Contrasting landscapes: A comparison of the impact of different induction programs on beginning secondary science teachers' practices, beliefs, and experiences

Abstract

Induction programs are essential in addressing the unique pedagogical and content needs of secondary science teachers. Yet most secondary science teachers have little access to general induction programs, and even less opportunity to participate in specialized science induction programs. This study examines the impact of three different induction programs on secondary science teachers. The teachers were matched by grade level among three groups; one group participated in a science-focused support program, another participated in a general support program, and a third had no formal support. All teachers were monitored during the spring semester to understand their teaching beliefs, instructional practices, and experiences in the classroom. The analysis of data revealed that the secondary science teachers in the science-focused support program implemented more student-centered inquiry lessons, held beliefs aligned with student-centered practices, and felt fewer constraints in their teaching than did the other two groups of teachers. This study reinforces the importance of induction programs for teachers, suggests there is a need for specialized support programs for beginning science teachers, and recommends that universities and school districts work together to develop such programs. ß

A Conflict in Your Head: An exploration of trainee science teachers’ subject matter knowledge development and its impact on teacher self‐confidence

“…The effectiveness of specialised, collegial support on outside specialism teaching supports the findings of Luft et al (2003) and Hoy and Spero (2005). These data also confirm the work of Youens and McCarthy (2007) in showing that school-based materials are used much more frequently than HEI-based sources for developing SMK (discussed below).…”

“…Besides these specifically SMK related issues, other research evidence indicates that specialised support helps trainee science teachers develop positively (Luft et al, 2003). In the present system, each trainee teacher is provided with an experienced science teacher as a "mentor" to assist them on teaching practice, as well as a university tutor.…”

The role of induction in learning to teach toward equity: A study of beginning science and mathematics teachers

“…To enable students from diverse populations to participate in these mathematics processes, teachers need to encourage all students to raise questions (Silver, Smith, & Nelson, 1995), use their varied linguistic and cultural resources (Moschkovich, 1999), and work together on complex mathematical problems for extended periods (Boaler, 2003(Boaler, , 2004. Ongoing support and guidance are thought crucial to assist beginning science and mathematics teachers in the difficult task of implementing these reform-minded practices (Luft, Roehrig, & Patterson, 2003).…”

“…Loucks-Horsley et al (1998) argued that the sharing of pedagogical content knowledge constitutes the core of mentoring; as such, mentors and beginning teachers should teach the same content area. Furthermore, Luft et al (2003) found that subject-specific induction programs were more powerful than one-size-fits-all efforts.…”

Diferencias entre Expectativas y Logros en la Formación Inicial del Profesorado de Secundaria

“…Los profesores y profesoras generan concepciones o presentan creencias sobre la educación y el desarrollo profesional que influyen notablemente en su actividad docente y en el desarrollo del currículum (Wallace y Nam-Hwa, 2004;Nilsson, 2008), de modo que deben tenerse en cuenta durante los procesos de formación inicial y permanente para ayudarles a construir conocimientos significativos sobre la docencia y desarrollar competencias profesionales adecuadas (Luft, Roehrig y Patterson, 2003;Korthagen, Loughran y Russell, 2006;Pool, Reitsma y Mentz, 2013). La investigación sobre el pensamiento docente del profesorado en formación afecta al estudio de sus ideas previas sobre la enseñanza, el aprendizaje y la evaluación (Segers y Tillema, 2011;Subramaniam, 2013) y aspectos tales como la profesionalidad docente (Pontes, Serrano y Poyato, 2013) o las expectativas ante la formación inicial (Solís, Rivero y Porlán, 2013;Serrano y Pontes, 2015).…”