Tool Systems to Support Progress toward Expert-Like Teaching by Early Career Science Educators

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this five-year qualitative R&D project is to accelerate the progress of early career and pre-service science teachers from novice to expert-like pedagogical reasoning and practice by developing and studying a three-tool, web-based system. The tool system consists of (a) learning progressions for teachers specifying how they can support students' content-rich, inquiry learning activities; (b) classroom discourse to scaffold complex classroom inquiry conversations; and (c) systematic analysis of students' work. The tools are aimed at developing teachers' capabilities in (a) shaping instruction around the most fundamental science ideas; (b) scaffolding student thinking in deep understanding of content and evidence-based causal explanations, testing, and revision and application of scientific models; and (c) adapting instruction to diverse student populations by collecting and analyzing student data on their thinking levels. Research questions include the following: (1) Does the use of this tool system influence the development of pedagogical expertise in early career teachers? If so, under what conditions?; (2) How do novice teachers use pedagogical tools in coordination with one another to maximize the effectiveness of their instruction?; (3) How can this tool system support early career teachers' ability to recognize the learning needs of underachieving students, and adapt instruction to accommodate for the support of their learning?; and (4) Does the use of the tool system influence the ability of students to engage in evidence-based explanations over time?