A one-year teacher professional development programme towards context-based science education using a concerns-based approach

Wim Jochems,Nienke M Nieveen,Ruurd Taconis,Lesley G.A De Putter - Smits

doi:10.1080/19415257.2020.1712616

Abstract

ABSTRACT Professional development programmes for teachers that aim at context-based science education are usually lengthy and less effective than intended. In this study, a one-year professional development programme was designed and evaluated that consistently started from the teachers’ concerns regarding context-based education. The teachers reported a positive shift in concerns, from self-as-teacher concerns towards student-learning concerns. They also reported that they came to grips with what context-based science education means in teaching practice. Although the number of participants was small (n = 5), this study uncovers that focusing on teachers’ concerns throughout the professional development programme is a potentially effective approach to teacher learning. The shifts in their concerns is an important condition for long-lasting change.

Highlights

A context-based teaching approach is increasingly adopted in science education around the world (e.g. Pilot and Bulte 2006, Potvin and Hasni 2014)
In this paper we report on a modified programme of teacher professional development towards context-based science education through designing curriculum materials
Our main research question addressed in this paper is: What is the effectiveness of a one-year professional development programme that takes teachers’ stages of concern into account when preparing teachers for context-based science education? Two research questions have been distinguished: (1) What change in stages of concern towards context-based science education do teachers show in such a programme?

Summary

Introduction

A context-based teaching approach is increasingly adopted in science education around the world (e.g. Pilot and Bulte 2006, Potvin and Hasni 2014). A context-based teaching approach is increasingly adopted in science education around the world Context-based science education can be defined as an educational approach in which contexts that are meaningful to students are used as a starting point for learning scientific concepts (Gilbert 2006, Bennett et al 2007). Context-based education is becoming more and more effective and popular, as seen from a review study into context-based chemistry education, where over 50 studies where found dating from the last two decades (Ültay and Çalık 2012). In the Netherlands, an effort was made to involve teachers in the design and use of context-based teaching materials, following the example of Salters’ chemistry in the UK and Chemie im Kontext (CHiK) in Germany (cf Bennett et al 2005, Stolk et al 2009). Teams of teachers are expected to focus on creating context-based resources for their own and other teachers’ classrooms, under the premise they would learn what context-based teaching entails whilst doing so

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