Secondary Science Teachers Research Articles

It Takes a Community to Recruit & Support High Quality Biology Teachers

It Takes a Community to Recruit & Support High Quality Biology Teachers

Misconceptions, Knowledge, and Attitudes Towards the Phenomenon of Radioactivity

The teaching of the phenomenon of radioactivity is considered a key ingredient in the path towards developing critical thinking skills in many secondary science education curricula. Despite being one of the basic concepts in general physics courses, the scientific teaching literature of the last 40 years reports a great deal of misconceptions and conceptual errors related to radioactivity that seemingly appear regardless of the educational level and context. This study reports the first cross-sectional diagnostic study in Spain to secondary education students and pre-service teachers. Data were collected in the year 2019 through a questionnaire adapted from a previously validated one to explore the main misconceptions, attitudes, and knowledge status on the topic on a sample of 191 secondary school students and 29 Physics-and-Chemistry trainee teachers in the Spanish region of Valencia. Open and closed questions were used to categorize the entity itself, its properties, and the main misconceptions related to radioactivity. The responses were analysed using conventional statistical methods. The results indicate an evolution from a widespread dissenting notion on the phenomenon, which is staunchly related to danger, hazard, and destruction in the lowest educational levels, towards a more rational, relative, and multidimensional perspective in the highest ones. On the other hand, the ideas, emotions, and attitudes of the inquired individuals are in good agreement with the main misconceptions reported in the literature.

Phylogenetic trees and other evolutionary diagrams in biology textbooks and their importance in secondary science education

Diagrams describing relationship between organisms, and their overall evolution, commonly in the form of phylogenetic trees or other evolutionary diagrams, have become a part of even lower secondary biology textbooks. These diagrams can help promote basic science literacy, yet their design may also strengthen misconceptions about evolution. Therefore, based on the content analysis of 112 Czech biology textbooks for secondary schools (ISCED levels 2 and 3), characteristics of introduced phylogenetic trees and other evolutionary diagrams were recorded and evaluated according to the cladistics to see if their construction supports the current scientific understanding of evolution. The content analysis indicates that the design of nearly half of all diagrams in current lower (ISCED 2) and upper secondary (ISCED 3) textbooks promotes ladder thinking. More than 80% of all diagrams were not accompanied by instructions on how to read them, meaning that students did not have sufficient scaffolding to understand them. Mainly ISCED 3 textbooks did not introduce additional problem tasks that would support the use of the diagrams in the lessons. Therefore, authors of textbooks should focus more on the construction quality of these diagrams while also supporting their correct application during the educational process. This is likely to prevent a further increase in student misconceptions.

Reading the world through the educational curriculum: The Social Sciences curriculum in Brazil in the context of the rise of conservatism

In Brazil, the growing political polarization that culminated in the election of Jair Bolsonaro in 2018 consolidated a shift in educational policy that had already been pointed out in previous years, as demonstrated by the Nonpartisan school movement performance. In this article, we analyze the curriculum of human and social sciences in secondary education in Brazil from the Brazilian Learning Standards, and how that document reflects the rise of these conservative movements. On the one hand, it was observed that important categories for the social sciences, such as gender, were removed, thus removing the centrality of categories such as racism and social inequalities; on the other hand, there is a strong dispute over the meanings of other concepts, such as human rights. Both actions converge to fine-tune the human and social sciences curriculum with the guidelines of conservative movements in the educational field.

