Development of the Environmental Education Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument

The increasing popularity of including environmental topics and issues in school curricula has created a need for effective environmental education teachers. One way to evaluate teacher effectiveness is through teacher efficacy, a belief measure that evaluates a teacher's perception that he/she can teach effectively. Research suggests that teachers’ instructional decisions are influenced by their beliefs, which are framed by their personal experiences. Because teacher efficacy is content specific, the purpose of this study was to develop a survey, the Environmental Education Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument (EETEBI), to measure the teacher efficacy beliefs of preservice teachers as they relate to environmental education teaching strategies and outcomes.     

Teachers’ Practices in High School Chemistry Just Prior to the Adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards

Effective professional development that influences teachers’ classroom practices starts with what teachers know, understand, and do in their classroom. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) challenge teachers to make changes to their classroom; to help teachers make these changes, it is necessary to know what they are doing in their classrooms just prior to NGSS adoption. An online survey was distributed to high school chemistry teachers to understand their teaching practices before NGSS was adopted as state standards. This article presents the findings of the survey in terms of the chemistry content, science and engineering practices, and engineering content currently taught in chemistry. Gaps in the current teaching practices as they relate to the standards at the time of the study and NGSS are discussed, which show a challenge for the transformation of science education, which the implementation of NGSS hopes to achieve. Implications for professional development are included.     

Reforming Elementary Science Teacher Preparation: What About Extant Teaching Beliefs?

A common maxim in the educational profession is that one teaches the way one is taught. Indications are that preservice teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and practices may be linked to previous experiences. Calderhead & Robson (1991) underscored this concern by asserting that teachers use good teachers as models for developing their own images as teachers. Others have argued that the images held by teachers are used as frames of reference for their own teaching practices. In this article, preservice teachers' perceptions of themselves as science teachers are examined. The assertion is made that a long history of stereotypical science learning experiences — in elementary school, high school, and college — powerfully impacts the way in which elementary preservice teachers understand the nature of science and come to believe science should be taught. In the current study, the images and perceptions preservice teachers bring to science methods courses (as evidenced in drawings of themselves as science teachers at work) are identified and ways these images and perceptions may have been formed and how they can be reinforced or modified during a science methods course are discussed.     

Preparing Science Teachers in an Era of Reform: Practitioners' Perspectives of Methods Courses

With recent national calls for the reform of science education have come standards that delineate not only science content but also assessment, pedagogy, and teachers’ professional development. If teachers must teach science differently, then teacher preparation must change. This study asked 31 inservice secondary science teachers to complete a survey about topics for inclusion in a secondary science methods course. Respondents ranked a list of prespecified topics and had an opportunity to suggest other topics for inclusion in the course. Results showed that the majority of prespecified potential topics were judged important enough by these teachers to warrant inclusion in a methods course, though no individual added topic appeared on more than two surveys. Results demonstrate that these teachers believe teaching many of the traditional topics in science methods courses is still needed. In addition, they advocated the inclusion of several topics that either represent recent technological and theoretical advances, or longstanding ideas that have recently received considerable attention.     

Mix It Up: Teachers' Beliefs on Mixing Mathematics and Science

This paper defines correlation, describes the Mix It Up program, discusses the teachers' beliefs about the value of correlating mathematics and science prior to program participation, and identifies problems teachers associated with correlation before and during the program. Teachers' beliefs about the value of correlation and about the problems associated with correlation are based on results from both quantitative and qualitative methods used to evaluate the program. Results indicate that teachers believe correlating mathematics and science strengthens students' content knowledge in mathematics and science, bridges the gap between mathematics and science, enhances motivation, and increases students' flexibility in problem solving. Additionally, the areas identified by teachers to be most problematic were time, planning for instruction as a team, and exposure to correlation in the past. The most important finding from the program evaluation indicates that although teachers did not identify content knowledge weaknesses before participating in the program, they did recognize gaps in their own content knowledge during program participation, and more importantly they made connections among these gaps, classroom instruction, and their own students' performance in mathematics and science.     

