Multi‐Year Professional Development Grounded in Educative Curriculum Focused on Integrating Technology With Reformed Science Teaching Principles

Abstract

Visions of science teaching and learning in the newest U.S. standards documents are dramatically different than those found in most classrooms. This research addresses these differences through closely examining one professional development (PD) project that connects teacher learning and teacher practice with student learning/achievement. This study examines the effects on eighth grade science teachers and their students in the context of a PD focused on the integration of information communication technologies and reformed science teaching practices. Findings from this investigation suggest that teachers who participated in PD for two years learned more about technology, improved their practice, and their students' achievement was significantly higher compared to teachers who participated in one year of the PD or non-participating peers. Science educators face multiple challenges as they attempt to deliver instruction in fundamentally different ways than what they experienced as learners. The delivery of this professional learning suggest that PD for science teachers should include educative learning experiences if understandings of reforms supported by research are to be realized. 430Volume 116 (8)

Integrating Teachers to Teach an Interdisciplinary STEM-Focused Program about Sound, Waves and Communication Systems

“…The teachers engaged in sustained inquiry-based experiences and used technology such as handheld probe-ware (e.g., pH, conductivity and heart rate), graphing calculators, interactive whiteboards and data analysis software in the context of the subject matter. Similarly, Longhurst et al (2016) described a 2-year professional development program in which teachers learned four instructional modules focused on integrating inquiry-based science instruction using technologies such as Google Docs, photo-and video-editing, 3D virtual-simulation programs and educational gaming.…”

Influence of Online Professional Learning Networks on Teacher Self-Efficacy for Using Information Communication Technology

“…This is important because ICT has the potential to support learning in engaging ways, transferring knowledge actively rather than passively (Cherner & Curry, 2017;Christensen et al, 2018;Lee et al, 2017). However, ongoing changes in technology and pedagogical strategies, coinciding with the growing pressures for teachers to develop technologically savvy students, have resulted in teachers becoming inundated with demands for continuous professional development (Adjapong et al, 2018;Azorín, 2020;Christie, 2016;Cook et al, 2017;Edwards, 2017;García Espinosa et al, 2015;Hatlevik, 2017;Krutka et al, 2017;Longhurst et al, 2016;Prestridge, 2017). Also, researchers have criticized teacher PD for lack of evidence that it changes teachers' practice due to its one-size-ts-all approach with little teacher buy-in and poor implementation (Bowe & Gore, 2017;Parsons et al, 2019;Trust, 2016;Trust et al, 2018).…”