Secondary Science Teachers’ Views on Environmental Citizenship in The Netherlands

Environmental Citizenship (EC) is a promising aim for science education. EC enables people not only to responsibly make decisions on sustainability issues—such as use of renewable energy sources—but also to take action individually and collectively. However, studies show that education for EC is challenging. Because our understanding of EC practice remains limited, an in-depth, qualitative view would help us better understand how to support science teachers during EC education. This study aims to describe current EC education practices. What do secondary science teachers think sustainability and citizenship entail? What are their experiences (both positive and negative) with education for EC? A total of 41 Dutch science teachers were interviewed in an individual, face-to-face setting. Analysis of the coded transcripts shows that most teachers see the added value of EC but struggle to fully implement it in their teaching. They think the curriculum is unsuitable to reach EC, and they see activities such as guiding discussions and opinion forming as challenging. Furthermore, science teachers’ interpretation of citizenship education remains narrow, thus making it unlikely that their lessons are successful in fostering EC. Improving EC education therefore may be supported by explicit representation in the curriculum and teacher professional development directed at its implementation.

Contemporary science practice in the classroom: a phenomenological exploration into how online curriculum resources can facilitate learning

ABSTRACT Using a phenomenological lens, we investigated how online curriculum resources can support secondary science teachers to explore contemporary science practices with their students. The research used a social constructivist theoretical and a hermeneutic phenomenology methodological framework to describe and interpret the teacher/participants’ experience. Seven participants teaching science to Year 7–10 students (12–15 years old) engaged in the research project, trialling selected contemporary science resources in their class. Pre and post intervention interviews were conducted with each participant along with classroom observations of one lesson to view aspects of the effectiveness of the resource, the teachers’ approach and their perceptions of student learning and engagement. Discussion focuses on how the online curriculum resources presented alternative views about science in practice to what students expect, providing an in-depth view of scientists and their research practices in varied settings. Affordances of this approach for bringing real science into the classroom and for improving student engagement and learning are considered. The findings point to the approach being potentially a productive, scalable way forward for introducing contemporary science practice into classrooms. We advocate further research investigating the potential of this type of online curriculum resource to connect students more powerfully with scientists and their practices.

Training-of-Trainers Neuroscience and Mental Health Teacher Education in Liberia Improves Self-Reported Support for Students.

Education programs have been central to reestablishing social norms, rebuilding public educational institutions, and addressing public attitudes toward mental illness in Liberia following a protracted civil war and the Ebola epidemic. The aim of this study was to determine if a program combining an understanding of neuroscience with mental health literacy content could increase teachers’ awareness of students’ mental health issues and produce changes in teacher attitudes and classroom practices. A tiered Training-of-Trainers approach was employed. The first workshop trained 24 Liberian secondary science teachers in the neurobiology of learning, memory, emotions, stress and adolescent brain development. A Leadership Team formed from eight of the Tier I participants then adapted the curriculum, added in more mental health literacy content and led four Tier II workshops and four follow-up Refresher sessions. Participants completed a neuroscience knowledge test and surveys assessing stigma, general perceptions of people with mental illness, and burnout. A subset of Tier II teachers participated in a structured interview at the Refresher time point. Teachers in both tiers acquired basic neuroscience knowledge. Tier I, but not Tier II teachers significantly improved their surveyed attitudes toward people with mental illness. No changes were found in overall teacher burnout. Despite these survey results, the interviewed Tier II teachers self-reported behavioral changes in how they approached their teaching and students in their classrooms. Interviewees described how they now understood social and emotional challenges students might be experiencing and recognized abnormal behaviors as having a biopsychosocial basis. Teachers reported reduced use of verbal and corporal punishment and increased positive rewards systems, such as social and emotional support for students through building relationships. Refresher discussions concurred with the interviewees. In contrast to previous teacher mental health literacy programs which did not bring about a change in helping behaviors, this pilot program may have been successful in changing teacher knowledge and self-reported behaviors, improving teacher–student relationships and decreasing harsh discipline. The combination of basic neuroscience concepts with training on how to recognize mental health issues and refer students should be investigated further as a strategy to promote teacher mental health literacy.

