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Professional development (PD) is used as the primary means for ensuring the continued learning of teachers. PD opportunities and support vary in type and quality. Little is known about the participation in and support of PD for high school science teachers. The establishment of supportive professional cultures provides a means to support teachers' PD in addition to providing meaningful interactions between teachers to improve practices related to teaching, learning, and assessment. Even less is known about patterns of relationships between professional culture with high school science teachers and students. PD and professional culture have been reported to increase teacher retention and student achievement. The studies presented in this dissertation use mixed methods approaches to explore data collected by the Policy Research Initiative in Science Education Research Group during the 2007-2008 academic year. The first study assessed PD of high school science teachers from two perspectives: (1) teachers' participation in PD, and (2) schools' practices to support teachers' participation. Teachers' participation was determined using self-reported survey data. Schools' PD support was operationalized using data collected from administrative interviews. Descriptive statistics revealed little relationship between teachers' participation in PD, schools' PD support, and teacher retention. Descriptive statistics of schools' PD support indicated associations with student achievement. The second study operationalized school science professional culture with a rubric developed for the study. Elements within the rubric addressed many components mentioned in the literature as indicative of positive professional culture. School science professional culture had little relationship with either teacher retention or student achievement. Strong associations were found among the elements associated with school science professional culture. These results provide support for the inclusion of these elements in future studies of school science professional culture. The final chapter provides a summary of both studies. Recommendations are made for improving policies in place to support PD and professional cultures experienced by high school science teachers. Specific attention should be directed at the development of cohesive PD programs that address both schools' and teachers' needs. Additionally, more opportunities for in-depth communication regarding school practices for teaching, learning, and assessment need to be provided.

Orientador: Odete Pacubi Baierl Teixeira / Banca: Maria Eunice Ribeiro Marcondes / Banca: Terezinha Valim Oliver Gonçalves / Banca: Sérgio Carmargo / Banca: Silvia Regina Quijadas Aro Zuliani / Resumo: No contexto de carências de práticas investigativas, da necessidade de atenção ao processo de formação inicial e continuada de professores de ciências, e considerando a orientação didático-pedagógica em que a investigação é uma perspectiva que tem sido recomendada para a melhoria do ensino de ciências, este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar sob que discurso argumentativo se constrói o processo de formação de professores ao experimentarem práticas investigativas na ocasião de reuniões para sua discussão e planejamento, estas ocorridas em um grupo de professores-estagiários, pertencentes ao Clube de Ciências da Universidade do Pará com a participação da pesquisadora, e de suas aulas com uma turma de estudantes do sexto e sétimo anos, oriundos de escolas públicas de Belém, ocorridas com a presença da pesquisadora, no sentido de procurar indicar diferentes aspectos de seu desenvolvimento e condução em um contexto de ensino e de formação. Para isto, propusemos um modelo para análise de práticas investigativas, construído face às diferentes propostas de investigação existentes. Os resultados mostraram que as práticas investigativas não são somente uma atitude a ser desenvolvida no estudante. Essas trazem evidências de novos domínios para a formação do professor que articulam o contexto teórico, metodológico e epistemológico. Antes e simultaneamente a investigação é uma condição de formação e trabalho do professor, mediado por práticas cuja finalidade esteja imbuída do espírito de busca / Abstract: In the context of lack of investigatve practices, the necessity of attention to the process of initial and continued formation of science teachers, and considering the didactic-pedagogical orientation in which the investigation is a perspective that has been recommended for the improvement of the teaching of sciences, this work aims at analyzing the argumentative discourse in which is based on the process of teachers formation, in particular, when they experience the investigate practices during meetings organized for discussion and planning. The meeting were constituted by the professor research, a group of teachers in conditions of trainees from the Federal University of Para Science Club. The trainees applied the procedures discussed during the meetings in classes of students in the sixth and seventh grade, from public schools in Belém city, which ocurred under the supervision of the professor researcher, in seeking to indicate different aspects of their development and conduct in a real context of education and formation. In this work was proposed a model for analysis of investigate practices built in face of various existing proposals. The results demonstrated that the investigative practices are not only an attitude to be developed in the students; they bring evidence of new areas for teacher education that articulates the theoretical, methodological and epistemological framework / Doutor

