Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Tobin (Eds. Building on existing teacher internship programs at several of the national laboratories, the program will engage teachers as summer research associates at the laboratories, beginning with a four-week stint the first summer, followed by shorter two-week internships the following two summers (U.S. Department of Energy, 2004). Student outcomes and the professional preparation of eighth-grade teachers in science and mathematics: NSF/NELS. Focusing laboratory experiences on clear learning goals requires that teachers understand assessment methods so they can measure and guide their students progress toward those goals. Gamoran, A., Anderson, C.W., Quiroz, P.A., Seceda, W.G., Williams, T., and Ashmann, S. (2003). Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/June_3-4_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed May 2005]. 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. Westbrook, S., and Marek, E. (1992). While teachers play an active role in lecture-based teaching methods, the students' role is usually reduced to sitting at their desks and listening passively to their teachers, to all. Requirements for professional development of in-service science teachers differ widely from state to state. In addition to the many programs to increase teachers knowledge and abilities discussed above, the scientific community sometimes engages scientists to work directly with students. People working in the clinical laboratory are responsible for conducting tests that provide crucial information for detecting, diagnosing, treating, and monitoring disease. The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, a science curriculum development organization, has long been engaged in the preservice education of science teachers and also offers professional development for inservice teachers. Laboratories in science education: Understanding the history and nature of science. Studies of the few schools and teachers that have implemented research-based science curricula with embedded laboratory experiences have found that engaging teachers in developing and refining the curricula and in pro-. Over the course of a years worth of pedagogical preparation and field experiences, the new teachers began to reorganize their knowledge of biology according to how they thought it should be taught. We begin by identifying some of the knowledge and skills required to lead laboratory experiences aligned with the goals and design principles we have identified. National Research Council. School administrators play a critical role in supporting the successful integration of laboratory experiences in high school science by providing improved approaches to professional development and adequate time for teacher planning and implementation of laboratory experiences. A series of studies conducted over the past several decades has shown that teachers are one of the most important factors influencing students. Tushnet, N.C., Millsap, M.A., Noraini, A., Brigham, N., Cooley, E., Elliott, J., Johnston, K., Martinez, A., Nierenberg, M., and Rosenblum, S. (2000). Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name. In reviewing the state of biology education in 1990, an NRC committee concluded that few teachers had the knowledge or skill to lead effective laboratory experiences and recommended that major new programs should be developed for providing in-service education on laboratory activities (National Research Council, 1990, p. 34). Further research is needed to inform design of professional development that can effectively support improvements in teachers laboratory instruction. These studies confirm earlier research findings that even the best science curriculum cannot teach itself and that the teachers role is central in helping students build understanding from laboratory experiences and other science learning activities (Driver, 1995). National Research Council. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(2), 81-112. Data from a 2000 survey of science and mathematics education indicate that most current science teachers participate infrequently in professional development activities, and that many teachers view these activities as ineffective (Hudson, McMahon, and Overstreet, 2002). The condition of education. Participation of groups of teachers from the same school, department, or grade. The Higher Education Chemistry (RSC), 5 (2), 42-51. It was implemented over four day-long Saturday sessions spread over a semester. Duration (total contact hours, span of time). At this time, however, some educators have begun to question seriously the effectiveness and the role of laboratory work, and the case for laboratory . This course is developed to improve the effectiveness of laboratory classes in higher education. ), Faculty development for improving teacher preparation (pp. Most states do not regulate the quality and content of professional development required for renewal of teaching certificates (Hirsch, Koppich, and Knapp, 2001). Even teachers who have majored in science may be limited in their ability to lead effective laboratory experiences, because their undergraduate science preparation provided only weak knowledge of science content and included only weak laboratory experiences. Sutman, F.X., Schmuckler, J.S., Hilosky, A.B., Priestly, H.S., and Priestly, W.J. In addition to science content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, teachers also need general pedagogical knowledge in order to moderate ongoing discussion and reflection on laboratory activities, and supervise group work. Pedagogical content knowledge can help teachers and curriculum developers identify attainable science learning goals, an essential step toward designing laboratory experiences with clear learning goals in mind. The school science laboratory: Considerations of learning, technology, and scientific practice. At the same time, teachers must address logistical and practical concerns, such as obtaining and storing supplies and maintaining laboratory