An Investigation of the Organizational Impact of Computer Technology in Secondary Science Classrooms

This study investigated the organizational impact of computer technology on four secondary science teachers’ teaching actions using the construct of community of practice. The organizational impact of computer technology refers to teachers’ styles and creativity in constructing personally pertinent individual models of teaching when using computer technology: social participation structures. Analysis of data (observations and interviews) revealed three social participation structures that collectively orchestrated students’ science content learning: (1) students’ membership, (2) access to the structured tasks, and (3) confirmation of students’ learning of science concepts. This study indicated that the transformative potential of computer technology for teaching science is a complex interplay between social participation structures, institutional context, and teachers’ knowledge of what is good practice.

Investigating teacher development of self-regulated learning skills in secondary science students

This multiple case study examined how secondary science teachers supported their students’ self-regulated learning development after an intensive, year-long, professional development. The results suggest that the teachers largely used the SRL coaching strategies of observation and emulation, emphasized different SRL processes, while less than half of the teachers explicitly encouraged their students to use the self-reflection phase of SRL to guide future cycles of SRL. Additionally, even though the majority of the teachers established process goals for their instruction, they evaluated their students with reference to product goals.

Digitalization and computational thinking in lower secondary science education using the example of paper chromatography

AbstractDie Papierchromatographie ist ein einfaches und ungefährliches Experiment, das sich für die Unterstufe eignet. Neben der Vermittlung der fachlichen Inhalte ermöglicht die Papierchromatographie auch den Einsatz von Modellierung und Simulation, da sich die submikroskopischen Vorgänge so vereinfachen lassen, dass sie für Schülerinnen und Schüler am Anfang der Sekundarstufe nachvollziehbar sind. Hier wird über den Einsatz digitaler Methoden in Ergänzung zu der experimentellen Durchführung der Papierchromatographie in einem Wahlpflichtfach Naturwissenschaften in der Klassenstufe 6 berichtet. Im Anschluss an eine Reihe von Experimenten wurde die Chromatographie zunächst über ein Spiel und anschließend im Computer simuliert. Ein solches Simulationsprogramm erlaubt die Variation der Parameter, um das Modell zu erkunden sowie die Einführung des Teilchenmodells und der molekularen Wechselwirkung. Die Umsetzung in einer graphischen Programmierumgebung wie zum Beispiel Scratch erlaubt die Programmierung durch die Schülerinnen und Schüler in dieser Altersklasse. So können schon früh Modellierung und Simulation als wichtige Bestandteile des naturwissenschaftlichen Arbeitens eingeführt werden.

Science teachers\u2019 experiences of inquiry-based learning through a serious game: a phenomenographic perspective

This study employed a phenomenographic approach to investigate science teachers’ conceptions of inquiry-based learning through a serious game. Simaula is a prototype game designed and used as a virtual practicum for eliciting understandings on how in-game inquiry was appeared to, or experienced by, the participating teachers. Group interviews with 20 secondary education science teachers revealed four qualitatively different ways of experiencing inquiry-based learning through Simaula: (a) as uncovering insights about student’s learning needs, interests and emotions; (b) as generating ideas and concepts for meaningful inquiry; (c) as a set of operations for designing and carrying out scientific research; and (d) as authentic inquiry for enabling knowledge building processes. Seven dimensions of variation have been identified viewed as contextual influences on conceptions of in-game inquiry constituting discernment of: epistemic inquiry-based learning modes; role of teacher; role of student; game-play focus; core mechanics focus; feedback and progress mechanics and game uncertainty. The results illuminated a partial in-game inquiry approach with distinct epistemic modes from developing empathy and meaning making to knowledge construction and knowledge building. The findings also indicated that game design elements played central role in shaping conceptions of in-game inquiry from focusing on rules and logic as means to completing the game’s level to understanding the complexity of core mechanics for developing and transferring in-game inquiry to the real classroom. This insinuates that distinct game design properties may be considered in terms of extending intrinsic in-game inquiry experiences to actual in-class inquiry practice.

Tiered Neuroscience and Mental Health Professional Development in Liberia Improves Teacher Self-Efficacy, Self-Responsibility, and Motivation.