Assessing Preservice Teachers' Beliefs about the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics and Science

With increased study of teachers' beliefs about science and mathematics teaching in recent years, there is a need for instruments that assess beliefs in both content areas. Moreover, early field experiences in schools and professional development efforts may influence the beliefs that preservice and in‐service teachers develop, and instruments for this purpose are limited. This article describes the development and validation of the Confidence, Commitment, Collaboration, and Student thinking in Mathematics and Science (CCCSMS) beliefs scales, a set of 10 six‐item scales. Collectively, these scales measure teachers' self‐confidence in doing and teaching science and mathematics, confidence in understanding children's thinking and building models of that thinking, commitment to teaching science and mathematics from a standards‐based perspective, and commitment to collaborating with peers. The scales represent an efficient and effective way of assessing beliefs of large groups. Although this article focuses predominantly on development of the scales, results from initial use indicate that there are positive correlations between beliefs related to mathematics and beliefs related to science, but the correlations are low enough to show that many teachers think differently about the two subjects.     

Finding Alignment: The Perceptions and Integration of the Next Generation Science Standards Practices by Elementary Teachers

Preparing elementary‐level teachers to teach in alignment with the eight Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practices could prove to be a daunting endeavor. However, the process may be catalyzed by leveraging elements of teacher science instruction that inherently attend to the practice standards. In this study, we investigated the science instruction of three grade 3–5 elementary‐level teachers. We used observation, interviews, and surveys to determine the level to which the teachers perceived they taught and engaged in teaching science aligned with the eight NGSS practices. We found that the teachers were partially, and intrinsically implementing several of these practices in their instruction, and at the same time could not articulate the eight NGSS practices. Our results suggest there may be ample opportunity to build on the current science instruction of elementary‐level teachers to bring their instruction into alignment with the NGSS. We found that teachers’ perceive professional development, school culture, and access to additional instructional resources to be essential to their adoption of the NGSS practices.     

Teachers in transition: Moving towards CAS-supported classrooms

In the near future many teachers may be required to incorporate CAS into their teaching practices. Based on classroom observations and interviews over two years, this paper reports how two teachers made the transition from using graphics calculators to CAS calculators while teaching differential calculus to upper secondary school students. Both teachers taught with CAS in ways that were consistent with their beliefs about learning and teaching. Over two years, the teachers' teaching approaches and purpose for use of technology were stable and seemed to be underpinned by their beliefs about learning. In contrast, both teachers made changes to the content they taught (and thus what they used technology for) in response to new institutional knowledge. Content choice seemed to be underpinned by the teachers' purpose for teaching. Other influences impacted on what the teachers taught and how they taught it: the teachers' content knowledge, their pedagogical content knowledge, and the lack of legitimacy of CAS as a tool for learning and during examinations in the trial school and wider educational community. The extent of differences noted between the responses of just two teachers indicates that there will be many responses to using CAS in classrooms, as teachers aim to achieve different learning goals and interpret their responsibilities to students in different ways.     

Development of a Community of Science Teachers: Participation in a Collaborative Action Research Project

This article presents a study exploring the beliefs, knowledge, and practices of four middle and secondary science teachers participating in a collaborative curriculum action research project. Using a case study methodology, the views and practices of these teachers were described and analyzed as they investigated novel ideas about scientific inquiry and nature of science, critically examined their practice, and implemented and reflected upon modified curricular practices. Findings indicated that by the end of the study, all participants had enhanced their views of scientific inquiry and nature of science, and the collaborative group evolved as a community of teachers. Wenger's (1998a) community of practice theory provided a useful framework to describe and analyze the experiences of these science teachers. Implications for the professional development of science teachers and the compatibility between a community of practice and collaborative action research projects are presented.     

