Rethinking the Factor of Duration for Professional Development: A Workshop-Seminar-Demonstration Class Model for Science Teachers

Enshan Liu,Nuo Li,Shuchen Guo,Cheng Liu

doi:10.29333/ejmste/11351

Abstract

Participating in effective professional development (PD) activities is crucial for helping teachers improve the quality of pedagogy and students’ learning results. Numerous factors influence the design of effective PD, one of which is duration. However, many teachers do not find much time to participate in long-term concentrated and continuous PD due to their heavy workloads. Based on this consideration, this paper presents the Workshop-Seminar-Demonstration Class PD (WSD-PD) model, which addresses the factor of duration by shortening the hours of contact, lengthening the total span of time required, and integrating elements such as active learning and expert follow-up to improve teachers’ practical teaching methods. With “Teaching for Conceptual Change” as the theme and junior high school science teachers as participants, the results of the study show that WSD-PD can serve teachers by generating willingness to improve teaching practices for and influence teaching behaviors in them. The settings of different activities in this model are also considered to play distinct and indispensable roles in the program.

Highlights

Teacher quality has important implications for student learning (Kane et al, 2013)
This paper presents the Workshop-Seminar-Demonstration Class professional development (PD) (WSDPD) model, which addresses the factor of duration by shortening the hours of contact, lengthening the total span of time required, and integrating elements such as active learning and expert follow-up to improve teachers’ practical teaching methods
Many PD programs in science education are focused on the context of curricular reform; they are designed in relation to reform efforts and aimed at successful educational innovation (Dall’Alba & Sandberg, 2006; Luft & Hewson 2014; van Driel et al, 2012)

Summary

Introduction

Designed professional development (PD) programs can enhance teachers’ professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes, thereby improving students’ learning effectiveness and achievements (Blank & de las Alas, 2009; Guskey, 2003). Many PD programs in science education are focused on the context of curricular reform; they are designed in relation to reform efforts and aimed at successful educational innovation (Dall’Alba & Sandberg, 2006; Luft & Hewson 2014; van Driel et al, 2012). Education researchers are responsible for providing teachers with more comprehensive support, to help them acquire essential knowledge. They should facilitate the development of teaching practices that are aligned with science education reform (Pringle et al, 2020). More effort should be made to provide updated and effective PD activities for science teachers to ensure the output of training results (Aldahmash et al, 2019)

Objectives

Methods

Results