Change in the Beliefs of Scientists and Teachers as They Work Together                

Meta Van Sickle,                      George Tempel,            Carol Tempel and Natalie Gaskill

College of Charleston,               Medical Univ, of SC,     Charleston County School District       

 

            Lowcountry Partners for Inquiry Teaching and Learning is a NSF GK-12 funded project to foster graduate student development in partnership with local school districts. Ten pre-college teachers (grades 3-10) were paired with ten graduate students from the Medical University of South Carolina and the College of Charleston. Pairs work together an average of ten hours a week. Their individual, but very different strengths have been utilized over three years introducing graduate students to current educational reforms and pedagogy, and providing teachers with laboratory experience to reinforce a constructivist approach to science teaching.

           

In year one, teachers and fellows through courses and seminars bonded and increased their knowledge and use of inquiry for instruction. Both performed science as inquiry and engaged in continuing assessment of their teaching and student learning. In year two, the group examined text and developed action research plans to examine the role of tact in instruction. Teachers and fellows worked in partnerships in the school, not just the classroom, to promote a culture of action research that fosters continuing examination and modification of teaching practices. Finally, in year three, our partnersÕ efforts are being published in professional development offerings as the community of schools is being abreast of their activities and findings.

 

These partnerships have and will stimulate a culture where action research promotes reflection and ongoing modification of teaching practices. Courses offered over the grant period may be reviewed at our web site http://www.musc.edu/grad/NSF/nsfhome.htm. They foster interaction of scientist and teacher as partners and emphasize that the strength of the pair was due to their mutual contributions.

 

Science education reform, from early childhood through college, is an area of investigation with a focus on improving student learning and teacher effectiveness. One major recommendation of many reports of these reforms (Rutherford & Ahlgren, 1990, U.S. Department of Education, 1991, NRC, 1996 & NRC, 2000) is to include constructivist teaching models in teacher education programs. The foundation for all of these guidelines is the view that all students are capable of learning in the appropriate classroom environment. This wave of reform efforts in science education focuses on inquiry as a classroom approach mirroring laboratory practice and the nature of science. We worked with researchers and teachers to explicitly teach the nature of science, constructivist practices for the classroom, inquiry models, and approaches to laboratory practices. Our exposure was designed to provide the researcher and the practitioner an approach to model the practice of science leaving the student with an analytical approach to problem solving as well as the (current) content.

Purpose:

 

In a series of courses and seminars that consistently used and taught constructivist teaching practices, we examined both scientists (graduate students) and teachers. We assessed their beliefs, teaching practices and efficacy. Our objective was to compare scientists and teachers at the beginning of the program and to examine changes as they were exposed to professional development in the program over time.

 

Does the Lowcountry Partners NSF GK12 program affect scientistsÕ and teachersÕ efficacy?

Does the program affect fellowsÕ and teachersÕ science teaching belief structures (context and capability belief structures)?

Does the program effect fellowsÕ and teachersÕ constructivist teaching practices?

Do the fellowsÕ and teachersÕ efficacy, beliefs and constructivist teaching practices differ?

 

¤     Data Analysis

 

A modified quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with nonequivalent groups was used in comparisons described in the figure below. The small sample size and ordinal nature of the data, suggested nonparametric analyses. The Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the two populations of fellows and teachers and changes over the course of the program for each of the three instruments.

 

The tests are now designated Pre-Pre (first time baseline control), Post 1, Post 2, and Post 3 for all three instruments.

 

 

                       

Scientists                     Teachers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Figure one 

 

A model of the testing that has been completed on the three instruments. Each Scientist and teacher were tested prior to entry into the program Subsequently, the same survey was gathered at the end of treatment year one and two. These data were analyzed within group and between group.

 

 

The CLES revealed significant differences between the fellows and the teachers before the program was initiated. The areas of difference were scientific uncerstainty (P<0.05) and critical voice (P<0.06). After one year in the program the fellowsÕ, baseline to end of year change was in the area of attitude (P<0/06). The teachersÕ, during this same time frame, change was in the area of student negotiation (P<0.05).

 

 The STEBI was used to determine if change occurred in the areas of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. Prior to entering the program the comparison between fellows and teachers revealed that the teachers were more self-efficacious than the fellows (P<0.05). The end of year one results showed that the fellows gained in both the areas, self-efficacy (P<0.05) and outcome expectancy (P<0.06). There were  no effects on the teachers.

 

The CBATS revealed no differences between fellows and teachers at the end of year one. The CBATS showed a decreasing trend in enable beliefs at the end of year one for teachers and fellows (P<0.11). The full decrease in enabling beliefs was regained by both fellows and teachers by the end of two years in the program.

 

 

The trends in efficacy patterns for teachers and fellows were consistent with the published record in that the STEBI showed both groups gained personal efficacy with 90 hours of professional development. The interesting change that is different from the literature is that the CBATS revealed an initial decrease in enabling beliefs for both fellows and teachers. The CLES results are showing a trend toward a more constructivist set of practices in the classroom.

 

These data have implications for people going into the classroom without the appropriate background and for the use of constructivist practices in the classroom. It seems that teachers and fellows found they felt less enabled in the classroom when making the initial changes to a more constructivist and inquiry type of classroom setting. The full implementation of these practices in the classroom seem to take more than 90 hours of professional development.

 

This information may help explain why scientists who chose to go into the classroom without the knowledge taught in education courses have a high failure rate. It may also help us determine which constructivist practices are likely to gained first through last and assist in the design of coursework that meets the needs of the participants.