relationship between education practice and education research has a long history. In modern times, education practice and its relation to education research has been central to debates about the nature and quality of education as an academic discipline in universities. This article reports an empirical study that investigated a new instantiation of the practice–theory debate: ‘close-to-practice’ research in education. The research sought to (a) define and further articulate the concept of close-to-practice research and (b) provide reflections on the quality of close-to-practice research. The orientation of the work reported in this article is informed by theory on traditions of knowledge in the organisation of education that have contributed to the development of education as an academic discipline. The main section of the article reports the findings of the empirical study. The research design was a rapid evidence assessment (REA), and a series of interviews with education researchers whose experiences were highly relevant to understanding of close-to-practice research issues. The conclusions of the research are reported in relation to how close-to-practice research might be defined, including in relation to quality, but also implications for education as a discipline in universities subject to nationwide assessments of quality.     

Evaluation of a High-Engagement Teaching Program for STEM Graduate Students: Outcomes of the Future Academic Scholars in Teaching (FAST) Fellowship Program

Higher education institutions prepare future faculty members for multiple roles, including teaching. However, teaching professional development programs for graduate students vary widely. We present evaluation data from a high engagement program for STEM doctoral students. We analyzed the impact on three cohorts of participants over three academic years and identified the components most influential upon their teaching professional development. Participants found the year-long teaching assessment project and the disciplinary and reflective focus instrumental for improving their knowledge of teaching and learning. We recommend these components for the design of other such high-engagement programs.