safety. Hegarty-Hazel, E. (1990). This chapter describes some of the factors contributing to the weakness of current laboratory experiences. The web-based inquiry science environment (WISE): Scaffolding knowledge integration in the science classroom. (1997). Despite the weakness of current professional development for laboratory teaching, a growing body of research indicates that it is possible to develop and implement professional development that would support improved laboratory teaching and learning. In contrast to these short, ineffective approaches, consensus is growing in the research about key features of high-quality professional development for mathematics and science teachers (DeSimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, and Birman, 2002; DeSimone et al., 2003, p. 10): New forms of professional development (i.e., study group, teacher network, mentoring, or task force, internship, or individual research project with a scientist) in contrast to the traditional workshop or conference. They also concluded that longer term interventions13 weeks in this caseresult in some change in the instructional strategies teachers use. In 2000, according to a nationally representative survey of science teachers, most school administrators provided inadequate time for shared planning and reflection to improve instruction. In D.G. In this section we describe the difficulty school administrators encounter when they try to support effective laboratory teaching. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. The design of this professional development program incorporated the principle of integrating laboratory experiences into the stream of instruction and the goal of providing a full range of laboratory experiences, including opportunities for students to participate in developing research questions and procedures. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research. (1986). The importance of pedagogical content knowledge challenges assumptions about what science teachers should know in order to help students attain the goals of laboratory experiences. But those connections are not enough: science sense-making discourse must also help students to develop understanding of a given science concept and create links between theory and observable phenomena. However, the students were surprised that methods taken from the literature did not always work. Science Educator, 12(1), 1-9. 153-186). Can schools narrow the black-white test score gap? Gamoran, A. 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). As discussed in Chapters 2 and 3, there are curricula that integrate laboratory experiences into the stream of instruction and follow the other instructional design principles. The contents of the institute were developed on the basis of in-depth field interviews and literature reviews to tap the practical knowledge of experienced science teachers. In E. Hegarty-Hazel (Ed. The available evidence indicates that the current science teaching workforce lacks the knowledge and skills required to lead a range of effective laboratory experiences. To be successful in leading students across the range of laboratory experiences we have described, teachers must choose laboratory experiences that are appropriate at any given time. For example, among high school teachers who had participated in professional development aimed at learning to use inquiry-oriented teaching strategies, 25 percent indicated that this professional development had little or no impact, and 48 percent reported that the professional development merely confirmed what they were already doing. Abstract available at: http://epx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/17/5/613 [accessed May 2005]. Hein, G.E., and Price, S. (1994). 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. No national survey data are available to indicate whether science teachers receive adequate preparation time or assistance from trained laboratory technicians. Laboratory experiences and their role in science education. The teachers, all biology majors, could only list the courses they had taken as a way to organize their fields. (2000). The guidelines also call on administrators to schedule no more than 125 students per teacher per day, if the teacher is teaching only physics (the same laboratory activity taught several times may not require preparation) and no more than 100 students per teacher per day if the. NSTA position statement: Laboratory science. Maienschein, J. McComas, W.F., and Colburn, A.I. A student lab assistant ensures that students do not practice any unsafe behaviors in the lab. In addition, there is little research on whether use of block scheduling influences teachers instruction or enhances student learning. Hanusek, E., Kain, J., and Rivkin, S. (1999). Responsibilities of Teachers Clinical Supervision of Medical Students Resident, Fellow and Graduate Teaching Assistant as Teacher Policy Responsibilities of Learners Course Directors' Expectations of Students The teacher-learner relationship confers rights and responsibilities on both parties. Promoting inquiry-based instructional practice: The longitudinal impact of professional development in the context of systemic reform. Laboratory work also gives the students the opportunity to experience science by using scientific research procedures. Lunetta, V.N. Resource Provider. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Modifying cookbook labs. It may be useful, however, to begin . 249-262). However, compared with other types of professionals, a higher proportion of teachers leave their positions each year. Chemistry laboratories play an essential role in the education of undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM students. 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). teacher is teaching both chemistry and physics, requiring more preparation time (American Association of Physics Teachers, 2002). (2002). Among these factors, curriculum has a strong influence on teaching strategies (Weiss, Pasley, Smith, Banilower, and Heck, 2003).