After acquiring knowledge of the neuroscience of learning, memory, stress and emotions, teachers incorporate more cognitive engagement and student-centered practices into their lessons. However, the role understanding neuroscience plays in teachers own affective and motivational competencies has not yet been investigated. The goal of this study was to investigate how learning neuroscience effected teachers’ self-efficacy, beliefs in their ability to teach effectively, self-responsibility and other components of teacher motivation. A pilot training-of-trainers program was designed and delivered in Liberia combining basic neuroscience with information on social, emotional, behavioral and mental health issues faced by students. Tier I of the professional development was a 2 weeks workshop led by a visiting neuroscientist. A subset of the 24 Tier I secondary science teachers formed a Leadership Team who adapted the content to the Liberian context and subsequently led additional workshops and follow-up sessions for the Tier II secondary science teachers. Science teachers in both tiers completed the affective-motivational scales from the internationally vetted, multiscale Innovative Teaching for Effective Learning Teacher Knowledge Survey from the OECD. Tier II teachers completed the survey in a pre-post-delayed post design. Tier I teachers completed the survey after the workshop with their attitudes at that time and separately with retrospective projections of their pre-workshop attitudes. Ten of the 92 Tier II teachers participated in structured interviews at follow-up. Statistical analysis of survey data demonstrated improved teacher self-efficacy, self-responsibility for student outcomes, and motivation to teach. Qualitatively, teachers expressed more confidence in their ability to motivate students, engage them through active learning, and manage the class through positive rather than negative reinforcement. Teachers’ own self-regulation improved as they made efforts to build supporting relationships with students. Together, these results demonstrated that (i) teacher affective-motivational attitudes can be altered with professional development, (ii) basic neuroscience, as knowledge of how students learn, can improve teacher competency, and (iii) a training-of-trainers model can be effective in a low and middle income country for disseminating neuroscience knowledge, increasing teachers’ knowledge of students’ social and emotional needs, and promoting educational improvement.

Impact of A Practice-Based Professional Development on Secondary Science Teachers’ Use of Disciplinary Literacy Practices: A Design Research Project

ABSTRACT This design-based research investigated the context and impact of a three-year practice-based professional development (PD) project introducing science teachers to pedagogical shifts required for full implementation and synergy among disciplinary literacy components of Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards- Literacy. Participants included 42 middle school teachers from 12 primarily urban districts from one northeastern state. Researchers utilized a Theory of Change to guide the study. The interdisciplinary project team immersed teachers in experiencing innovative, standards-based, three-dimensional (3D) earth and space science (ESS) curricular units with embedded disciplinary literacy (DL) strategies. Teachers then adapted the 3D+DL units and implemented with students. Researchers used a convergent parallel mixed methods design to examine quantitative and qualitative data in the form of classroom observations to determine fidelity of implementation of 3D+DL practices, frequency of 3D+DL practices on the self-reported Science Literacy Survey, and focus group interviews to assess impacts of the PD project on teaching. Analyses revealed that teachers valued and embraced 3D+DL instructional shifts that supported teacher and student sensemaking in science. Teachers attributed project success to (a) project team collaboration to develop ESS units, (b) adaptability of ESS units, (c) explicit and direct instruction of 3D+DL, and (d) teacher sharing and reflecting on student success. The shift in teachers’ understanding and practices of 3D+DL teaching and learning is likely attributed to teachers having the opportunity for sensemaking as learners with rigorous ESS units prior to implementing 3D+DL instruction with their students, which may provide guidance for future PD.