Prospective teachers’ unified understandings of the structure of identities

United States curriculum standards advise mathematics teachers to teach students to attend to structure and understand how mathematical concepts are related. This requires teachers to have a structural perspective and a coherent, unified understanding of mathematical structures that span curricula. This study explores Prospective Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ (PSMTs) unified understandings of identities and characterizes the structural features of identities that PSMTs attend to. I contribute a theoretical framework of three ways in which PSMTs reason about identities: a do-nothing element, a result of undoing something, and a coordination with inverse, binary operation, and set. I classify the level of coherence of their identity schemas demonstrated as they reasoned about the structural connections among additive, multiplicative, and compositional identities. I illustrate how having unified, coherent understandings of identities can lead PSMTs to reason productively about inverse and identity functions, while having incoherent understandings of identities can lead to inaccurate reasoning about inverse and identity functions. I conclude with teaching implications for fostering PSMTs’ unified understandings of algebraic concepts.     

How can teachers’ beliefs affect their professional development?

This paper describes a qualitative study that examines in more detail the question of how teachers’ beliefs may influence the intention to implement change as suggested by a professional development initiative. Several teachers in Germany took part in a professional development initiative for modelling. The course comprised five workshops spread over 2008. A part of our evaluation of the course involved interviewing six teachers after they had taken part. Teachers were interviewed about the impact the course had had on them, the opportunities and any related impediments they saw for modelling, and the way in which they typically taught. The interviews were evaluated using codes. Although the sample is very small, the cases allow for interesting insights, and for the hypotheses that teachers’ beliefs about effective teaching seem to have a major impact on whether or not they intend to change their classroom practice, as suggested by the professional development initiative, and on whether or not teachers perceive the context in which they are teaching (school head, parents, students, etc.) as supportive.     

Constructing Elementary Teachers' Beliefs,Attitudes, and Practical Knowledge Through an Inquiry‐Based Elementary Science Course

This study examines inservice elementary school teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and practical knowledge toward inquiry‐based science instruction and the influence of an inquiry‐based elementary science course on teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and practical knowledge regarding inquiry. Both surveys and a case study were administered to the 14 elementary school teachers before and after completing a three‐credit elementary science methods course that was inquiry‐based. The findings showed that the teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and practical knowledge about inquiry were clearly influenced by the course. Through this course, the teachers developed fairly positive beliefs and attitudes that promoted inquiry instruction. The majority of participants also improved their knowledge and skills of conducting inquiry as they successfully practiced inquiry‐instruction in their science teachings.     

The Effectiveness of Substituting Locally Available Materials in Teaching Chemistry in Nigeria: A Case for Science Education in Developing Countries

This article investigates the effectiveness of improvising locally available materials for teaching chemistry in Nigeria, as a case for a culture of improvisation for teaching the sciences in developing countries. The scarcity and cost of imported materials for teaching science has remained a major challenge to teaching sciences in developing countries, and the fact that many teachers from developing countries tend to wait for these imported materials before they can teach continues to present a set‐back for science education in many non‐Western nations. In this experimental study, second year students in 3 Nigerian Senior Secondary schools in the state of Lagos, Nigeria, were sampled to determine whether there will be a significant difference in their performance when taught using imported materials compared to when taught using local substitutes. The study reveals that whereas their attitudes towards local materials may not be as positive as their attitudes towards imported materials, their performances did not differ when taught with either, as long as they were unaware of which material was local or imported. The result of this study proved that science education will flourish if teachers in Nigeria, and probably other developing countries, can begin to improvise local materials for science instruction.     

Clarifying the Place of Essential Topics and Unifying Principles in High School Biology

The content of high school biology courses is overwhelming in quantity. This coverage does not permit students to engage in inquiry whereby they construct knowledge in a meaningful manner. Initially, the study sought to identify a small list of essential topics as the focus of high school biology. With the help of seven science supervisors in a large metropolitan area in the Southwest who have taught high school biology for many years, the problem of course content was examined. After three separate contacts by mail to the supervisors using a Delphi technique, a view emerged: Teach students the big ideas of biology rather than specific topics, but use topics to develop the major themes and unifying principles. These findings need to be discussed with biology teachers to help them focus their teaching on a smaller body of course content that relates directly to the major ideas of biology.     

