Current visions for science education in the United States highlight the notion that students should be afforded opportunities to participate in science learning in ways that mirror the discursive norms, practices, and epistemic orientations of scientists. In this way, K-12 teachers hold a complex responsibility to develop and implement instructional practices that will highlight both the content of science and the culture of science in meaningful ways that will engender student learning. In order to align with this vision of science learning and teaching, teachers should have a grasp of the discipline. That is, along with conceptual knowledge, teachers must also—for example—understand the norms, goals, and values of the scientific community, have knowledge of and skill with the practices of science, recognize the epistemic dimensions of science, and understand that science exists in a cultural and sociopolitical context. Yet, it is difficult to expect science teachers to know how to bring such nuanced aspects of the discipline of science into their instructional practice if they themselves have had little to no experience with the community of science and its disciplinary underpinnings. This stands particularly true for elementary teachers who are often less well prepared and equipped to teach science than their secondary counterparts. With this in mind, professional development programs such as Research Experience for Teachers (RET) have been considered to be one venue wherein teachers—elementary and secondary alike—can participate in science research through immersive and collaborative work with scientists over an extended period of time. While RET programs differ widely in their research focus, science discipline, time span, programmatic structure, and so forth, the goal of all RET programs is to support teachers in their understanding of science so that they may bring this learning back to their classroom, and in turn, influence their science teaching for the purpose of increased student learning. While RETs are largely recognized as productive experiences for teachers, there is little understood about the occurrences within RET that can make them lastingly impactful and important to teachers. The research presented in this dissertation begins to address this gap in the research by examining teachers’ participation in RET from the view of three distinct conceptual lenses: that of communities of practice, of epistemic affect, and of critical events, respectively. The first paper examines how K-12 teachers make sense of the discipline of science through the concept of ‘communities of practice’ and considers how teachers’ experiences of science research differ from those experiences of novice and practicing scientists entering the field. From interview data from RET participants, the findings are drawn upon to put forth a conceptual framework that can guide future research on the unique experiences of teachers through RET participation. The second paper aims to consider how elementary teachers’ participation within a science research community fosters their epistemic affect in ways that may shape and inform their instruction in future classroom practice. From interviews and in-depth observations, the paper considers the ways in which teachers in RET may experience emotions and feelings similar to scientists as they conduct research work and construct knowledge. The third and final paper in this collection draws on the lens of critical events to examine the experiences of one elementary teacher as she reflects on her own understanding of the discipline of science in light of specific events occurring during her RET participation. From interviews occurring more than three months after Ava’s participation in scientific research at RET, three events were identified as ‘critical’ because of their particular salience and import to her disciplinary understandings of science. The paper delineates shifts in the ways Ava came to view science, scientists, and the community of science as a result of her RET participation and considers the implications of what it means to take seriously the personally-relevant experiences of teachers as they participate in scientific research. All in all, this collection of research examines what teachers can gain from RET participation in ways that other research has not necessarily considered. Through the viewpoint of three distinct conceptual lenses, this work seeks to shed light on teachers’ experiences and learning within the discipline and community of science, and hopes to inform researchers, program designers, and other interested stakeholders in the science education community about the possibilities for teacher learning when teachers are provided opportunities to participate in science research. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2019. / March 27, 2019. / professional development, Research Experiences for Teachers, science education, science teacher learning, science teaching and learning / Includes bibliographical references. / Sherry A. Southerland, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Lama Z. Jaber, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Kristine C. Harper, University Representative; Roxanne M. Hughes, Committee Member; Ian Whitacre, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_709075 |
| Contributors | Davidson, Shannon Gooden (author), Southerland, Sherry A. (Professor Co-Directing Dissertation), Jaber, Lama (Professor Co-Directing Dissertation), Harper, Kristine (University Representative), Hughes, Roxanne M. (Roxanne Marie) (Committee Member), Whitacre, Ian Michael (Committee Member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Education (degree granting college), School of Teacher Education (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, doctoral thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (141 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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