Submitted by (lucia.rodrigues@ufrpe.br) on 2016-10-21T13:26:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Rita Franco do Rego.pdf: 617592 bytes, checksum: 343c8651610dc3acde290e2ee89f3b22 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-21T13:26:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ana Rita Franco do Rego.pdf: 617592 bytes, checksum: 343c8651610dc3acde290e2ee89f3b22 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-20 / This work aimed to analyze the Political-Pedagogical Projects (PPP) of three state schools from the municipal district of Carpina/PE, trying to identify aspects related to its construction; the interdisciplinary; the contextualization and the science teachers professional development and how they are understood by some social actors. Twelve social actors participated – three managers, three support educators and six science teachers from initial years of middle school. To collect data interviews with these actors were realized; analyzed the PPP of schools and the political and prescription curricular documents of national and state education. The results point to the necessity of the PPP construction by school community, representing the education conception of this community and been lived by it. So, it is necessary that the social actors of these schools rethink the way they see the PPP and deepen in theoretical and practical discussions about the concepts in which it is based. Also, that the schools contemplate science teacher professional development as an action expected in their PPP. / Este trabalho teve como objetivo analisar os Projetos Político Pedagógico (PPP) de três escolas públicas estaduais do município do Carpina/PE, identificando aspectos relacionados à sua construção; a interdisciplinaridade; a contextualização e a formação continuada de professores de Ciências e como são concebidos por alguns atores sociais. Participaram doze atores sociais - três gestores, três educadores de apoio e seis professores de ciências dos anos finais do ensino fundamental. Para coleta de dados foram realizadas entrevistas com esses atores; analisados os PPP das escolas e os documentos de política e prescrição curricular da educação nacional e estadual. Os resultados apontam para a necessidade do Projeto Político Pedagógico ser construído pela comunidade escolar, representando a concepção de educação dessa comunidade e ser vivido por ela. Assim, é necessário que os atores sociais, dessas escolas, repensem a forma como vêem os PPP e se aprofundem em discussões teóricas e práticas sobre os conceitos que os fundamentam. Como também, que as escolas contemplem como uma ação prevista em seu PPP formação continuada para professores de ciências.

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Student achievement is rooted in a teacher’s ability to identify and assess student understanding of material. This is particularly challenging in classroom settings, which are dynamic and full of distractions, especially in science classrooms where discussion and inquiry are paramount. In mathematics education, the concept of professional noticing of children’s thinking refers to a teacher attending to, interpreting, and responding to student content understanding throughout a class period (Jacobs, Lamb, & Philipp, 2010). This skill is equally important when teaching other content, such as science, and is a key component of responsive and reflective practice used by excellent educators as outlined by reform standards for science (National Research Council [NRC], 1996, 2012; NGSS Lead States, 2013). Before a teacher can adapt to student needs, they must first identify critical moments of student sense-making and interpret the student’s ideas. Only then can they respond effectively. This set of teaching skills can be learned, and then later improved upon with practice and reflection. Recent research suggests that preservice science teachers can learn the fundamentals of noticing skills during specialized courses (Barnhart & van Es, 2015) and are able to carry forward this learning into their teaching experiences as full-time teachers (Amador, Carter, Hudson, & Galindo, 2017). However, little is known about the role of different aspects of preservice teacher education program experiences in laying the foundation for life-long development of noticing skills. This study used a multiple case study design to explore the experiences of six preservice science teachers, as related to professional teacher noticing of student thinking about science, during the semester before their full-time student teaching experience. Based on a situated learning framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991), this study centered on the university- and field-based experiences associated with a middle and secondary teacher education program at a large, Mid-Atlantic, urban university. Participants were enrolled in a teacher residency program. Observations, semistructured interviews, and artifact analysis were used to identify opportunities for and experiences with learning professional teacher noticing of student thinking about science content throughout the first semester of this residency program. Analysis of data included the use of a combination of a priori codes about the degree of teacher noticing of student thinking about science (Barnhart & van Es, 2015) and emergent codes of contextual events relating to opportunities for preservice science teachers to notice student thinking during field experiences. Case studies were developed, and a cross-case analysis performed to identify themes and trends in the learning experiences and development of the participants around noticing practices. Broadly, I found that the most access residents have to noticing is in their field experiences, and that their opportunities to learn to notice may be primarily mediated by their mentors’ abilities to “unpack” their own practice, communicate effectively with the resident, and help residents hone in on the content goals of lessons. This study provides a unique examination of preservice science teacher learning opportunities at the interface of education coursework and field experiences. Assertions developed from this multiple case study analysis provide insight into which experiences have the most impact on the development of preservice teachers’ attention to student thinking. / Math & Science Education

One understudied barrier to science education reform concerns teachers’ cognitive processes and how they relate to instructional decision-making. Epistemic cognition—teachers’ beliefs about knowledge and knowledge acquisition and goals for their students’ knowledge acquisition—could provide important insights into the choices science teachers make in the classroom and why they might and might not adopt different instructional practices. Previous research has found mixed results regarding the relationship between beliefs and practice. Uniquely, science teachers encounter epistemic beliefs from both science and education, with potential differences that may need to be negotiated. This study found significant differences between the two belief systems but failed to find differences between biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth science. Three profiles were identified that were significantly different on their epistemic beliefs in the natural sciences and the learning sciences. Those in the naïve profile (highest beliefs in certainty of knowledge, authority as source of knowledge, and attainability of truth) had significantly less self-efficacy than those in the sophisticated profile, which predicted lower frequency of investigative teaching practices and practices promoting an investigative culture. Those in the flexible profile (medium beliefs in certainty of knowledge, authority as source of knowledge, and attainability of truth) used practices promoting an investigative culture significantly less frequently than those in the sophisticated profile. The findings from this study add to the literature on epistemic cognition and its influences. / Educational Psychology