The Role of Teachers' Beliefs and Knowledge in the Adoption of a Reform‐Based Curriculum

Science as inquiry is a key content standard in the National Science Education Standards; however, few secondary science teachers successfully and consistently implement inquiry‐based instruction in their classrooms. This research examines the role of reform‐based curricular materials in influencing the classroom practices of 12 high school chemistry teachers and investigates the role of the teachers' knowledge and beliefs in their implementation of the reform‐based chemistry curriculum. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected in the form of beliefs interviews and classroom observations. The teachers' classroom practices were measured prior to and during the field test of the reform‐based chemistry curriculum. Analysis of the data revealed that teachers' classroom practice became more reform‐based in the presence of the new curriculum; however, the degree of change is related to the teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning, depth of chemistry knowledge, and years of teaching experience. Experienced, out‐of‐discipline teachers with transitional or student‐centered teaching beliefs demonstrated the most growth in reform‐based teaching practices. This study reinforces the need for reform‐based curriculum to assist teachers in implementing the intent of the National Science Education Standards.     

Cross‐Cultural Issues Arising for Four Science Teachers During Their International Migration to Teach in U.S. High Schools

U.S. schools have experienced a perennial shortage of teachers. Recently, many school districts have been inviting foreign veteran teachers to help mitigate such teacher shortages. This study describes the initial cross‐cultural issues four international science teachers encountered when they immigrated to teach in U.S. high schools. In‐depth, semistructured interviews of four science teachers (from Ghana, Britain, and Germany) produced the main source of data. The international teachers faced a variety of support system problems, which were not directly classroom related, but nevertheless had an impact on their instructional effectiveness. They also faced teaching‐related issues, including differences in school organization and structure, assessment and philosophical beliefs, communication, textbooks, teaching methods, and teacher‐student relations. They all expressed a need to become active learners in order to function effectively in their new teaching contexts. The implications are discussed based on the findings.     

Implications of Informal Education Experiences for Mathematics Teachers' Ability to Make Connections Beyond Formal Classroom

The Common Core Standard for Mathematical Practice 4: Model with Mathematics specifies that mathematically proficient students are able to make connections between school mathematics and its applications to solving real‐world problems. Hence, mathematics teachers are expected to incorporate connections between mathematical concepts they teach and their applications to solving problems arising in real‐world situation. Clearly, it is assumed that the teachers themselves are able to make such connections. On the other hand, research shows that mathematics teachers find it difficult to make those connections. In this paper, we present the results of the study that investigated the ways in which exploring mathematics in informal sites, and in particular science museum, assist teachers with making connections between school mathematics and its applications in real world.     

Supporting Middle School Teachers’ Implementation of STEM Design Challenges

We describe and analyze a professional development (PD) model that involved a partnership among science, mathematics and education university faculty, science and mathematics coordinators, and middle school administrators, teachers, and students. The overarching project goal involved the implementation of interdisciplinary STEM Design Challenges (DCs). The PD model targeted: (a) increasing teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics and science; (b) helping teachers integrate STEM practices into their lessons; and (c) addressing teachers’ beliefs about engaging underperforming students in challenging problems. A unique aspect involved low‐achieving students and their teachers learning alongside each other as they co‐participated in STEM design challenges for one week in the summer. Our analysis focused on what teachers came to value about STEM DCs, and the challenges in and affordances for implementing DCs. Two significant areas of value for the teachers were students’ use of scientific, mathematical, and engineering practices and motivation, engagement, and empowerment by all learners. Challenges associated with pedagogy, curriculum, and the traditional structures of the schools were identified. Finally, there were four key affordances: (a) opportunities to construct a vision of STEM education; (b) motivation to implement DCs; (c) ambitious pedagogical tools; and, (d) ongoing support for planning and implementation. This article features a Research to Practice Companion Article . Please click on the supporting information link below to access.