EXPLORING IN-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT GOALS OR PURPOSES OF SCIENCE TEACHING

Research indicates that teachers’ beliefs about goals or purposes of science teaching, as one dimension of science teaching orientations, influence what happens in the classroom. The purpose of this research was to explore the self-reported and enacted goals or purposes of science teaching of four in-service Malawian science teachers using the curriculum emphases concept as a theoretical lens. This research used qualitative case study research design. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were used to explore teachers’ self-reported and enacted goals or purpose of science teaching, respectively. A deductive analysis approach was used to analyze interview and classroom observation transcripts, to understand the teacher’s goals or purposes. Results reveal that while teachers have multiple self-reported goals or purpose of science teaching, most of these are not enacted during teaching in the classrooms. This suggests the topic-specific nature of the goals or purposes. Results also show that all the teachers were not aware of the self-as-explainer goal or purpose of science teaching both during interviews and instruction. These findings are discussed, and implications are proposed for science in-service teacher professional development and pre-service teachers’ training programs. Keywords: science teachers’ beliefs, curriculum emphasis, goals or purposes, science teaching orientations, teacher professional knowledge

Measuring institutional transformation: a multifaceted assessment of a new faculty development program

PurposeThis study aims to understand the extent to which a faculty development program that includes a week-long course design experience followed by sustained support changes new faculty's perceptions, beliefs and teaching practices. The authors employed the teacher professional knowledge and skill (TPK&S) framework and characteristics of effective educational development interventions to drive the program development, implementation and assessment.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilized a mixed methods approach. Data sources include pre-/mid-/post-program responses to a validated survey, pre-/post-program course syllabi analyzed using a validated rubric and pre-/post-classroom observations collected using the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) instrument.FindingsFindings indicate transformative effects for participants' beliefs about their teaching and changes to their instructional practices. Significant and practical effects were observed across different portions of the program for increases in participants' self-efficacy, endorsement of a conceptual change approach toward teaching and perceptions of institutional support. Participants produced more learning-focused syllabi and many moved toward more student-centered instructional approaches in their teaching practices.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the voluntary nature of the new faculty development program, this study may have been limited by participant self-selection bias and differential sample sizes for the study's individual measures. Future research should consider designs which maximize faculty participation in measurement across all data sources.Originality/valueThis study addresses shortcomings in prior studies which utilized limited data sources to measure intervention impact and answers the call for more rigorous research to obtain a more complete picture of instructional development in higher education.

Conhecimento Profissional de Professores dos Anos Iniciais do Ensino Fundamental Sobre Espaço Amostral e Quantificação de Probabilidades

ResumoNeste texto, discutiu-se parte de uma investigação de Doutorado que teve o objetivo de analisar o desenvolvimento profissional de professores que lecionam Matemática para os Anos Iniciais do Ensino Fundamental em seu trabalho com Probabilidade. Para este artigo, focou-se nos conhecimentos dos participantes referentes à compreensão de espaço amostral e quantificação de probabilidades, manifestados em uma tarefa proposta durante uma formação. Adotando uma metodologia qualitativa, procurou-se descrever e interpretar as resoluções, registradas nos protocolos dos professores, e suas discussões, coletadas em vídeos e áudios gravados. Analisou-se os resultados à luz de teorias e investigações a respeito do ensino e da aprendizagem de Probabilidade e do conhecimento matemático para o ensino da temática. As resoluções, as discussões e as reflexões acerca das noções probabilísticas implicadas na situação analisada desenvolveram e ampliaram os Conhecimentos Comum de Conteúdo e também os Conhecimentos Especializados dos professores, o que, certamente, permitir-lhes-á, no ensino, antecipar erros de seus alunos, identificar possíveis causas, justificá-las do ponto de vista da Matemática e, consequentemente, buscar estratégias de intervenção que favoreçam sua compreensão e sua aprendizagem. Ressaltou-se, nesse processo de desenvolvimento e/ou ampliação dos conhecimentos, a importância de cursos de formação que conduzam à reflexão de questões ligadas tanto ao ensino como à aprendizagem, neste caso, de conceitos matemáticos e, mais especificamente, de noções probabilísticas com crianças em fase inicial de escolarização. Palavras-chave: Formação Contínua. Conhecimento Profissional Docente. Anos Iniciais do Ensino Fundamental. Ensino de Probabilidade. AbstractIn this text, it is discusses part of a Doctoral investigation which aimed analyzing the teachers professional development that teach Mathematics for Elementary School Initial Series, on its work with Probability. For this article, we focused on the participants’ knowledges regarding the comprehension of sample space and probabilities quantification, expressed in a purposed during a formation. Adopting a qualitative methodology, it was aimed to describe and interpret the resolutions, registered in the teachers protocols and their discussions collected in recorded videos audio. The results were analyzed based on theories and investigations regarding the Probability teaching and learning and the mathematical knowledge for the thematic teaching. The resolutions, the long discussions and lots of reflection about the probabilistic notions implied in the analyzed situation, have developed and amplified the teachers´ Content Common Knowledge as well as the Specialized Knowledges, what certainly will enable them to anticipate mistakes from their students, identify possible causes, justify them from the Mathematics point of view and, consequently, look for interventional strategies that promote the comprehension and learning. Iin this process, the knowledge development and/or amplification, the importance of formative courses that take the reflection of issues related to both teaching and learning, in this case, the mathematical concepts and, more specifically, the probabilistic notions whith children in schooling initial phase. Keywords: Continuous Formation. Teacher Professional Knowledge. Elementary School Initial Series. Probability Teaching.

Social Sciences, Geography and History Teaching Based on Research

Innovation accompanies us in our daily lives contributing to personal growth and improving social participation. Considering the most important epistemological traditions of teaching-learning processes and teaching models, research-based teaching model is a relevant approach to introduce innovative didactic proposals. Selection, organization, and sequencing of school knowledge in the teaching of social sciences, geography and history, and the construction of meaningful school knowledge connected with the social reality implies considering relevant socio-environmental issues, teacher professional knowledge, student daily knowledge, and metadisciplinarity. As a pedagogical base, in this chapter, the authors focus on epistemological traditions of social sciences education, keys for the design of proposal from a research-based approach, and finally, they focus on alternatives for evaluation of students and the importance of action-research for systematization of decision making and professional development.

Community College Instructors’ Perceptions of Constraints and Affordances Related to Teaching Quantitative Biology Skills and Concepts

Quantitative skills are an important competency for undergraduate biology students and should be incorporated early and frequently in an undergraduate’s career. Community colleges (CCs) are responsible for teaching introductory biology to a large proportion of biology and prehealth students, and quantitative skills are critical for their careers. However, we know little about the challenges and affordances that CC instructors encounter when incorporating quantitative skills into their courses. To explore this, we interviewed CC biology instructors ( n = 20) about incorporating quantitative biology (QB) instruction into their classes. We used a purposeful sampling approach to recruit instructors who were likely to have tried evidence-based pedagogies and were likely aware of the importance of QB instruction. We used open coding to identify themes related to the affordances to and constraints on teaching QB. Overall, our study participants met with challenges typical of incorporating new material or techniques into any college-level class, including perceptions of student deficits, tension between time to teach quantitative skills and cover biology content, and gaps in teacher professional knowledge (e.g., content and pedagogical content knowledge). We analyze these challenges and offer potential solutions and recommendations for professional development to support QB instruction at CCs.