The (lack of) relationship between secondary science teachers’ self-efficacy for culturally responsive instruction and their observed practices

ABSTRACT There has long existed the argument that science teachers' self-efficacy directly correlates with instruction. Regarding self-efficacy for culturally responsive instruction (CRI), a promising equitable education approach, it is posited that lack of CRI exposure in coursework contributes to low self-efficacy and poor implementation. Yet, research has illuminated instances in which self-efficacy does not relate to performance, thus leading to uncertainty about the importance of cultivating teachers' self-efficacy for CRI. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study compared longitudinal data of 19 US secondary science teachers' self-efficacy for CRI with observed practices. Participants completed a graduate-level induction programme on culturally responsive and reflective science instruction at time of study. Data were collected in the form of self-assessments, video recordings of classroom practices, and semi-structured interviews. Results showed science teachers' self-efficacy for CRI was high and remained stable throughout the programme. When comparing CRI self-efficacy to observed instruction, science teachers scored themselves higher than did researchers. This discordance was significant and did not resolve during the programme, except sociopolitical consciousness-raising instruction. Interviews were explored to determine potential sources of discordance. These included forcible disincentives and misjudgment of CRI capability as being inconsequential. Implications for culturally responsive science teacher preparation are discussed.

Beginning secondary science teachers’ implementation of process skills, inquiry, and problem-based learning during the induction years: a randomised controlled trial

ABSTRACT The beginning years of a teacher's career are among the most challenging and complex. Content-specific induction programmes can help teachers navigate these early years of teaching and build their instructional practices. Although there is growing interest in studying new teachers’ reform-based instruction, little is known about new science teachers’ implementation of science process skills, inquiry, and problem-based learning (PBL). The purpose of this study was to understand how participation in a two-year induction programme influenced the extent of science process skills, inquiry, and PBL new science teachers enacted in their classrooms. This mixed-methods randomised controlled trial (RCT) included three cohorts of treatment teachers (n = 77) and control teachers (n = 52). Data sources included three observation cycles each consisting of 7 lesson descriptions and a videotaped observation each year for two years. Results indicated that more treatment than control teachers incorporated process skills in year one and inquiry and PBL in year two. Both treatment and control teachers implemented process skills and structured inquiry more often than other types of inquiry and PBL. These results underscore the importance of sustained support during the induction years so new teachers can enact inquiry-based lessons that are student-centred and coherent.

Science education reform conundrum: An analysis of teacher developed common assessments

AbstractScience education reform efforts have highlighted the need for scientifically literate citizens, who are capable of using scientific knowledge and skills for reasoning, argumentation, and decision‐making. Concurrently, recent state education policies dictate that teachers’ effectiveness is measured in part by their students’ performance on high stakes assessments. To study these potentially competing reform efforts, we used multiple methods to examine (a) the level of secondary science teachers scientific literacy (SL) and their perceptions of SL skills, (b) how they rank the importance of SL skills and their self reported teaching/assessment of SL skills, and (c) how well their teacher developed common science assessments aligned with SL skills. Survey responses from secondary science teachers (n = 48) from one district revealed that their perceptions of scientific literacy were not in alignment with those of science education reform documents. Secondary science teachers (n = 28) demonstrated that they were scientifically literate, yet the assessments (n = 13) they developed did not align with several scientific literacy sub‐constructs. The findings from this study imply that science teachers would benefit from professional development to increase their assessment literacy and that school districts should reconsider whether teacher‐designed assessments should be tied to teachers' professional security and advancement.

Multicultural classroom teaching in Nepal: perspectives and practices of a secondary level science teacher

This paper focuses on science teaching learning practices in a culturally diverse classroom of a Nepalese public secondary level science teacher who was purposefully selected. I focus on how science teaching in this science teacher’s classroom is interactive, creative, collaborative and inclusive. Additionally, I explain how the school environment can create and extend multicultural science knowledge. A 50-min in-depth interview was conducted and transcribed, as well as observations of his classroom activities of science teaching which were noted in a diary. Transcribed interviews and classroom observation notes were translated into English and coded by me. All data were analyzed indicating that the secondary science teacher’s efforts were not found to be culturally relevant as his efforts were affected by pedagogical, environmental and institutional problems. A heavy emphasis on the national science curriculum is destroying teacher’s teaching style in a culturally diverse classroom. This article calls for the participation of other school science teachers, other group teachers, women participation and the importance of inclusion of different cultural students’ voices in science teaching.

