The teaching communities that developed, with their new leaders, succeeded in obtaining additional resources (such as shared teacher planning time) from within the schools and districts (Gamoran et al., 2003) and also from outside of them. In this section, we describe the types of teacher knowledge and skills that may be required to lead a range of laboratory experiences aligned with our design principles, comparing the required skills with evidence about the current state of teachers knowledge and skills. 7082.) Teachers require a deep understanding of scientific processes in order to guide students procedures and formulation of research questions, as well as deep understanding of science concepts in order to guide them toward subject matter understanding and other learning goals. He enrolled at the University of the Free State in 1980 and obtained a BSc degree in Mathematics and Physics, as well as a Higher Education Diploma. In addition, some researchers argue that, although professional development expends resources (time, money, supplies), it also creates new human and social resources (Gamoran et al., 2003, p. 28). In addition, they found that commercially available laboratory manuals failed to provide cognitively challenging activities that might help to bridge the gap between teachers lack of knowledge and improved laboratory experiences (McComas and Colburn, 1995, p. 120). Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email. The guidelines note that simply maintaining the laboratory requires at least one class period per day, and, if schools will not provide teachers with that time, they suggest that those schools either employ laboratory technicians or obtain student help. Laboratory experiences and their role in science education. surveys defined poor administrative support as including a lack of recognition and support from administration and a lack of resources and material and equipment for the classroom. Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/KTobin_71204_HSLabs_Mtg.pdf [accessed August 2005]. Scientific laboratories, college and university science departments, and science museums have launched efforts to support high school science teachers in improving laboratory teaching. We then go on to describe approaches to supporting teachers and improving their capacity to lead laboratory experiences through improvements in professional development and use of time. thus expanding the teaching or training role; sometimes they are excluded purposely, such as in the case of France, where teachers are only responsible for the actual instruction and the remainder of . The teacher strives to fathom what the student is saying and what is implied about the students knowledge in his or her statements, questions, work and actions. The Role of the Teacher in . laboratory notebooks, essays, and portfolios (Hein and Price, 1994; Gitomer and Duschl, 1998; Harlen, 2000, 2001). The culture of education. Teachers design and carry out an open-ended field research project, of their own choosing. It is unclear whether these and other ad hoc efforts to provide summer research experiences reach the majority of high school science teachers. Professional development opportunities for science teachers are limited in quality, availability, and scope and place little emphasis on laboratory instruction. Wright, S.P., Horn, S., and Sanders, W. (1997). The limited evidence available indicates that some undergraduate science programs do not help future teachers develop full mastery of science subject matter. Literature review: The role of the teacher in inquiry-based education. The changing nature of work: Implications for occupational analysis. Organizational conditions that support inquiry in high school science instruction. Teachers and teacher aides should lead by example and wear personal protective equipment (PPE); follow and enforce safety rules, procedures, and practices; and demonstrate safety behavior to promote a culture of safety. Providing Expert Assistance to Schools and Teachers. ), The black-white test score gap. Finally, adequate time is essential for student learning in laboratory experiences. Institute participants also asked for more discussion of assessment methods for laboratory teaching, including the role of video testing, and also recommended inclusion of sessions that address teaching science laboratory classes on a small budget. Evaluating the evidence on teacher certification: A rejoinder. (1990). McComas and Colburn (1995) established an inservice program called Laboratory Learning: An Inservice Institute, which incorporated some of the design elements that support student learning in laboratory experiences. The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. Linn describes aspects of the model as pragmatic principles of heat that are more accessible goals than the microscopic view of heat that is commonly taught (Linn, 1997, p. 410). Only 11 percent of responding teachers indicated that science teachers in their school regularly observed other science teachers. Large majorities of students indicated that the program had increased their interest in science, while large majorities of teachers said they would recommend the program to other teachers and that the volunteers had had a beneficial effect on their science teaching. Zip. Formative assessment, that is, continually assessing student progress in order to guide further instruction, appears to enhance student attainment of the goals of laboratory education. Available at: http://www.educationnext.org/20021/50.html [accessed Feb. 2005]. van Zee, E., and Minstrell, J. These might include websites, instructional materials, readings, or other resources to use with students. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (2004) show variation in teacher qualifications from one science discipline to another. Raleigh: Science House, North Carolina State University. Learning in the laboratory: Some thoughts from the literature. Davis, and P. Bell (Eds. (2004). New York: City College Workshop Center. It means focusing the students own questions. They should be proactive in every aspect of laboratory safety, making safety a priority. Henderson, A.T., and Mapp, K.L. Cumulative and residual effects of teachers on future student academic achievement. At this time, however, some educators have begun to question seriously the effectiveness and the role of laboratory Priestley, W., Priestley, H., and Schmuckler, J. Lab's History Department, which is responsible for educating students in grades 9-12, seeks a teacher with expertise and experience teaching Modern Global or Modern World History coursework. Washington, DC: Author. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website. Another analysis of the data from the National Center for Education Statistics found that students in high schools with higher concentrations of minority students and poor students were more likely than students in other high schools to be taught science by a teacher without a major or minor in the subject being taught (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). It may also be because teachers lack the content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of assessment required to lead such discussions (Maienschein, 2004; Windschitl, 2004). Student outcomes and the professional preparation of eighth-grade teachers in science and mathematics: NSF/NELS. (2002). Hanusek, E., Kain, J., and Rivkin, S. (1999). Other studies have also found that most teachers do not experience sustained professional development and that they view it as ineffective (Windschitl, 2004). In the ICAN program, teachers participate in science internships with working scientists as one element in a larger program of instruction that includes an initial orientation and monthly workshops. A supportive school administration could help teachers overcome their isolation and learn from each other by providing time and space to reflect on their laboratory teaching and on student learning in the company of colleagues (Gamoran, 2004). Designing computer learning environments for engineering and computer science: The scaffolded knowledge integration framework. Boys and girls in the performance-based classroom: Whos doing the performing? A study of a much smaller sample of teachers yielded similar findings (Catley, 2004). Do higher salaries buy better teachers? Gitomer, D.H., and Duschl, R.A. (1998). ), International handbook of science education (pp. Implications of teachers beliefs about the nature of science: Comparisons of the beliefs of scientists, secondary science teachers, and elementary science teachers. The teaching profession is evolving on a regular basis, with new technology being incorporated into teaching methods and information updated regularly. Meaning making in secondary science classrooms. Windschitl, M. (2004). Evaluating the effect of teacher degree level on educational performance. The laboratory science teacher professional development program. (ED 409-634.) (1994). Atkin and J.E. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, America's Lab Report: Investigations in High School Science, http://www.bayerus.com/msms/news/facts.cfm?mode=detailandid-survey04, http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/July_1213_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html, http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/June_3-4_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html, http://epx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/17/5/613, http://www.educationnext.org/20021/50.html, http://www.sedl.org/connections/research-syntheses.html, http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/July_12-13_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html, http://www.nsta.org/positionstatementandpsid=16, http://www.horizon-research.com/reports/2002/2000survey/trends.php, http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/March_29-30_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html, http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/KTobin_71204_HSLabs_Mtg.pdf, http://www.nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2004/section4/indicator24.asp, http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/LSTPD/about.htm. McDiarmid, G.S., Ball, D.L., and Anderson, C.W. (2002). One study found that schools that provide more support to new teachers, including such professional development activities as induction and mentoring, have lower turnover rates (Ingersoll, 2003, p. 8). Schwartz, R., and Lederman, N. (2002). When students have more freedom to pose questions or to identify and carry out procedures, they require greater guidance to ensure that their laboratory activities help them to master science subject matter and progress toward the other goals of laboratory experiences. They also concluded that longer term interventions13 weeks in this caseresult in some change in the instructional