Teachers are an essential link between the curriculum and student achievement. Teachers make instructional decisions that (1) determine the success or failure of a curricular intervention and (2) can result in either alignment or disconnect between the written and enacted curricula. Despite overwhelming evidence linking the success or the failure of a curricular intervention to the classroom teacher, little is known about the instructional decisions teachers make when using a standards-based curriculum. The use of standards-based curriculum is becoming common, therefore, it is essential to know how teachers are using it. This study focused on three questions. First, can the factors that influence instructional decisions be consolidated into manageable, representative, and useful categories? Second, what instructional decisions did six science teachers in a rural central Texas school district make when using the standards-based curriculum, CSCOPE? Finally, what steps did one district take to select and adopt the SBC, CSCOPE? This study found that the factors that influence instructional decisions could be clustered into four categories: (1) working conditions, (2) pedagogical content knowledge, (3) prior experiences, and (4) beliefs. Further, that teachers made instructional decisions both to use CSCOPE as intended and to modify CSCOPE lessons. Modifications to CSCOPE were made despite (1) an administrative mandate not to modify CSCOPE, (2) good administrative support, and (3) the stated intention of these teachers to adhere to CSCOPE. Teachers omitted, replaced and/or supplemented lessons and/or parts of lessons in order to (1) accommodate the needs of their students and (2) prepare students for the state assessment. Finally, several steps taken by Bluecat ISD administrators assisted teachers in using CSCOPE as intended. This study makes three contributions to the educational literature. First, no useful categorization exists of the factors that influence teachers‟ instructional decisions. Chapter II provides an initial categorization of these factors that is manageable, representative, and useful. Second, administrators need to be able to anticipate how teachers may use a standards-based curriculum. Chapter III identifies the instructional decisions made by these six science teachers. Chapter IV identifies the measures put in place to support teachers as they adjusted to CSCOPE.

Detta är en kvalitativ studie som syftar till att undersöka hur mellanstadielärare, verksamma inom ämnet samhällskunskap, resonerar kring kunskapsområdet samhällsfrågor och mer specifikt elevnära samhällsfrågor. Vidare undersöks lärares uppfattningar av undervisning i elevnärasamhällsfrågor och hur det arbetet kan kopplas till skolans demokratifostransuppdrag. För att undersöka detta har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med sju verksamma lärare för att få en förståelse för deras tankar, upplevelser samt erfarenheter kring undervisning i elevnära samhällsfrågor. Studiens resultat visade bland annat att lärarna aktivt arbetar med elevnära samhällsfrågor och att de anser att det är en viktig del av samhällskunskaps-undervisningen. Resultatet antyder också att lärarna tolkar begreppet elevnära med ett bredare perspektiv än geografiskt. Lärarna delade uppfattningen av att eleverna behöver ha kunskap om samhället för att kunna verka i det. Vidare hade de föreställningen att samtal samt diskussioner är betydelsefulla och att de som lärare behöver skapa lärandemiljöer där eleverna lär sig att se olika perspektiv och får uttrycka sina åsikter. Lärarna såg få utmaningar med samhällsfrågor men att det då är upp till lärarna att göra det greppbart för eleverna. De belyser också att intresse och delaktighet vid undervisning med elevnära samhällsfrågor har betydelse för elevernas bildning till demokratiska samhällsmedborgare. / This essay is a qualitative study that aims to report how teachers active in middle school reasons about the subject civics with social issues and also pupil-related social issues. Furthermore, the aim is to investigate the purpose with teaching pupil-related social issues and if this study can be connected to the democratic task of nurturing citizens that teachers have. In order to do this, seven teachers have been interviewed in semi-structured interviews to get their thoughts and experiences on teaching pupils-related social issues. The results of the study showed, among other things, that the teachers are actively working with pupil-related social issues and that it is an important part of social science studies. The result also indicated that the teachers views the pupil-related perspective broader than only geographical. The teachers shared the opinion that the pupils need to have knowledge of society in order to be able to live in it. Additionally, the teachers held the notion that conversations and discussions are important and that the teachers need to create learning environments where the pupils learn to see different perspectives and also are able to express their opinions. The teachers in the study saw few challenges with teaching social issues but that it is up to the teachers to make it understandable for the pupils. They also demonstrate that interest and participation in pupils-related social issues are significant for the pupils´ formation into democratic citizens.