The Impact of Writing Intensive Professional Development on High School Teachersa Science Content Knowledge of Energy in Systems

The Communication in Science Inquiry Project CISIP investigated the impact of writing intensive inquiry based professional development on high school teachers science content knowledge of Energy in Systems In particular we investigated whether different forms of assessment provided different information about the depth of teacher knowledge We developed a two-tier Energy Test linked to both national and state science standards which was administered both before and after science teacher particip-ation in 23 hours of professional development on energy in biological and societal systems Our study found that we were successful in relaying content knowledge to the teachers When we analyzed misconceptions in distracter choices and written responses on the same test however we found we were successful in some areas but not in others The application of knowledge gained about energy in systems through writing scientific explanations was the least successful of al

A professional learning community activity for science teachers: How to incorporate discourse-rich instructional strategies into science lessons

In this article we describe current educational research underlying a comprehensive model for building a scientific classroom discourse community. We offer a professional development activity for a school-based professional learning community, providing specific science instructional strategies within this interactive teaching model. This design activity provides a quick and practical means of transforming science lessons to be more engaging for students. Through this activity teachers can redesign any science lesson by focusing on each of the five core components of a scientific classroom discourse community: (a) scientific inquiry, (b) oral discourse, (c) written discourse, (d) academic language development, and (e) learning principles. By using this structure teachers will be better able to meet the Next Generation Science Standards and facilitate greater interdisciplinary learning. An example of a redesigned water cycle lesson is provided

Science Teachers’ Professional Growth and the Communication in Science Inquiry Project

The Communication in Science Inquiry Project (CISIP) a National Science Foundation-funded, standards-based model of a scientific classroom discourse community (SCDC) was designed to meet the need for highly-qualified teachers and science education reform. The model included: (a) inquiry; (b) oral discourse; (c) written discourse; (d) academic language development, and (e) learning principles. Research and evaluation feedback were mechanisms by which CISIP become self-regulating, promoting instructional change and incorporating more aspects of inquiry-based learning with academic language development strategies. The program underwent a philosophical shift from teachers-as-consumers to teachers-as-producers based on classroom observations using a professional development-aligned classroom observation instrument that showed teachers were not implementing the CISIP model. Research indicated that CISIP was effective in changing how teachers taught science by providing sustained, long-term professional development. Teachers who participated for greater than one year showed the most change in their teaching practices, becoming more aligned with science education standards documents. Current and future directions in science teacher professional development (PD) include: (a) studying how teacher PD affects student learning; (b) building validity arguments for research instruments to be used for generalizing findings from multiple PD contexts, and (c) the need for improving PD providers’ understanding of how to conduct effective PD and engage in research that contributes to our understanding of 21st century science education reform

Science Teachers’ Professional Growth and the Communication in Science Inquiry Project

The Communication in Science Inquiry Project (CISIP) a National Science Foundation-funded, standards-based model of a scientific classroom discourse community (SCDC) was designed to meet the need for highly-qualified teachers and science education reform. The model included: (a) inquiry; (b) oral discourse; (c) written discourse; (d) academic language development, and (e) learning principles. Research and evaluation feedback were mechanisms by which CISIP become self-regulating, promoting instructional change and incorporating more aspects of inquiry-based learning with academic language development strategies. The program underwent a philosophical shift from teachers-as-consumers to teachers-as-producers based on classroom observations using a professional development-aligned classroom observation instrument that showed teachers were not implementing the CISIP model. Research indicated that CISIP was effective in changing how teachers taught science by providing sustained, long-term professional development. Teachers who participated for greater than one year showed the most change in their teaching practices, becoming more aligned with science education standards documents. Current and future directions in science teacher professional development (PD) include: (a) studying how teacher PD affects student learning; (b) building validity arguments for research instruments to be used for generalizing findings from multiple PD contexts, and (c) the need for improving PD providers’ understanding of how to conduct effective PD and engage in research that contributes to our understanding of 21st century science education reform

DISCOURSE IN INQUIRY SCIENCE CLASSROOMS (DiISC): REFERENCE MANUAL

One of the greatest challenges facing scholars and funding agencies interested in reform is determining the impact of classroom practice on student achievement. The degree to which this effect can be determined is contingent upon instruments that measure teachers’ ability to enact specific instructional strategies. Frequently, a general instrument will not do because it was not designed to measure the unique focus of a professional development program or a set of variables of interest to researchers. Consequently, specific instruments should be developed to allow researchers to measure fidelity of classroom implementation. Fidelity of implementation is always the first step in determining effectiveness. For without fidelity of implementation, it is impossible to determine whether what the teacher does has an impact on student achievement. This manual reports on the development of just such an instrument, called the Discourse in Inquiry Science Classrooms (DiISC). The instrument was developed to measure teachers’ use of strategies in their classrooms to foster a science classroom discourse community (SCDC) as a way of furthering achievement in science. The DiISC instructional strategies that support the creation of a SCDC address oral and written discourse, and academic language development embedded in inquiry and they also reflect learning principles. We believe that the creation of the DiISC is especially timely for two reasons. First, science educators are beginning to focus on communication in science as a learning tool to increase students’ conceptual understanding and achievement in science. Second, we need an instrument to measure teachers’ ability to support the academic language development in science of the increasing number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in our schools. The DiISC is an instrument for observing teachers, not students. It describes what teachers do and focuses on five sets of instructional strategies that form the scales of the DiISC. These scales are Inquiry, Oral Discourse, Writing, Academic Language Development and Learning Principles. Consequently, the stems of many of the items start with the phrase, The teacher… , as in “The teacher creates an environment that supports inquiry”

