Supporting the Professional Development of Science Teacher Educators Through Shadowing

Despite calls for more attention to the preparation of those who prepare teachers, there have been few examples of institutionally sanctioned and structured learning opportunities created to equip faculty with the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective teacher educators. In this paper, we describe a cross-disciplinary and collaborative initiative that involves shadowing of colleagues as a means of supporting the professional learning of science teacher educators. We illustrate the unique affordance of this model and highlight our professional learning across multiple dimensions: cognitive, practical, relational, and emotional. We illustrate how shadowing can support the learning of faculty at different career stages and from different disciplinary backgrounds and entry points to teacher education through a series of vignettes of shadowing in a variety of course contexts. Finally, we offer considerations for the transferability of our model to other institutions and contexts, and how further research conducted in the context of shadowing could help deepen our understanding of the knowledge base of science teacher educators and how this knowledge is developed.

     

Validation ROI: An HPT case study from the medical device industry

Validation is both a process and a function within Company ABC. Using the human performance technology (HPT) process, interventions were prescribed to address identified performance gaps. Forecasting an annual return on investment (ROI) based on goals yielded a ROI of 168%. Data collected for the first quarter of 2009 yielded a calculated ROI of 326%. This study discusses the HPT process and what was done to achieve the results.     

The development of place value concepts: Approximation before principles

Place value concepts were measured longitudinally from kindergarten (2017) to first grade (2018) in a diverse sample (n = 279; M_age = 5.76 years, SD = 0.55; 135 females; 41% Black, 38% White, 8% Asian, 12% Latino). Children completed three syntactic tasks that required an explicit understanding of base-10 symbols and three approximate tasks that could be completed without this explicit understanding. Approximate performance was significantly better in both age groups. A factor analysis confirmed that syntactic and approximate tasks tapped separate latent variables in kindergarten, but not in first grade. Path analyses indicated that only kindergarten approximate performance predicted overall first-grade place value understanding. These findings suggest that explicit understanding of base-10 principles develops from implicit, partial knowledge of multidigit numbers.