Drits-Esser Dina, Stark Louisa A
University of Utah, United States.
Electron J Sci Educ. 2015 Dec 8;19(8).
Effective professional development programs for science teachers provide opportunities for active learning and teacher self-reflection on beliefs about science teaching, learning, and practice. One model that fosters active learning and promotes reflection is collaborative curriculum development, in which teachers work together with university facilitators to create curriculum materials. We used a two-case study design to investigate how teacher collaborative curriculum (the first part of development, in which ideas for curriculum are created) impacted participant professional learning during a five-day summer institute. Interview or survey data were collected from 41 secondary biology teacher participants in two summer institutes. Results indicated that teachers experienced shifts in their science knowledge, beliefs about science, beliefs about science teaching and learning, and in their science teaching practice. We concluded that the curriculum design process, which can occur in a relatively short time period, can foster meaningful, task-oriented collaboration. The collaboration process provides the vehicle for active learning, where teachers can reflect on their beliefs while applying new knowledge to the classroom. Recommendations for other professional development programs along with a discussion of the program's unique philosophy are provided.
有效的科学教师专业发展项目为积极学习以及教师对科学教学、学习和实践的信念进行自我反思提供了机会。一种促进积极学习并推动反思的模式是协作课程开发，即教师与大学辅导员合作编写课程材料。我们采用双案例研究设计，来调查教师协作课程（课程开发的第一部分，即生成课程构想）在为期五天的暑期研习班中是如何影响参与者的专业学习的。从两个暑期研习班的41名中学生物教师参与者那里收集了访谈或调查数据。结果表明，教师们在科学知识、对科学的信念、对科学教学与学习的信念以及科学教学实践方面都发生了转变。我们得出结论，课程设计过程虽可在相对较短的时间段内完成，但却能促进有意义的、以任务为导向的协作。协作过程为积极学习提供了途径，教师们可以在将新知识应用于课堂的同时反思自己的信念。文中还给出了对其他专业发展项目的建议以及对该项目独特理念的讨论。
