Abstract
The No Child Left Behind Act requires that all teachers be certified within the content areas that they teach. However, attracting and retaining highly qualified science teachers in rural school districts is particularly difficult due to limited resources and geographic and professional isolation. Science professional development programs could help improve inservice teachers' understanding of concepts they are expected to teach, but such programs are often limited in rural areas. This study evaluates a unique distance learning, inquiry-based professional development course in physical science developed to meet the needs of central Appalachian middle school teachers. Instruction through hands-on inquiry investigations distinguishes this program from other distance learning programs. Preliminary findings from the pilot study reported in this paper reveal significant growth in 43 teachers' content knowledge for six of nine temperature and heat concepts assessed in the course. Outcomes from the distance learning project are discussed as they relate to future research goals and implications for science professional development programs in rural regions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 173-186 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Science Education and Technology |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The distance learning temperature and heat course evaluated in this study served as the pilot for an Interagency Education Research Initiative (IERI) professional development program funded by the National Science Foundation. The 5-year project, referred to as Newton’s Universe, is currently underway and includes four short science content distance learning courses designed for middle school teachers. The courses include, the conceptually based temperature and heat course described in the current study, a second temperature and heat course that incorporates the use of educational technologies for data collection and analyses, a conceptually based force and motion course; and a second force and motion course that includes the use of educational technologies for data collection and analysis. Educational technology was not the focus of the temperature and heat course evaluated in the current study in order to focus on basic concepts and to follow in a stepwise progression from the original face-to-face workshop to the distance learning course. Technologies available in the region’s schools vary greatly as do teachers’ science content understanding and technology abilities. The sequence of courses from a conceptual emphasis to a more in depth study using educational technologies also was selected in order to help teachers develop subject matter knowledge and confidence before progressing to more in-depth concepts and adding another layer of complexity with technology. Content learned in the conceptually based courses (temperature and heat and force and motion) provides the necessary foundation on which to construct a deeper and broader understanding in the second courses in the sequence. Refer to the project Web site (http://web.as.uky.edu/newtonsuniverse/) for more information about the courses.
Funding Information:
Four short distance learning courses were developed for the program, with support from a federal grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-secondary Education (FIPSE). Like the original science content workshops, all of the distance learning courses were based on state and national science content standards for grades 4–8 and modeled the use of inquiry in learning science. The courses addressed the four major physics topics for the workshops: temperature and heat, force and motion, electricity and magnetism, and light. Lessons followed the 5E learning cycle model (Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS) 1989) and incorporated key tenets from conceptual change research, including identification of teachers’ prior conceptions; concrete, inquiry-based activities; interpretive discussions fostered through email communications between a course instructor and each participant; and metacognitive awareness fostered with the use of a reflection journal. Each course required approximately 30–40 h to complete.
Keywords
- Distance education
- Evaluation
- Inquiry-based science
- Middle school
- Middle school science
- Physical science
- Professional development
- Temperature and heat
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- General Engineering