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Primary teachers’ experiences of engaging in professional development to develop science inquiry skills across the curriculum

Primary teachers’ experiences of engaging in professional development to develop science inquiry skills across the curriculum
Primary teachers’ experiences of engaging in professional development to develop science inquiry skills across the curriculum
Science education should offer students the opportunity to learn and engage with the practices of science across their formal education years. However, there still exist concerns that elementary science is being undermined as a core subject of the curriculum and that elementary school teachers are not well-equipped or confident to teach science. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a collaborative, cross-curricular professional development program on 11 elementary school teachers’ skills and attitudes towards teaching inquiry-based science. This professional development program involved the ?collaboration between a Higher Education Institution, an innovative museum/science centre, and practising scientists for supporting and developing the teachers’ cross-curricular inquiry teaching ?skills. The main themes emerging from the teachers’ narratives on taking part in the action research project were views of scientific inquiry, alternative means of assessment and impact on students. Student impact was a guiding factor throughout, and features such as the scientist-teacher collaboration both in and out of school had a positive effect on the teachers’ views of scientific inquiry and facilitated their motivation to teach science inquiry. Implications for in-service professional development are discussed
Griffiths, J.
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Christodoulou, A.
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Stevens, C.
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Gray, S.
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Denley, P.
a4112f50-a216-456e-a113-cb646fcb0355
Griffiths, J.
7484deee-7fe2-4c3b-8a86-d5c0956eba38
Christodoulou, A.
0a97820c-7e87-45d6-827a-d72fa1734d0a
Stevens, C.
f158947d-2424-43bb-9bcb-8fdb4e5b71ae
Gray, S.
223764d6-146a-416a-8b86-c1fd9d9e7214
Denley, P.
a4112f50-a216-456e-a113-cb646fcb0355

Griffiths, J., Christodoulou, A., Stevens, C., Gray, S. and Denley, P. (2015) Primary teachers’ experiences of engaging in professional development to develop science inquiry skills across the curriculum. European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), Helsinki, Finland. 31 Aug - 04 Sep 2015.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Science education should offer students the opportunity to learn and engage with the practices of science across their formal education years. However, there still exist concerns that elementary science is being undermined as a core subject of the curriculum and that elementary school teachers are not well-equipped or confident to teach science. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a collaborative, cross-curricular professional development program on 11 elementary school teachers’ skills and attitudes towards teaching inquiry-based science. This professional development program involved the ?collaboration between a Higher Education Institution, an innovative museum/science centre, and practising scientists for supporting and developing the teachers’ cross-curricular inquiry teaching ?skills. The main themes emerging from the teachers’ narratives on taking part in the action research project were views of scientific inquiry, alternative means of assessment and impact on students. Student impact was a guiding factor throughout, and features such as the scientist-teacher collaboration both in and out of school had a positive effect on the teachers’ views of scientific inquiry and facilitated their motivation to teach science inquiry. Implications for in-service professional development are discussed

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More information

Published date: 31 August 2015
Venue - Dates: European Science Education Research Association (ESERA), Helsinki, Finland, 2015-08-31 - 2015-09-04
Organisations: Mathematics, Science & Health Education

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 381232
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/381232
PURE UUID: 70a98cf4-52f4-4388-9751-0fc896d2c62e
ORCID for A. Christodoulou: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7021-4210

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 25 Sep 2015 14:29
Last modified: 06 Mar 2024 02:47

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Contributors

Author: J. Griffiths
Author: C. Stevens
Author: S. Gray
Author: P. Denley

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