NGSS-based teacher professional development to implement engineering practices in STEM instruction

BackgroundWith widespread adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the USA (US), research is needed on how secondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers conceptualize the integration of engineering knowledge and practices in traditional STEM classrooms. The present study explored the affective impacts of participation in an engineering education workshop for secondary STEM teachers as part of a 200-h professional development program. The workshop focused on the implementation of electrical engineering and biotechnology principles and design practices in disciplinary instruction, as well as training teachers to differentiate among engineering fields and advise on career pathways. The conceptual framework for the workshop design was based upon elements of the interconnected model of professional growth to identify influences contributing to engineering pedagogical self-efficacy and career awareness.ResultsThe overarching research questions addressed how professional development in engineering education affected secondary STEM teachers’ beliefs about the value of using engineering design to support learning, their self-efficacy regarding teaching engineering in their courses, perceived obstacles to effective STEM integration, and their confidence advising students about engineering post-secondary study and careers. The convergent parallel mixed methods design involved factor analysis, comparisons of means, and phenomenology with elements of grounded theory. The survey sample included 60 STEM teachers in the treatment group and 28 teachers in the control group. Six science teachers participated in interviews before and after the engineering workshops. Findings indicated that participating teachers significantly improved their confidence in engineering pedagogy, as well as their knowledge of engineering careers and precollege preparation for post-secondary engineering. Teachers expressed their views of engineering as a potentially powerful tool in developing students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills, particularly when integrating the practices of science and engineering with the instruction of disciplinary content.ConclusionsThe results from this study demonstrate that a university-based professional development workshop series, developed by engineering and science education faculty, is an effective first-step intervention to improve the engineering knowledge and skills of secondary STEM educators, ultimately facilitating NGSS adoption in classroom instruction. Educating teachers on engineering career pathways is another innovation for the promotion of more diverse participation in engineering fields.

The analysis of 9th grade chemistry curriculum and textbook according to revised Bloom’s taxonomy

The aim of this study is to taxonomically analyse the 9th grade Turkish chemistry curriculum. A descriptive analysis method is used throughout the study. The document analysis is applied as a method to construct the codes and themes to reflect the results of the study. The results of the study exhibit that most of learning outcomes of the 9th grade chemistry curriculum focus on understand level (61%), and other levels of outcomes are remember (16%), apply (5%), analyse (13%), evaluate (0%) and create (5%). In addition, learning outcomes in the distribution of the cognitive domain are conceptual knowledge (79%), factual knowledge (16%), metacognitive knowledge (5%) and procedural knowledge (0%). The analysis of the textbook clearly shows that majority of the outcomes of units are based on conceptual knowledge and factual knowledge in particular units; however, the textbook has no learning outcomes as procedural and metacognitive in some units such as second, third and fourth units.
 Keywords: Chemistry curriculum; revised Bloom’s taxonomy; secondary science education;

The Research Capability of Secondary School Science Teachers

This paper described the perceived level of research capability of secondary school Science teachers in the basic education whereas a descriptive-correlational design was employed to determine the extent of relationship between research capability and profile of the 76 Science teachers from the Schools Division of Pampanga. A Re-search Capability Self-Assessment Scale Abrazado & Coronel (2016) was adopted to identify the level of research capability of the respondents, also a checklist was developed to identify the problems encountered by on their research undertakings. Most of the Science teachers did not yet pursue higher professional studies. Majority did not have the opportunity to attend research trainings; regarded with low research productivity. Science teachers had moderate research capability. Science teachers’ research capability had low level relationship with their profile in terms of educational attainment, research trainings and seminars attended, and research output. Lack of time, research trainings and research skills were the problems encountered. A sustainable research development program will aid Science teachers to develop and enhance their research capability.