strategies teachers use. This paper explores the role of laboratory and field-based research experiences in secondary science education by summarizing research documenting how such activities promote science learning. Other studies report that undergraduate laboratory work consists primarily of verification activities, with few opportunities for ongoing discussion and reflection on how scientists evaluate new knowledge (e.g., Trumbull and Kerr, 1993, cited in Windschitl, 2004). In a year-long study of prospective biology teachers (Gess-Newsome and Lederman, 1993), the participants reported never having thought about the central ideas of biology or the interrelationships among the topics. Using questioning to assess and foster student thinking. Culturally adaptive teaching and learning science in labs. Expertise in science alone also does not ensure that teachers will be able to anticipate which concepts will pose the greatest difficulty for students and design instruction accordingly. What does research tell us about learning in high school science labs? You choose your level of involvement based on your needs. Evaluating the evidence. A study package for examining and tracking changes in teachers knowledge. Clearly, their preservice experiences do not provide the skills and knowledge needed to select and effectively carry out laboratory experiences that are appropriate for reaching specific science learning goals for a given group of students. Guiding students to formulate their own research questions and design appropriate investigations requires sophisticated knowledge in all four of the domains we have identified. (2004). This method can assist children in becoming more engaged readers and developing critical thinking abilities. Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/March_29-30_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed Oct. 2005]. Tobin (Eds. Gess-Newsome, J., and Lederman, N. (1993). (2004). Key words: Laboratory, chemistry, teaching, achievement, students. Once on the job, science teachers have few opportunities to improve their laboratory teaching. Formulating research questions appropriate for a science classroom and leading student discussions are two important places where the interaction of the four types of knowledge is most evident. Loucks-Horsley, Love, Stiles, Mundry, and Hewson (2003) provide a detailed design framework for professional development and descriptions of case studies, identifying strategies for improving science teaching that may be applicable to improving laboratory teaching. The limited quality and availability of professional development focusing on laboratory teaching is a reflection of the weaknesses in the larger system of professional development for science teachers. Davis, and P. Bell (Eds. (1997). Science teachers behavior in the classroom is influenced by the science curriculum, educational standards, and other factors, such as time constraints and the availability of facilities and supplies. Available at: http://www.nsta.org/positionstatementandpsid=16 [accessed Oct. 2004]. The extent of student learning in any educational environment depends largely on the effectiveness of the instructors. Helping students attain the learning goals of laboratory experiences requires their teachers to have broad and deep understanding of both the processes and outcomes of scientific research. The study examined the relationship between professional development and teaching practice in terms of three specific instructional practices: (1) the use of technology, (2) the use of higher order instructional methods, and (3) the use of alternative assessment. They must address the challenge of helping students to simultaneously develop scientific reasoning, master science subject matter and progress toward the other goals of laboratory experiences. On the basis of a review of the available research, Lunetta (1998, p. 253) suggests that, for students, time should be provided for engaging students in driving questions, for team planning, for feedback about the nature and meaning of data, and for discussion of the implications of findings, and laboratory journals should provide opportunities for individual students to reflect upon and clarify their own observations, hypotheses, conceptions.. Understanding cellular respiration: An analysis of conceptual change in college biology. A focus on deepening teachers knowledge of science or mathematics. One study found that having an advanced degree in science was associated with increased student science learning from the 8th to the 10th grade (Goldhaber and Brewer, 1997). Washington, DC: Author. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, April, St. Louis, MO. MyNAP members SAVE 10% off online. Currently, teachers rarely provide opportunities for students to participate in formulating questions to be addressed in the laboratory. an increasingly important aspect of their general pedagogical knowledge. In another approach, schools can schedule science classes for double periods to allow more time for both carrying out investigations and reflecting on the meaning of those investigations. Properly designed laboratory investigations should: have a definite purpose that is communicated clearly to students; focus on the processes of science as a way to convey content; incorporate ongoing student reflection and discussion; and enable students to develop safe and conscientious lab habits and procedures (NRC 2006, p. 101-102).