An analysis of the processes of change in two science teachers educators' thinking

Abstract

This study examined the processes of change in thinking as a means of learning about the professional development of two science teacher educators. A qualitative methodology was used. The main research tool was a semistructured in‐depth interview. The primary data analyzed came from two science teacher educators, selected from a broader set of seven. Findings emphasize the importance of questions regarding the knowledge possessed by teacher educators and of the questions regarding the role of science teacher educators. That is, the knowledge of an expert science teacher educator was more than a list of givens; it was personal and context‐bound. This study contributes new insight into the processes of teacher educators' professional development and change in their thinking. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1219–1245, 2007

Beliefs about learning and enacted instructional practices: An investigation in postsecondary chemistry education

“…Ultimately, these findings cast hope over the state of faculty members’ thinking in postsecondary chemistry in the United States: Student‐Centered Learning beliefs were overall more prevalent than Teacher‐Centered Learning beliefs. This indicates some level of the cognitive dissonance from which to leverage reform efforts (Bauer et al, ; Greensfeld & Elkad‐Lehman, ; Kane et al, ; Sandi‐Urena, Cooper, & Gatlin, ; Windschitl & Sahl, ). Despite the slow spread of EBIPs in postsecondary chemistry, the characterization of instructional practices into styles provides chemistry education researchers with a framework to describe student‐centered teaching in a context for future faculty members and to potentially identify transitional pedagogical techniques.…”

“…Faculty members are unlikely to change their classroom style without feeling unhappy with current practice. Reflection during adoption of a reform is imperative to nurturing the sense of dissatisfaction that leads faculty members to embrace change and encourage understanding of reformed instruction (Greensfeld & Elkad-Lehman, 2007;Kane et al, 2004;Sandi-Urena et al, 2011).…”

“…chemistry, college/university science, curriculum and instruction, evaluation and theory, pedagogy, quantitative, science education, teacher beliefs 1 | I NT ROD UCTI ON Pedagogical reform in chemistry, as in STEM education generally, is a complex endeavor with many factors that enable or inhibit efforts (Dole & Sinatra, 1998;Gess-Newsome, Southerland, Johnston, & Woodbury, 2003;Greensfeld & Elkad-Lehman, 2007;Henderson, 2008;Henderson et al, 2015;Ho, Watkins, & Kelly, 2001;Woodbury & Gess-Newsome, 2002). A reformed postsecondary chemistry classroom is defined for this study as a student-centered environment in which constructivism guides the use of pedagogical techniques such as active learning (Sawada et al, 2002).…”

The process of change in a science teacher's professional development: A case study based on the types of problems in the classroom

“…For these teachers, professional development can be presented as an internal process of growth, expansion, and increasing complexity of how they approach their practice (Greensfeld & Elkad‐Lehman, 2007), based on what they already think and do (Mulholland & Wallave, 2005), on the real problems of science teaching and learning, on their everyday concerns, on their background (Henze, Van Driel, & Verloop, 2007), and on the context in which they work (Jiménez‐Pérez & Wamba, 2003).…”

Η Εξέλιξη Της Παιδαγωγικής Γνώσης Περιεχομένου Στις Φυσικές Επιστήμες Μέσω Αναστοχασμού Των Εκπαιδευτικών Σε Ένα Πρόγραμμα Καινοτόμων Διδακτικών Μαθησιακών Σειρών

“…Η βελτίωση της επιμόρφωσης των εκπαιδευτικών, οι οποίοι πλέον θεωρούνται δια βίου εκπαιδευόμενοι και στοχαζόμενοι επαγγελματίες (Schön,1983), αποτελεί βασική προτεραιότητα για τη βελτίωση της εκπαιδευτικής διαδικασίας. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό ο όρος «επαγγελματική ανάπτυξη» αφορά τη διαδικασία μέσω της οποίας ένας εκπαιδευτικός αποκτά γνώσεις και εμπειρίες κατά τη διάρκεια της επαγγελματικής του ζωής (Greensfeld & Elkad-Lehman, 2007). Ειδικότερα, ο Shulman (1986Shulman ( , 1987 υποστήριξε ότι η επαγγελματική ανάπτυξη συντίθεται από μια ποικιλία κατηγοριών γνώσεων, η οποία συμπεριλαμβάνει και την ανάπτυξη της Παιδαγωγικής Γνώσης Περιεχομένου (ΠΓΠ).…”