This paper reports on teachers' use of concept mapping as an alternative assessment strategy in advanced level biology classes and its effects on students' cognitive skills on selected biology concepts. Using a mixed methods approach, the study employed a pre-test/post-test quasiexperimental design involving 156 students and 8 teachers from intact classes. A researcherconstructed Biology Cognitive Skills Test was used to collect the quantitative data. Qualitative data were collected through interviews and students' personal documents. The data showed that the participants utilized concept mapping in various ways and they described positive experiences while being engaged in its use. The main challenge cited by teachers was the limited time available for more consistent use. The results showed that the use of concept mapping in advanced level biology can lead to learning gains that exceed those achieved in classes where mainly traditional methods are used. The students in the concept mapping experimental groups performed significantly better than their peers in the control group on both the lowerorder (F (1) ¼ 21.508; p , .001) and higher-order (F (1) ¼ 42.842, p , .001) cognitive items of the biology test. A mean effect size of .56 was calculated representing the contribution of treatment to the students' performance on the test items.

This paper presents a case study of the work of two teacher educators with an in-service science teacher. This case study forms one cycle of a larger action research study that will eventually lead to a model of how the third-space concept for teacher professional development can be realized in natural school settings. The case study took place in a Grade Eight integrated science class and was designed to facilitate collaborations at multiple levels -between teacher educators within a university setting, among practitioners within a school setting and between university teacher educators and school practitioners. Among the issues emerging as the research evolved were the various roles we assumed, such as coach, critical observer, decision-maker and advisor. Issues related to developing trust, teacher confidence, teacher tacit knowledge, time for reflection and classroom realities were significant findings. The research facilitated our personal and professional growth as we gained insights into the inside working of the curriculum and our responses to situations that emerged. This first phase of the research provided the experiences and theoretical insights that, with further research, can contribute toward developing a model of continuous professional development within a Caribbean context.

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