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The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) on which they are based, require a shift in preservice science teacher preparation. NGSS aligned instruction calls to engage learners in the use of authentic science and engineering practices (SEPs) and crosscutting concepts (CCCs) to develop understanding of disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) within the context of a scientific phenomenon (Bybee, 2014; NRC, 2015). To ensure beginning teachers are prepared for this shift, university programs are changing teacher preparation to meet this new vision. This happens primarily in science methods courses where specific supports must be in place to prepare preservice teachers and facilitate course reforms (Bybee, 2014; Krajcik, McNeill, & Reiser, 2008). This paper describes the Next Generation Alliance for Science Educators Toolkit (Next Gen ASET) that was designed to support shifting instructional needs within science methods courses to align with the vision of the NGSS. While not meant to replace existing methods course curriculum, this toolkit promotes dialogue explicit to the vision of the NGSS. Two teaching scenarios demonstrate how the Next Gen ASET Toolkit has been implemented in science methods courses, illustrating its flexibility of and how they accommodate the inclusion of various lesson planning and instructional styles.
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Teacher professional development programs integrating science and language with multilingual learners: A conceptual framework
Abstract As the vision inA Framework for K‐12 Science Educationand the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) takes hold in schools and classrooms, there is an urgent need for teacher professional development (PD) programs that align with NGSS‐designed curriculum materials and address the unique strengths and needs of diverse student groups, including multilingual learners (MLs). The purpose of this article is to propose our conceptual framework for PD programs that aligns with current reform efforts and is grounded in the mutually supportive nature of contemporary science and language instructional shifts. Specifically, we examine our previous NGSS‐designed curriculum development project with MLs and review the literature in science education and language education with MLs. Our conceptual framework for PD programs is grounded in the perspective ofsymmetrythat teacher professional learning experiences should be symmetrical to the learning experiences we organize for students. Grounded in this perspective, our conceptual framework consists of three design principles that describe how PD programs can guide teachers to (a) develop an asset‐oriented view of MLs and instructional practices for recognizing and leveraging their assets, (b) integrate science and language in mutually supportive ways with MLs, and (c) develop more sophisticated instructional practices for integrating science and language with MLs over time. We describe contributions of our conceptual framework, which could generate a new research agenda and inform PD programs aimed at facilitating uptake of NGSS‐designed curriculum materials in linguistically diverse science classrooms.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2035103
- PAR ID:
- 10509410
- Publisher / Repository:
- Science Education
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Science Education
- Volume:
- 107
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0036-8326
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1302 to 1323
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract The limited availability of research instruments that reflect the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) restricts the field's understanding of whether and how teachers are making instructional shifts called for by the standards. The need for such instruments is particularly urgent with teachers of multilingual learners (MLs), who are called on to make shifts in how they think about and enact instruction related to both science and language. The purpose of this study was to develop and gather validity evidence for a questionnaire that measures elementary teachers' beliefs, preparedness, and instructional practices for teaching NGSS science with MLs. We report on the development of the questionnaire over three phases that elicited multiple sources of validity evidence: (a) domain specification and expert review, (b) item writing and cognitive interviews, and (c) piloting and final item selection. Data included feedback from experts in science and language domains, cognitive interviews with 48 teachers, and a pilot with 310 teachers. Results indicated that the questionnaire differentiates among teachers with different levels of the underlying constructs and also that teachers' scores relate to their characteristics (e.g., familiarity with the NGSS). We highlight two implications for emerging research on NGSS‐based instrumentation: (a) the difficulty of communicating with teachers about science and language instructional shifts while teachers are still developing their understanding of such shifts and (b) the potential of emerging NGSS‐based instruments to inform professional development. We close with future directions for our research project specifically and the field of science education broadly.more » « less
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Instructional shifts required by equitable, reform‐based science instruction are challenging, especially in the elementary context. Such shifts require professional development (PD) that supports teacher internalization of new pedagogical strategies as well as changes in beliefs about how students learn. Because of this complexity, many PD programs struggle to foster lasting pedagogical shifts, necessitating further investigation into why some teachers successfully embrace reform practices while others do not. This qualitative study uses a nonlinear, iterative model of teacher learning (Interconnected Model of Professional Growth; Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002) alongside professional noticing to help understand why elementary teachers in science PD differentially make sense of and internalize new pedagogies. Findings indicate that teachers most likely to adopt reform‐based instructional practices from the PD were those who clearly connected student learning to their instructional moves. In addition, teachers who more actively attended to student sensemaking and productive struggle took up pedagogies from the PD more substantively than did colleagues who attended solely to student engagement and affect. Finally, teachers who attended to and valued novel ideas from students’ lived experiences were more likely to change their beliefs about students’ capacity to learn science, and thus more likely to see the value of instructional practices from the PD. In sum, structuring PD to build on these specific teacher noticing skills can encourage more teachers to move away from traditional, teacher‐directed instructional practice, and more fully support reform‐based instructional practices.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21807
