McGregor, Debra

Oversby, John

Woodhouse, Fiona

University of Huddersfield Repository

University of Huddersfield RepositoryMcGregor, Debra, Oversby, John and Woodhouse, FionaScience education research and teacher professional developmentOriginal CitationMcGregor, Debra, Oversby, John and Woodhouse, Fiona (2013) Science education research and teacher professional development. Education in Science, 251. pp. 26­27. ISSN 0013­1377 This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/33773/The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of theUniversity, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the itemson this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners.Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generallycan be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in anyformat or medium for personal research or study, educational or not­for­profitpurposes without prior permission or charge, provided:• The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy;• A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and• The content is not changed in any way.For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, pleasecontact the Repository Team at: E.mailbox@hud.ac.uk.http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/Different kinds of informationinforming professionaldevelopmentWell-designed and thoughtfulapproaches to practitioner research canbring about very positive impacts toimprove teaching and learning in scienceclassrooms. A teacher reviewingstudents’ average test results over thelast few years can proffer muchnumerical data, which could bestatistically analysed to ‘show’ how onegroup or another performed better inlearning about electricity, forces, livingthings or materials and their properties.Annual GCSE results can also bescrutinised for trends or patterns instudents’ achievements of A-C grades.This kind of quantitative data can beused to illustrate the proportion oflearners achieving better or worse inexaminations. Copious information of this kind canbe used to judge teachers’ performancein a very scientific manner. Schools andteachers can be directly compared in aseemingly systematic way, variables arecontrolled, all students sit the sameexamination at the same time, standardmethods (i.e. the same GCSEspecifications and questions) are posedand graded. This approach to collectingquantitative data resonates with what isdescribed by educational researchers as‘positivist’ (Johnston, 2012: 191), anapproach that gathers hard numericalevidence about the extent of success inclassrooms. This kind of information canbe used to proclaim that this or thatintervention or approach has made asignificant difference to students’learning. In an article for EiS, written in April2005 by Oversby and Harlen, it wasnoted that the most highly-valuededucation research was normally of aquantitative nature, based on empiricalevidence, generating much numericalinformation and involving subsequentstatistical analysis, usually deemed to bea valid and reliable approach toeducational research. Readers, though, ofthese kinds of studies tend to be theauthors’ peers who are other academicsalso in Higher Education Institutions(HEIs). Esteemed science educationresearch reported on in journals such asthe International Journal of ScienceEducation or The Journal of Research inScience Teaching is subject to rigorouspeer review, but is unlikely to be readand acted upon by classroom teachers.Readers of highly-rated research alsoneed to appreciate and understandresearch design, literature critique,appropriate data collection, methods ofanalysis, theoretical frameworks,statistical tests of significance, and beable to apply critical skills to interpretthe validity and applicability ofconclusions. For teachers, this kind of research canprovide indicators and illustrations aboutdevelopments or focused studies thatcan inform or impact on practice.Often, though, science teachers wantto know more about ‘why’ somethinghas made a difference or impactedpositively (and sometimes negatively) ontheir children’s performance. They wishto know what kind of difference wasmade and how. so that they can considerwhat might be appropriate to apply totheir own teaching. This kind of researchexploring the reasons behind happeningsis more qualitative. The kind ofevidential data collected in these kindsof studies seeking to understand how26 EiS   February 2013 John Oversby   Deb McGregor  Fiona WoodhouseResearchF   CUSScience education researchand teacher professionaldevelopmentSeeking inspiration? Find insights at the Education Show 2013 and visit ASE schoolscience stand on H55The education sector’s thought leaders, experts, leading practitioners and associations will gather at the Education Show 2013 to debate, discuss and share information. The event, which is the largest showcase of free, accredited professional development and educational resources in the UK, is free to attend and takes place from 14th to 16th March 2013 at the NEC Birmingham. Ongoing continuing professional development (CPD) is important, and in the light ofincreasingly tighter budgets, accessible, cost-effective training, advice and ideas are vital. As a result, this year, CPD opportunities are at the heart of the Education Show 2013, with something for everyone. The popular ‘Learn Live’ programme features more than 60 free-to-attend CPD accreditedsessions, bringing together leading educationalists to discuss the principal issues ineducation, share effective methodology and outline the latest teaching practices. For instance, with STEM continuing to be a large focus for schools, Ed Walsh, scienceadviser at Cornwall Learning will explore the