Given the large investment in teacher professional development (PD), further understanding of the factors that impact PD success is needed. In a previous study, the authors established a framework for categorizing PD projects using the... more
Given the large investment in teacher professional development (PD), further understanding of the factors that impact PD success is needed. In a previous study, the authors established a framework for categorizing PD projects using the notion of orientations. A PD orientation is comprised of project characteristics that drive the PD design and implementation for that project. In this study, we applied this orientation framework to 14 science and mathematics PD projects and examined the relationship between projects of differing orientations and PD outcomes (e.g. perceived improvement in teaching practices). The results provide support for the value of the framework and demonstrate that PD projects with different orientations exhibit differing participant outcomes. This study also provides evidence of the value of this research framework for understanding how PD implementation characteristics are related to PD outcomes, as well as points to the value of a “balanced” orientation where both content and pedagogy are addressed in equal parts.
A modified version of the InVEST Volcanic Concept Survey (InVEST-VCS; Parham et al., 2010) was implemented in the fall 2010 semester in two college introductory geology courses at a Midwestern research institution. Course A is designed... more
A modified version of the InVEST Volcanic Concept Survey (InVEST-VCS; Parham et al., 2010) was implemented in the fall 2010 semester in two college introductory geology courses at a Midwestern research institution. Course A is designed for geology and non-geology students, required for geology majors, and includes a laboratory component. Course B is designed for non-geology students and does not have a laboratory component. Each course had a unit in plate tectonics prior to administering the survey. We ...
Ahi Evran Ünv. Kırşehir Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt 11,Sayı 4, Aralık 2010 Özel Sayı, Sayfa 223-241 A Self-Study of the Use of Concept Mapping to Assess NOS Dominike MERLE-JOHNSON 1 , Nattida PROMYOD 2 , Ya-Wen CHENG 3 , Deborah... more
Ahi Evran Ünv. Kırşehir Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt 11,Sayı 4, Aralık 2010 Özel Sayı, Sayfa 223-241 A Self-Study of the Use of Concept Mapping to Assess NOS Dominike MERLE-JOHNSON 1 , Nattida PROMYOD 2 , Ya-Wen CHENG 3 , Deborah HANUSCIN 4 ABSTRACT ...
ABSTRACT Video games have become a popular medium in our society, and recent scholarship suggests that games can support substantial learning. This study stems from a project in which we created a video game enabling students to use... more
ABSTRACT Video games have become a popular medium in our society, and recent scholarship suggests that games can support substantial learning. This study stems from a project in which we created a video game enabling students to use biotechnology to solve a societal problem. As students engaged in the game, they necessarily interacted with the underlying biological principles. The study focused on the extent to which students learned biology concepts in the context of a game-based curriculum. In particular, we explored learning among high school students, stratified across different academic levels (i.e., general, honors, and advanced). We used a pre/post-test repeated measures multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) design and a multi-level assessment strategy with assessments positioned at variable distances from the curriculum to illuminate the nature of student learning and the potential interactions of academic level and learning associated with the game-based curriculum. A total of 647 students from 31 different biology classes, taught by 10 different teachers, participated in the study. Results indicated statistically and practically significant gains in student performance on both a proximal (curriculum-aligned) test and a distal (standards-aligned) exam of biological content knowledge. Students from classes across all three academic levels demonstrated gains with relatively large effect sizes on the proximal test. Whereas the honors and advanced students demonstrated less substantial gains on the distal exam, the general students demonstrated gains of similar effect size on both the proximal and distal assessments. These results suggest that, despite teacher concerns about the potential effectiveness of gaming to support learning among students in lower academic levels, game-based curricula can support learning of important biological content for students of varying academic levels and may, in fact, be most beneficial for lower level students. The affordances of employing a multi-level assessment model for the investigation of innovative curricula are discussed.
