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The purpose of this study was to investigate the dilemmas pre-service science teachers encounter in relation to their participation in a project which sought to establish a constructivist and collaborative model of teaching and learning. I also explored the strategies the pre-service teachers implemented to manage the dilemmas they encountered, as well as how they perceived those dilemmas to have influenced their teaching practice and their personal philosophies of teaching and learning (PPoTaL). Since the construct of voice was an important factor in this study, I used a research method that I refer to as intercontext. This method has three major components: stimulated linkage, reflexivity and the dialectical conversation. To enact this research method, I conducted five interviews with each of the six pre-service teachers over the 12-month period of their professional preparation. In addition, I had many informal conversations with them and observed them several times during their university and school practicum experiences. I argued that social constructivism provides a fruitful theoretical framework to interpret the results of this study, because this orientation to teaching and learning is based on the notion that knowledge is socially constructed and mediated by.cultural, historical and institutional codes. In this light, three broad dilemmas were identified in relation to the students' experiences with the teacher education program's course content and design and six dilemmas were identified in relation to the roles the participants felt they needed to perform during their school practicum. The variety of dilemmas the pre-service teachers encountered and the direct and indirect strategies they implemented to manage those dilemmas could be explained in terms of two overarching issues. The first had to do with the difficulties associated with bridging the theory and practice of learning to teach in two distinct communities of practice (i.e., in the university and the school communities). The second general factor had to do with the type of relationship the pre-service teachers established with their school advisor(s) or/and faculty advisor; that is, from the the students' point of view they wondered to what extent they could trust their advisors to allow them to take the risks associated with asking questions, trying innovative approaches in the classroom, and exploring their own teaching identity without any of these reflecting negatively in their final evaluation reports. Finally, a number of suggestions for practice and further research are provided.

Cooperative learning (CL) research has gone through a series of phases representing different orientations of research. This inquiry uses action-research as a way of implementing cooperative learning in a pre-service science course. Cooperative learning was regarded as an innovation in the context of this inquiry. The evidence of the inquiry was in the form of texts from sources including classroom observation, student reflective notes, the research diary and interviews, among others. The qualitative analysis involved the writing of descriptive-interpretive reports which were used in a process of data reduction to formulate analytic theme reports. Propositions were developed from these reports. Some recommendations emanated from these propositions. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Durban-Westville, 1997.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the dilemmas pre-service science teachers encounter in relation to their participation in a project which sought to establish a constructivist and collaborative model of teaching and learning. I also explored the strategies the pre-service teachers implemented to manage the dilemmas they encountered, as well as how they perceived those dilemmas to have influenced their teaching practice and their personal philosophies of teaching and learning (PPoTaL). Since the construct of voice was an important factor in this study, I used a research method that I refer to as intercontext. This method has three major components: stimulated linkage, reflexivity and the dialectical conversation. To enact this research method, I conducted five interviews with each of the six pre-service teachers over the 12-month period of their professional preparation. In addition, I had many informal conversations with them and observed them several times during their university and school practicum experiences. I argued that social constructivism provides a fruitful theoretical framework to interpret the results of this study, because this orientation to teaching and learning is based on the notion that knowledge is socially constructed and mediated by.cultural, historical and institutional codes. In this light, three broad dilemmas were identified in relation to the students' experiences with the teacher education program's course content and design and six dilemmas were identified in relation to the roles the participants felt they needed to perform during their school practicum. The variety of dilemmas the pre-service teachers encountered and the direct and indirect strategies they implemented to manage those dilemmas could be explained in terms of two overarching issues. The first had to do with the difficulties associated with bridging the theory and practice of learning to teach in two distinct communities of practice (i.e., in the university and the school communities). The second general factor had to do with the type of relationship the pre-service teachers established with their school advisor(s) or/and faculty advisor; that is, from the the students' point of view they wondered to what extent they could trust their advisors to allow them to take the risks associated with asking questions, trying innovative approaches in the classroom, and exploring their own teaching identity without any of these reflecting negatively in their final evaluation reports. Finally, a number of suggestions for practice and further research are provided. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

