An Examination of the Changes in Science Teaching Orientations and Technology-Enhanced Tools for Student Learning in the Context of Professional Development

Abstract

This research examines how science teaching orientations and beliefs about technology-enhanced tools change over time in professional development (PD). The primary data sources for this study came from learning journals of 8 eighth grade science teachers at the beginning and conclusion of a year of PD. Based on the analysis completed, Information Transmission (IT) and Struggling with Standards-Based Reform (SSBR) profiles were found at the beginning of the PD, while SSBR and Standards-Based Reform (SBR) profiles were identified at the conclusion of PD. All profiles exhibited Vision I beliefs about the goals and purposes for science education, while only the SBR profile exhibited Vision II goals and purposes for science teaching. The IT profile demonstrated naïve or unrevealed beliefs about the nature of science, while the SSBR and SBR profiles had more sophisticated beliefs in this area. The IT profile was grounded in more teachercentered beliefs about science teaching and learning as the other two profiles revealed more student-centered beliefs. While no beliefs about technology-enhanced tools were found for the IT profile, these were found for the other two profiles. Our findings suggest promising implications for (a) Roberts' Vision II as a central support for reform efforts, (b) situating technologyenhanced tools within the beliefs about science teaching and learning dimension of science teaching orientations, and (c) revealing how teacher orientations develop as a result of PD.

A Face-to-Face Professional Development Model to Enhance Teaching of Online Research Strategies

“…As in other studies (Campbell et al, 2014;Walker et al, 2012), teachers in the present investigation indicated after the professional development that they grew professionally in understanding how to provide differentiated instruction to students and in integrating technology into their instruction. These topics are critical for teaching strategies for online academic research, and the results show that the face-to-face professional development provided reasonable coverage with relevant discussions and high-quality materials focused on differentiated instruction.…”

“…Professional development that incorporates technology integration has been shown to result in more positive and sophisticated beliefs among teachers about using technology in their teaching (Campbell, Zuwallack, Longhurst, Shelton, & Wolf, 2014). Ritzhaupt, Dawson, and Cavanaugh (2012) found that students made better use of technology for learning when it was integrated effectively by their teachers into the curriculum, which could be enhanced by teachers' prior technology experiences.…”

Technologies and Reformed-Based Science Instruction: The Examination of a Professional Development Model Focused on Supporting Science Teaching and Learning with Technologies

“…I didn't really do inquiry before… and now I do it often. I had always been taught that inquiry was the thing I should be striving for, but I had never seen it in action or had anyone explain to me how to implement it (Campbell et al 2014(Campbell et al , p. 1840.…”

“…• Students can also see in real time how charts and graphs change as data are put into a data table. • It [technology-Google Docs specifically] is also a way for them to organize data that they collect in other class investigations and a way to communicate or collaborate with their work groups or with me [the teacher] (Campbell et al 2014(Campbell et al , p. 1835 Koehler and Mishra (2005), as well as other researchers (e.g., Campbell and Abd-Hamid 2013;Crippen 2012;Niess 2005;Pamuk 2012), have identified how TPACK takes into account another realm of teacher knowledge (i.e., technology) and considers the role TPACK plays in teachers' conceptualization and enactment of instruction in classrooms. While more research is certainly needed to learn more about the decisions teachers in this study are making about using technological resources in science instruction, these findings, especially significant improvements in TUSI ratings recorded through classroom observations when comparing before and after 1 year of PD, provide initial evidence of teachers' developing TPACK for reformed-based science teaching that moves beyond the more commonly found traditional applications of technology in science classrooms described by Bell et al (2013), , and .…”

“…In our previous research (Campbell et al 2014), we noted how this transformation is occurring in students' lives as social networking, online gaming, iPods, and mobile phones are found as fixtures of youth culture (Ito et al 2008) or as science fields are emerging (Hey et al 2009) and science practices are being transformed with technology (Sabelli 2006). Beyond this, educational researchers and learning scientists have recognized the promise of technology for supporting design and research in teaching and learning.…”