effective use of tablets to enhance teachingand learning in secondary science lessons in his session, Tablets for the Science Teacher. This takes place at 12.00pm on Thursday.More than 350 leading education suppliers and innovative smaller companies are on hand to demonstrate and offer advice to visitors on the latest teaching tools and most cost-effective procurement schemes. Visit the schoolscience stand on H55 to find out more about what ASE can do for you.To discover more about the Education Show 2013 and to plan your visit, please see:www.education-show.com, entering priority code EPR9.EiS   February 2013 27and why things arise or occur as they domay demand reflective observations,interviews, focus group discussions,textual scrutiny, discourse analysis, etc.All these kinds of more subjectiveinterpretations delving into the backstory, contextual influences or driversbehind educational developments arequite different in nature to the numericaltypes of substantiation indicating howmuch of something is happening.Examining how and why somethingworked can offer insights into effectivepractices and offer greaterunderstanding of our own teaching,suggesting ways in which improvementsin practice might be made. An evaluativecase study (Johnston, 2012: 196) oraction research approach (ibid) is oftendifficult to generalise from and reapplyin other contexts, but findings canresonate with practitioners seeking todevelop their pedagogy. Engaging with research to furtherprofessional development Collating and analysing data that havebeen gathered through sound researchmethods can enable teachers to feelconfident that what they are doing issubstantiated, appropriate and can, intime, make a difference, thuscontributing to their professionaldevelopment. As Loughran (2003)indicates, teacher-researchers are at the forefront of the challenge to betterunderstand daily concerns andimplications of practice. Inferred fromthis is the view that there can be noeducational change without teacherchange, so a reflective research focus on development of personal practiceshould lead to improvement in teaching.One can draw on the work of Glassick et al (1997), Lewis and Munn (1997) and Gossman, Haigh and Jiao (2009),who corroborate that engaging inscholarly activity to develop professionalpractice can aid understanding ofteaching and learning. Key questions that highlight importantcharacteristics of professional activitythat can scaffold teacher developmentthrough research could be: Clear goals: Does the teacher-researcher state the basic purposes of his or her work clearly? Does theteacher define objectives that arerealistic and achievable? Does theteacher identify important questions inthe field?  Adequate preparation: Does theteacher show an understanding ofexisting literature in the field and build a justified case for investigation?Does the teacher bring the necessaryskills to his or her work? Does theteacher bring together the resourcesnecessary, in a timely manner, to movethe project forward?  Appropriate methods: Does theteacher acknowledge the context andsituation of the project? Does theteacher use methods appropriate to achieve the goals? Does the teacher apply effectively the methodsselected? Does the teacher modifyprocedures in response to changingcircumstances?  Significant results: What do the dataor evidence gathered suggest? Do thefindings respond to the goals of theproject? Does the teacher’s work extendor complement existing knowledgeand/or practice(s)? Effective dissemination: Does theteacher communicate the approach,findings and conclusion in anappropriate manner for differentaudiences? Does the teacher present his or her key points with clarity and integrity? Reflective critique: Does the teachercritically evaluate his or her own work?Does the teacher bring an appropriatebreadth of evidence to his or hercritique? Does the teacher useevaluation to suggest the nature ofquality future work?’These points are intended to offer some useful incremental questionsthat teacher-researchers could use toinitiate and develop research into theirown practice.ConclusionTeachers engaging with researchprocesses to purposely improve ordevelop their professional practice willnot only enhance and develop theirpractice, but will also engage withthinking critically about researchprocesses and outcomes and thusbecome more research-knowledgeable.As Loughran (2003: 188) states: ‘a mostimportant outcome of teacher research is tohelp facilitate a better understanding of thecomplex nature of teaching and learning, sothat both teachers and students can benefitfrom the development of knowledge throughthe research venture’. ReferencesGlassick, C., Huber, M. & Maeroff, G.(1997) Scholarship assessed: Evaluation of the professoriate. San Francisco:Jossey BassGossman, P., Haigh, N. & Jiao, X. (2009)The Status of the Scholarship of Teachingand Learning (SoTL) in New ZealandUniversities: Three institutional casestudies. AUT University, New ZealandJohnston, J. (2012) ‘Deciding paradigmsand methodology’. In Oversby, J. (Ed.)ASE Guide to Research in ScienceEducation. Hatfield: ASELewis, I. & Munn, P. (1997) So you want todo research! Edinburgh: SCRELoughran, J.J. (2003) ‘Exploring thenature of teacher research’. In Clarke,A. & Erickson, G. (Eds.) Teacher Inquiry.Living the research in everyday practice.London: RoutledgefalmerJohn Oversby is Chair, and DebMcGregor and Fiona Woodhouse are members of the ASE ResearchCommittee.Science education researchand teacher professionaldevelopment John Oversby   Deb McGregor  Fiona WoodhouseResearchF   CUS

Science education research and teacher professional development

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