This is a study of teachers transition after a professional development (PD). The purpose was to document and characterize the teachers’ experiences as they transitioned toward use of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and more learner-centered teacher practices. The teachers participated in a PD workshop that provided information on the use of the NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Following the PD workshop, the teachers’ experiences as they transitioned in their classroom teaching practices were documented and analyzed. This study used a mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative evidence) design and emphasized two of the eight science practices: Asking questions and Engaging in argument from evidence. To examine the teachers’ transition to learner-centeredness, Webb’s depth of knowledge chart and learner-centered rubric and the Survey of Science Instructional Practices were used. Four high school science teachers volunteered to participate in this study and were observed, audio-recorded, and interviewed over 9 weeks to document and analyze their transition toward a more learner-centered classroom. Classroom observations started after the teachers participated in a full-day PD workshop. Classroom observations, recordings, and interviews were used to note the frequency with which the participants and their students engaged in the target science practices over the 9 weeks of the study and to identify factors that facilitated or inhibited the teachers’ transition toward learner-centered instruction. The teachers demonstrated a mostly transitional approach over the 9-week observational period. The results showed that during the first through the final classroom observation, the teachers’ practices became more learner centered, but the pattern of progress varied. There was no linear progression from the first through the last observation. The teachers provided a rich and informative narrative about the factors that facilitated or inhibited their transition from a traditional- to a student-centered learning environment. For example, all of the participants stated that the PD was integral in helping them implement the target practices but that they did not receive enough support from colleagues and administrators to fully transition to learner-centered instruction. In addition, the New York State Regents Examinations in June 2019 seemed incompatible with the new science and engineering practices of the NGSS. This study provides insight into teachers’ challenges as they adopt the NGSS and implement the NGSS science and engineering practices in their classrooms. The research is particularly beneficial to teachers who have been textbook-oriented and seek a shift to a learner-centered classroom using the science practices of Asking questions and Engaging in argument from evidence.

As part of their initial teacher education, most aspiring middle and high school science teachers take one or more semesters of coursework in the methods of teaching science. Surprisingly little is known about the curriculum of secondary science methods courses, however. This exploratory study aimed to better understand the goals and content of secondary science methods courses, especially regarding their adoption of two important schools of reform in science education: the vision of instruction conveyed by the Framework for K-12 Science Education, and calls to foreground diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in science instruction. Three forms of data were collected. First, institutions were surveyed regarding which science teacher preparation standards their methods courses addressed (n = 27). Faculty at a subset of these institutions (n = 15) participated in a semi-structured interview about their methods courses, and provided, in most cases, syllabi for the courses in their science methods sequence (n = 35 course syllabi, from 13 institutions). All three pools of data were analyzed individually and then compared. Data suggest that secondary science methods courses may be taking on more goals than they can practically achieve, rendering them unable to engage sufficiently with reforms like the Framework and DEI. More significant engagement with these reforms seems likely to require two things: more coherent teacher education programs that allow methods courses to focus on fewer goals in greater depth, and networks of science teacher educators dedicated to promoting better, more equitable science teaching among candidates.

The introduction of Science Education Standards for the K-12 education system of the United States and those of Bhutan is aimed at providing students with equitable access to quality science instruction and to promote a scientifically literate society. These reforms in education systems require teachers who are well prepared to translate the reform documents, (i.e., Science Standards and curriculum goals) into effective daily classroom instruction. Reform efforts by the states or the federal government involve significant investment of financial and other resources. But all too often the teachers are not prepared to implement reforms in their classroom professional practices due to lack of proper (and timely) professional development and necessary support. To design professional development and educative materials to enable teachers’ implementation of these reform ideas, we need research into the current practices and challenges in implementing reform ideas by pre-service science teachers and in-service science teachers. Science education programs and research has increasingly