Every week the news media is full of stories describing concerns about America’s competitiveness in a global economy and decline in our standing as a world leader in science and technology. Entities ranging from the president to the National Science Board to local school boards and even individual teachers have pointed to the lack of student proficiency on national and international tests of mathematics and science and the decline of students pursuing science and engineering degrees from universities nationwide as a cause for economic and societal apprehension and concern. It is also evident that some of the most critical and fastest growing occupations are dependent upon a knowledge base in science and mathematics. Solutions to these concerns include starting students as early as possible in inquiry-based science programs taught by proficient and knowledgeable teachers comfortable with the nature of science and inquiry, and this can partially be brought about by effective inquiry-based professional development workshops and institutes, particularly in the summer months.
Possible Methods of Remediation
Low science teacher self-efficacy and lack of understanding of the nature of inquiry in scientific disciplines may contribute to lowered student achievement because of less effective teaching. Relevant components of competent science teaching may be increased through effective professional development workshops and summer science institutes. Methods of remediation in summer science workshops may include participation in generating and carrying out Learning Cycles, authentic scientific research projects with an expert mentor, and presentations on the effectiveness and types of Learning Cycles. A Learning Cycle is a teaching philosophy in which the students gather data, the teacher helps them develop the concept of interest, and then together they expand and apply the concept. Instruments to be administered to judge the effectiveness of a workshop may include a Demographic Information Survey, the Science Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B Pre/Post), a qualitative Nature of Inquiry Pre/Post component, and a Summative Post-workshop Survey. It may also be possible to follow up in subsequent months and years with the targeted teachers, schools, and even specific, corresponding levels of student achievement.
Problems with Traditional Science Teaching Methods
The literature suggests that students need to “learn more than can be absorbed from simply reading about science-they need to do science, becoming critical thinkers and evaluators of what they observe and learn” to compete in today’s rapidly changing world (Rhoton and Bowers, 2001, p. 13). The state of Oklahoma’s Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) and the National Science Education Standards (NSES) recommend an inquiry approach to science teaching. Unfortunately many new and even experienced teachers feel ill-equipped to meet this challenge. Most K-12 school teachers have never been involved in a science inquiry investigation (Kielborn & Gilmer, 1999). Teachers use textbooks or cookbook type laboratories to teach science to their students. Textbook readings, note-taking, and cookbook lab activities give students the impression that science is scripted and that every experiment provides the correct answer. These types of activities do not accurately reflect the investigative and historically varied nature of scientific inquiry and do not require students to develop the critical thinking skills needed to compete in our changing world. This study expects to 1) increase the scientific literacy and efficacy of K-12 school teachers by providing authentic scientific inquiry experiences that promote an understanding of the nature of inquiry in scientific disciplines and 2) present teachers with an approach to science teaching that translates this genuine inquiry experience into classroom practice.
Evidence of Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Science Professional Development Workshops
There is much in the scientific educational research literature to support positive answers to the questions posed above. A reliable measure of science teacher self-efficacy is necessary to evaluate the pre- and post-effects of workshops and other training methods, and the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) has been used by many of the studies cited here, as well as in others (Enochs and Riggs, 1990). Chun and Oliver (2000) found significant gains in science teacher self-efficacy during a two-year study involving participation in inquiry-based professional development workshops. In 2004, Jarvis and Pell demonstrated similar increases in science teachers’ attitudes and cognition and corresponding student achievement gains during and after professional development activities. Likewise, a seven-year study in Iowa found tremendous gains in student achievement when science teachers designated as team leaders undertook ongoing training in constructivist teaching strategies advocated by the National Science Education Standards (Kimble, Yager, and Yager, 2006). Raudenbush, Rowan, and Cheong (1992) found that the level of teacher preparation was a strong predictor of self-efficacy in the science classroom, and engaging in highly collaborative environments such as professional development workshops and institutes helped to facilitate this.
Discussion
Science teacher self-efficacy seems to be strongly linked to an understanding of the nature of inquiry, and by extension so does greater student achievement in science. Professional development workshops and institutes with an emphasis on research activities and inquiry-based science likewise seem to be one of the most effective and practical ways to bring this about. Both preservice and inservice teachers seem to benefit from these types of activities, as do their schools and their individual students. It is imperative to undertake more studies of this type to reinforce and support this viewpoint, and then to design and implement workshops of this nature and encourage as much active participation by our nation’s science teachers as possible.
Purpose of Research
The objective of this research project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a summer science professional development workshop in increasing the scientific literacy and efficacy of participating K-12 school teachers, and increase the use of inquiry-based curricula in K-12 classrooms. The research questions to be posed are: 1) Does participation in a professional development experience with authentic scientific research and inquiry-based teaching components increase science teaching efficacy among K-12 teachers? 2) Does participation in a professional development experience with authentic scientific research and inquiry-based teaching components increase use of inquiry-based approaches in classroom instruction among K-12 teachers? 3) Does participation in a professional development experience with authentic scientific research and inquiry-based teaching components change attitudes of K-12 teachers towards teaching science and the nature of inquiry?
References
Akerson, V. L., & Hanuscin, D. L. (2007). Teaching Nature of Science through Inquiry: Results of a 3-Year Professional Development Program. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44, 653-680.
Chun, S., & Oliver, J. (2000). A Quantitative Examination of Teacher Self-Efficacy and Knowledge of the Nature of Science. 2000 Annual Meeting of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science.
Enochs, L., & Riggs, I. (1990). Further Development of an Elementary Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument: A Preservice Elementary Scale. School Science and Mathematics, 90, 694-706.
Jarvis, T., & Pell, A. (2004). Primary teachers’ changing attitudes and cognition during a two-year in-service programme and their effect on pupils. International Journal of Science Education, 26, 1787-1811.
Johnson, C. C., Kahle, J. B., & Fargo J. D. (2006). A Study of the Effect of Sustained, Whole –School Professional Development on Student Achievement in Science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 10, 1-12.
Kielborn, T., Gilmer, P., & Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE), T. (1999). Meaningful Science: Teachers Doing Inquiry + Teaching Science. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED434008) Retrieved June 13, 2007, from ERIC database.
Kimble, L. L., Yager, R. E., & Yager, S. O. (2006). Success of a Professional-Development Model in Assisting Teachers to Change Their Teaching to Match the More Emphasis Conditions Urged in the National Science Education Standards. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 17, 1007-1021.
Raudenbush, S. W., Rowan, B., & Cheong, Y. F., (1992). Contextual Effects on the Self-perceived Efficacy of High School Teachers. Sociology of Education, 65, 150-167.
Rhoton, J., Bowers, P., & National Science Teachers Association, A. (2001). Professional Development Planning and Design. Issues in Science Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED449040) Retrieved June 13, 2007, from ERIC database.