Bu calisma bilimin dogasini ogretmek uzere kendi pedagojik alan bilgimizi inceledigimiz ve gelistirdigimiz bir oz-inceleme (self-study)calismasidir. Bu calismada bir ilkogretim fen ogretimi yontemleri dersinde fen bilgisi ogretmen... more
Bu calisma bilimin dogasini ogretmek uzere kendi pedagojik alan bilgimizi inceledigimiz ve gelistirdigimiz bir oz-inceleme (self-study)calismasidir. Bu calismada bir ilkogretim fen ogretimi yontemleri dersinde fen bilgisi ogretmen adaylarinin bilimin dogasi ile ilgili anlayislarini degerlendirmek uzere kullanilan kavram haritalarinin iki farkli kullanim seklini kesfettik. Katilimcilari iki gruba ayirdik. 1. Gruba kavram haritalarini olustururken bilimin dogasinin yonlerini baslangic noktasi olarak almalari, 2. gruba isekendi “bilim” kavramlarini olusturmalari soylendi. Calisma sonunda bulgular 1. grupta yer alan katilimcilara verilen bilimin dogasi yonlerinin baglantilari kurmakta onlarin isini zorlastirdigini gosterdi. Diger yandan, 2. grup iliskili kelimeleri bulmakta zorluk cekti. Bu bulgulara dayanarak her iki kavram haritasi olusturma yonteminin farkli degerlendirme amaclariyla kullanilabilecegi ve bilimin dogasi ogretiminin farkli asamalarinda ise yarar oldugunu soyleyebiliriz
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), according to Shulman (1987), is what makes possible the transformation of disciplinary content into forms that are accessible and attainable by students. This includes knowledge of how particular... more
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), according to Shulman
(1987), is what makes possible the transformation of disciplinary
content into forms that are accessible and attainable by
students. This includes knowledge of how particular subject
matter topics, problems, and issues can be organized,
represented, and adapted to the diverse interests and abilities of
learners and presented for instruction (Magnusson, Krajcik, &
Borko, 1999). Recently, researchers have argued that a parallel
form of PCK exists for science teacher educators (Abell et al.,
2009). Nonetheless, little is known about the process through
which teacher educators develop their PCK, and more
specifically, how doctoral programs can support prospective
teacher educators in this regard. The aim of this study was to
understand how a mentored internship experience within a
teacher professional development program contributes to the
development of doctoral students’ PCK for teaching teachers.
Through self‐study, three graduate students and their faculty
mentor documented the development of their PCK throughout the
Our study focused on high school teachers and professional developers participating in a community-centered professional development (PD) program focused on classroom assessment. We employed a communities of practice framework to situate... more
Our study focused on high school teachers and professional developers participating in a community-centered professional development (PD) program focused on classroom assessment. We employed a communities of practice framework to situate the research. The research question asked what role assessment tools played as boundary objects across communities. Two years of data collection included transcripts of collaborative meetings, online records of assessment development and discussion, records from classroom observations, and final assessment products. Data were analyzed by multiple researchers to identify emergent themes. Results demonstrated ways that assessment tools acted as boundary objects to support communication across communities of teacher, student, and professional developer. We described challenges and practices related to assessment tools as boundary objects and demonstrated ways they were re-interpreted. The findings of the study are unique, as they offer examples for setting up shared assessment-related goals and language among teachers and researchers to transform a very difficult practice (assessment!). Our study focused on high school teachers and professional developers, with a secondary focus on students, participating in a community-centered professional development (PD) program. We adopted a communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) theoretical approach that allowed examination of the practices and challenges experienced by individuals but with an awareness of the sociocultural contexts at the classroom, institutional, and regional levels. The aim of the PD program was to co-design and reflect on assessment tasks and practices to enhance chemistry learning. In particular, the chemistry teachers and the professional developers from a large university hailed from two different activity structures (i.e. high school classrooms and academe), each with different priorities and values (Levine, 2010), and brought unique knowledge to the collaboration.