placed emphasis on the need for sound theoretical models to support educational program development and implementation. This is a case study based on a multi-compartment network model designed to examine aspects of current practices in implementing reform ideas, and furthermore to identify areas of best practices and areas of improvement (e.g., professional practices and interpretation of theories of teaching and learning). The core of the model is grounded in the principles of social constructivism, and the relevant theories and practices guiding teacher education forms the multi-compartments of a network box model that focuses on how the components interact with each other in a teacher education program. It is intended to provide a holistic picture of how the teacher education practices and reform implementation goals interact. This model was initially applied in an investigation of practices of a cohort of pre-service science teachers in a teacher education program in the U.S. This constituted phase one of this research. Subsequently, it also was applied to a pre-service science teacher education in Bhutan. There, the course involved translation of reform ideas into the pre-service teacher’s professional practices, in this latter case science Standards (referred to as Bhutan Goals of Science Education) in Bhutan. In parallel to the U.S.-based study, a cohort of pre-service science teachers in a science education course and relevant expert science teacher educators participated in the Bhutan study. The study was carried out in two separate case studies with distinct contextual characteristics. The U.S. case study part one was designed in some ways to pilot the analytical model. The Bhutan case study part two is an extension of the first study. In both the U.S. and Bhutan study, the pre-service science teachers and expert science teacher educators showed strong degree of coherence in terms of their ranking of the science Standards and their rationale behind the ranking, indicating a certain degree of evidence for a community of practice. However, further inquiry revealed that pre-service science teachers struggled to effectively incorporate Standards in their lesson plans. Furthermore, the findings from the two-part study provide some insights into how this analytical model can be applied to science teacher education engaged in reform implementation, across different institutional and cultural contexts. Both quantitative and qualitative evidence were obtained and analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis methods and qualitative data analysis techniques.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An analysis of a teacher development programme known as the Cluster Project is central to this research. Study of the form, processes and outcomes of the project model draws attention to teacher professional development (TPD) as a critical strategy for improving science education in primary schools. High quality teaching at the foundational level supports children develop the appropriate level of knowledge that would allow them to take up and succeed at science at higher levels. With the object of strengthening primary science education the Primary Science Programme (PSP) implements a Cluster Project in Western Cape schools. The project model offers training workshops, classroom guidance and essential resources to support teachers develop both their knowledge and teaching competencies to teach science well. Training workshops are designed to build teachers’ understanding of critical science concepts, improve science content knowledge, and offers guidance with curriculum implementation and assessment of learning. In-classroom support and team-teaching, supported with teaching and learning materials and other resources, assists with improving teaching practice in context. This interpretive case study analyses the Cluster Project model and its processes within three theoretical frames: activity theory, complexity theory, and a research-developed qualitative framework to trace teacher professional development. Activity theory is applied to the purpose, organization and function of the Cluster Project, while complexity theory probes the meaning and implications of educational change for teachers and TPD. The qualitative framework with its five critical indicators of autonomy, knowledge, practice, and collaboration and continuing development analyses empirical evidence of TPD with respect to six teacher participants. Activity theory draws attention to the use of flexible adaptive teacher professional learning models which can accommodate frequent change to curriculum and context, and further highlights the importance of promoting collaboration and reducing contradictions in order to improve learning outcomes. Complexity theory expands understanding of teacher professional learning through its focus on the critical concepts of pedagogy, holism, learning as a nonlinear process, the unpredictability of teaching and learning, networking and connectedness, change by emergence and self-organization, changing environments, and teacher development programmes as open, complex adaptive systems. This research observed the six teacher participants were able to improve aspects of their teaching of science, thereby achieving a measure of professional development, although this was not a general observation within the Cluster Project teacher population. Research findings show that teachers’ active participation in meaningful practical science experiences promotes teacher learning, improves practical science in the classroom, and encourages the ready take-up of helpful and innovative science teaching ideas and strategies. This research recommends that practical science teaching, integrated with language and mathematics teaching, should form an essential part of education and training programmes for both pre-service and in-service primary and high school science teachers. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die analise van`n onderwyser-ontwikkelingsprogram, bekend as die Groepsondersteunings Projek, is die kern van diè navorsing. Studie van die vorm, prosesse en uitkomste van die projekmodel, vestig die aandag op onderwysers se professionele ontwikkeling as `n kritiese strategie vir die verbetering van wetenskaponderrig in primêre skole. Hoë gehalte onderwys in die grondslagfase, ondersteun die kinders se ontwikkeling op `n geskikte vlak van kennis wat hulle in staat sal stel om wetenskap verder te neem en daarvan `n sukses te maak op senior vlak. Met die doel om wetenskaponderrig te versterk in die primêre skool, implimenteer die Primêre Wetenskap Program (PSP) tans `n Groepsondersteunings Projek in die Wes-Kaapse skole. Die model voorsien opleiding deur slypskole, klaskamerleiding en noodsaaklike leerhulpmiddels om onderwysers se kennis en onderrigvaardigheid, om wetenskap as vak goed te onderrig, te ontwikkel. Opleidingsslypskole fokus daarop om onderwysers se begrip van kritiese wetenskaplike konsepte en opgradering van wetenskapinhoudskennis op te bou en ook om te help om die kurrikulum te implimenteer en kinders se leerwerk te assesseer. Klaskamer ondersteuning en span-onderrig, met die hulp van onderrig-en leerhulpmiddels, help met die verbetering van die onderwyspraktyk in konteks. Diè interpreterende gevallestudie analiseer die Groepondersteunings Projek model en die prosesse binne drie teoretiese raamwerke, die aktiwiteits-teorie, kompleksiteits-teorie en `n stel aanwysers wat ontwikkel is om bewyse van onderwysers se professionele ontwikkeling te ontleed. Die aktiwiteits-teorie is toegepas op die doel, organisering en funksie van die Projek, terwyl die kompleksiteits-teorie die betekenis en implikasies van die opvoedkundige verandering vir onderwysers en onderwysers se professionele ontwikkeling ondersoek. Die stel aanwysers met vyf kritiese fokuspunte: outonomie, kennis, praktyk, samewerking en voortdurende ontwikkeling, lei die analise van ses onderwyser-deelnemers se professionele ontwikkeling. Die aktiwiteits-teorie beklemtoon die belangrikheid van aanpasbare professionele leermodelle wat gereelde verandering aan die konteks en kurrikulum kan akkommodeer, en beklemtoon ook die belangrikheid om samewerking bevorder, teenstrydigheid te verminder en om sodoende die leeruitkomste te versterk. Die kompleksiteits-teorie verbreed die insig van onderwyser se professionele leer deur die fokus te plaas op die kritiese konsepte van pedagogiek; holisme; leer as `n nie-lineêre proses; die onvoorspelbaarheid van onderrig en leer; netwerk en aaneenskakeling; verandering deur die ontstaan en self-organisasie; veranderende omgewings en onderwyser-ontwikkelingsplanne as oop, komplekse aanpasbare stelsels. Diè navorsing het waargeneem dat die ses onderwyser-deelnemers in staat was om aspekte van hul wetenskap-onderrig te verbeter en sodoende was hulle in staat om `n mate van professionele ontwikkeling te behaal alhoewel dit nie `n algemene waarneming binne die Groepsondersteunings Projek se onderwyspopulasie was nie. Navorsingsbevindings dui aan dat onderwysers se aktiewe deelname aan betekenisvolle, praktiese wetenskapondervindings, leer kan bevorder en begrip kan bevorder van `n praktiese implimentering daarvan in die klaskamer en moedig die geredelike opname van nuttige en innoverende leer-idees en strategieë aan. Die navorsing beveel aan dat praktiese wetenskap-onderrig, integreer met tale en wiskunde, `n noodsaaklike deel moet vorm van onderwys-en opleidingsprogramme vir voor-diens en in-diens primêre en hoërskool wetenskaponderwysers.

This study analyzed student test scores to determine if teacher participation in an inquiry-based professional development was able to make a statistically significant difference in student achievement levels. Test scores for objectives that assessed the critical thinking skills and problem-solving strategies modeled in a science inquiry institute were studied. Inquiry-based experiences are the cornerstones for meeting the science standards for scientific literacy. State mandated assessment tests measure the levels of student achievement and are reported as meeting minimum expectations or showing mastery for specific learning objectives. Students test scores from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills Test (TAAS) for 8th grade science and the Biology End Of Course (EOC) exams were analyzed using ANCOVA, Chi Square, and Logistic Regression, with the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) 7th Grade Science Subtest as covariate. It was hypothesized that the students of Inquiry Institute teachers would have higher scale scores and better rates of mastery on the critical thinking objectives than the students of non-Institute teachers. It was also hypothesized that it would be possible to predict student mastery on the objectives that assessed critical thinking and problem solving based on Institute participation. This quasi-experimental study did not show a statistically significant difference between the two groups. The effects of inquiry-based professional development may not be determined by analyzing the results of the standardized tests currently being used in Texas. Inquiry training may make a difference, but because of factors such as the ceiling effect, insufficient time to implement the program, and test items that are intended to but do not address critical thinking skills, the TAAS and EOC tests may not accurately assess effects of the Inquiry Institute. The results of this study did indicate the best predictor of student mastery for the 8th grade science TAAS and Biology EOC may possibly be prior knowledge acquired in elementary school and as demonstrated on the 7th grade ITBS science subtest.