Improving science teachers’ nature of science views through an innovative continuing professional development program

Kartal, Eda Erdaş; Cobern, William W.; Doğan, Nihal; İrez, Serhat; Çakmakçı, Gültekin; Yalaki, Yalçın

doi:10.1186/s40594-018-0125-4

Cited by 30 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The teachers in our study were given the opportunity to discuss research in the context of their occupation and to work collaboratively on assignments connecting their practice and the theory they had learned. The collaborative work was intended to share their practical experience and deeper their analysis of their practice (Erdas Kartal et al, 2018;Roth et al, 2017). Their questions revealed that they were thinking about practical ways to use the theory in their work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One suggestion is to change research to better align with the needs of practice. This path calls for teachers and researchers to work together as collaborative partners in, for example, research schools that are infrastructures for connecting educational research with educational practice (Hinton & Fischer, 2008), or during professional development programs that enable the teachers to develop research based activities (e.g., Erdas Kartal et al, 2018). Another possible solution is to better communicate research results: "good communication with practitioners which means that the relevant outcomes are translated in such a way that they become palatable, accessible, and usable for the teachers" (De Corte, 2000, p. 249).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Toward narrowing the theory–practice gap: characterizing evidence from in-service biology teachers’ questions asked during an academic course

Shaharabani

Yarden

2019

IJ STEM Ed

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Background: The gap between theory and teachers' practice is a barrier to education improvement. There is therefore an ongoing need to understand teachers' thinking and find new ways to meaningfully relate theory and practice in STEM education. The research explores, through teachers-as-learners' questions, the connections made by experienced high-school biology teachers between theory and practice, their practical concerns, and the contribution of a supportive course pedagogy to these connections. The research included 31 experienced high-school biology teachers that participated in a special graduate program. Results: Applying a grounded theory approach, the analysis of the teachers' questions, asked as a part of their course assignments, yielded four categories: theory, practice, practice and theory, practice vs. theory. We found that most of the biology teachers' questions asked under a supportive pedagogical design, directed at mediating theory and practice, associated practice and theory. The teachers formed two types of connections between practice and theory in their questions. While asking questions associating practice and theory, the teachers mentioned practical aspects of their work. The types of connections between theory and practice are discussed, as well as the relevance to teacher education. Conclusions: The opportunity to ask questions during assignments that are topic-specific and designed to combine practice and theory enabled teachers to think of both domains and try to better understand their association. The research results indicate that the questions asked by teachers-as-learners can serve a dual purpose: as a way to help teachers direct their thinking to the association between theory and practice, and as a tool to describe and understand teachers' tacit thinking. This research also emphasizes the importance of supporting STEM teachers by developing courses and professional development programs that explicitly combine educational theory and practice.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward narrowing the theory–practice gap: characterizing evidence from in-service biology teachers’ questions asked during an academic course

Shaharabani

Yarden

2019

IJ STEM Ed

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“…Biology teachers of middle school should make sustained professional development plans. They should use creative techniques flexibly on the basis of creative thinking and form biological science literacy in life (Eda et al, 2018). First, it is important to keep curiosity and insight into life.…”

Section: ) To Shape Innovative Personalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Status Quo and Reform Thinking of the Talent Training Mode of Biology Teachers in Middle School

Peng¹,

Zhang²,

Peng³

et al. 2020

JEL

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It has always been one of the hot spots of the whole society to improve teachers’ quality and ability. With the progress of the era and the rapid development of biology, it puts forward higher requirements for the cultivation of biology teachers of middle school. How to cultivate a large number of high-quality biology teachers of middle school with good ethics and outstanding abilities is a focus problem worth exploring. There are some problems in the traditional training mode of biology normal students, such as backward teaching idea, unreasonable teaching arrangement and uneven teaching level. In view of these problems, normal universities should take a series of reform measures to promote the professional development of middle school biology teachers. Therefore, this paper summarizes the reform necessity, current situation and existing problems of the talent training mode. It also puts forward a series of reform measures on the talent training mode in the aspects of learning, innovation and reflection. Thus, this paper will provide important reference for the reform of talent training mode of middle school biology teachers in the future.

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“…A growing interest in continuing professional development (CPD) programs in recent years has been evident in the educational context such as the following but not limited to vocational teaching (Andersson and Köpsén, 2015), language teaching (e.g., Novozhenina and Lopez-Pinzon, 2018), science teaching (e.g., Kartal et al, 2018), and mathematics teaching (e.g., Jacob, Hill, and Corey, 2017). The primary goal of embedding these CPD programs is to support teachers' quest for lifelong learning and eventually improve educational outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Teacher’s Competence in Action Research (Tcar) Questionnaire

Cortes

Pineda

Geverola³

2021

Adv Educ

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The instrument that assesses teachers’ competence on AR methodology is limited. Thus, it is one of the issues concerning evaluating the effectiveness of a professional development program on designing AR projects. It is difficult to determine how much and what teachers have learned in a course or training. Thus, this cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate further the validity and reliability of the Teacher’s Competence in Action Research Questionnaire, a seven-factor instrument previously proposed by Cortes, Pineda, and Geverola (2020). This self-report scale was not subjected to confirmatory factor analysis, had less sample size, and had homogenous participants. In the present study, 450 participants, both pre- and in-service teachers and from different teaching specializations, answered the survey. The data were analyzed using the confirmatory factor analysis method through the Maximum Likelihood approach. Four model fit indices recorded satisfactory results (CFI = 0.890; TLI = 0.884; RMSEA = 0.072; SRMR = 0.039), thus, supporting the seven-factor scale. The standardized factor loading, composite reliability, average variance extracted, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient/s of the entire scale and within subscales also provide evidence of the convergent validity and reliability of the scale. There may be an issue in the discriminant validity of the scale, but the conceptual distinctions of each factor as supported by theoretical foundation and arguments provide a principal reason for retaining all the items and factors.

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Improving science teachers’ nature of science views through an innovative continuing professional development program

Cited by 30 publications

References 36 publications

Toward narrowing the theory–practice gap: characterizing evidence from in-service biology teachers’ questions asked during an academic course

Toward narrowing the theory–practice gap: characterizing evidence from in-service biology teachers’ questions asked during an academic course

The Status Quo and Reform Thinking of the Talent Training Mode of Biology Teachers in Middle School

A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Teacher’s Competence in Action Research (Tcar) Questionnaire

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