Elementary Teachers’ Comprehension of Flooding through Inquiry-based Professional Development and Use of Self-regulation Strategies

This study focuses on elementary teachers’ comprehension of flooding before and after inquiry-based professional development (PD). There was an improvement in teachers’ understanding toward a normative view from pre- to post-test (n = 17, mean gain = 4.3, SD = 3.27). Several misunderstandings and a general lack of knowledge about flooding emerged from the geoscience content two-tier pre-test, some of which persisted throughout the PD seminar while other responses provided evidence of teachers’ improved understanding. The concepts that teachers struggled with were also apparent upon examining teachers’ reflections upon their learning and teaching practices throughout the seminar. Teachers were challenged as they attempted to add new academic language, such as storm surge and discharge, to their prior understandings. Flooding concepts that teachers showed the least improvement on included analyzing a topographic region, reading a map image, and hydrograph interpretation. Teachers’ greatest areas of improved understanding occurred in understanding the probability and role of ground conditions in flooding events. Teachers demonstrated considerable growth in their understanding of some flooding concepts through scaffolded inquiry lessons modeled throughout the PD. Those teachers who had greater prior knowledge and demonstrated more use of self-regulated learning showed the most change toward a normative view of flooding. The explicit modeling and participation in inquiry-based science activities and written responses to self-regulatory learning prompts throughout the seminar supported teachers’ learning

A professional learning community activity for science teachers: How to incorporate discourse-rich instructional strategies into science lessons

In this article we describe current educational research underlying a comprehensive model for building a scientific classroom discourse community. We offer a professional development activity for a school-based professional learning community, providing specific science instructional strategies within this interactive teaching model. This design activity provides a quick and practical means of transforming science lessons to be more engaging for students. Through this activity teachers can redesign any science lesson by focusing on each of the five core components of a scientific classroom discourse community: (a) scientific inquiry, (b) oral discourse, (c) written discourse, (d) academic language development, and (e) learning principles. By using this structure teachers will be better able to meet the Next Generation Science Standards and facilitate greater interdisciplinary learning. An example of a redesigned water cycle lesson is provided

Modeling Teacher Professional Development and Classroom Implementation of Instructional Strategies for Building Scientific Classroom Discourse Communities

Three-hundred-and-twenty-three classroom observations of secondary science and language arts teachers were made over two academic years while teachers engaged in professional development (PD) in how to construct scientific classroom discourse communities. These observations were used, along with teacher demographic information, to build a hierarchical linear model to explore statistical relationships. The length of time that teachers received PD was chosen as the exclusive predictor of teacher change while a schools’ percentage of students who qualified for free and reduced lunch (a proxy for SES) was chosen as the exclusive predictor of intercepts. Over the course of two years, the teachers who had participated for longer periods of time used more of the PD, that is, they had higher rates of change than newly participating teachers. The model indicated, with statistical significance, that SES predicted teachers\u27 baseline levels of behavior associated with the PD they were yet to receive. However, with respect to teachers’ change over time, only the amount of PD that a teacher received or their treatment group membership predicted use with statistical significance. Ergo, while teachers\u27 students\u27 SES was important in determining where teachers began, the treatment itself accounted for how teachers’ instructional practices changed over time

Elementary Teachers’ Conceptions of Flooding Before and After Professional Development

This study focuses on elementary teachers\u27 conceptions of flooding before and after inquiry-based Earth science content-based professional development. Several misconceptions emerged from the science content two tier pre-post test, some of which persisted throughout the institute while others led to evidence of teachers\u27 conceptual change. On the post-test some teachers\u27 ideas emerged as hybrid conceptions as they applied newly acquired academic language to prior conceptions. There was a significant increase (n = 17, mean gain = 4.3 (SD = 3.27, t (17) = 5.69, p \u3c .000) from the pre- to post-test. The concepts most resistant to change from pre- to post-test were analyzing an overall topographic region, reading a map image, and hydrograph interpretation. The highest frequency of hybrid conceptions occurred as teachers attempted to add new academic language, such as storm surge and discharge, to their prior understandings. Teachers’ greatest conceptual change occurred in understanding the probability and role of ground conditions in flooding events. Teachers demonstrated significant growth in their understanding of flooding concepts through scaffolded inquiry lessons modeled through the professional development. Teachers who had greater levels of prior knowledge showed the most change to a normative view of flooding. This speaks to the importance of building teachers\u27 background knowledge before initiating professional development with complex science concepts