scholarly journals The Research Dynamic: A Professional Development Model for Secondary School Science Teachers

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. Silverman

This essay summarizes the author's 10 years of experience at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation mentoring secondary school science teachers during 8-wk Summer Research Institutes. The summary is presented as a learning model, which we call the research dynamic. This model consists of three interlocked components: specified ignorance, peer interactions, and gateway experiments. Specified ignorance is based on the work of the sociologist Robert K. Merton. It is essentially the art of highlighting what is not known about a phenomenon but must become known for further progress. In practice, specified ignorance is framed as a hypothesis, a prediction, or a question. It is commonly the outcome of peer interactions, which are the second essential component of the research dynamic. Peer interactions are the inevitable outcome of having teachers work together in the same laboratory on related research topics. These topics are introduced as gateway experiments, the third component. The most important attribute of gateway experiments is their authenticity. These experiments, when first carried out, opened new scientific vistas. They are also technically, conceptually, and logically simple. We illustrate the research dynamic with a line of seminal experiments in biochemical genetics. We provide evidence that the research dynamic produced significantly positive effects on teachers' confidence in their professional preparedness.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Bekir Yildirim ◽  
Cumhur Türk

In this study, the opinions of middle school science teachers and mathematics teachers towards STEM education were examined. The research was carried out for 30 hours with 28 middle school science and mathematics teachers who were working in Istanbul during the spring semester of 2016-2017 academic year. 75% of these teachers are female teachers and 25% are male teachers. The study was conducted by the case study method among qualitative research methods. For the determination of the opinions of the secondary school science and mathematics teachers by the researcher, "STEM Interview Form for Teachers" consisting of 8 questions was created. As a result of the analysis, the teachers emphasized that they did not feel sufficient about STEM education. In addition, teachers emphasized that a good STEM teacher should have STEM knowledge, pedagogy knowledge and 21st century skill knowledge. However, they emphasize that STEM education is a useful educational concept but that there may be problems that may be encountered during STEM education. Moreover, it was also found that after the STEM training, teachers had positive changes in their opinions towards Engineering and Technology. Suggestions have been made in the direction of these obtained results.


2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 1191-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ángel Vázquez-Alonso ◽  
Antonio García-Carmona ◽  
María Antonia Manassero-Mas ◽  
Antoni Bennàssar-Roig

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 295
Author(s):  
Gladwin Bhebhe ◽  
Matiya Mugurani

The study established that rural day secondary school science teachers face a number of challenges, including inadequate teaching and learning materials, students’ negative attitudes towards science, conflicts between students’ home background and school science, and absence of science teachers’ associations. These challenges could have a direct impact on the teaching and learning of science in rural day secondary schools. The opening of rural day secondary schools in Zimbabwe was a great challenge in terms of providing science education to all students because the newly opened secondary schools did not have conventional laboratories and equipment that would facilitate the teaching and learning of science. This study sought to find out the challenges faced by rural day secondary school science teachers in Gweru district of Zimbabwe and propose a way forward. Questionnaires, interviews and observations were used to collect data pertaining to the challenges that were faced by the teachers.


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