Professional Development and the Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education's website has resources for current teachers to work on their professional development. Some resources include teacher to teacher initiatives, this is where teachers give ideas and strategies to each other. There are teacher organizations where teachers can learn how to become a better teacher or improve their teaching strategies. As I was looking through the Education Resource Organizations Directory there were none near Iowa and that is disappointing. If teachers are serious about working on professional development it would be worth traveling to the location of the organization.

Professional Development in Schools

I have been gaining experience in the classroom for the past three years. During my time in the schools there was always a day of the week that the school was dismissed early. Most of the time it has been Wednesdays but I have been in one school where the early dismissal day was Monday. When the school is dismissed early the teachers are encouraged to participate in after school professional development opportunities. I attended some of the professional development opportunities. One was for the current teachers to get their ELL endorsement. It was a three year long program and classes were only held on Wednesday afternoons. It was lengthy but free for the current teachers. Another professional development opportunity was for teachers to earn their reading endorsement to provide better reading instruction to students. Sometimes the after school meetings were for the teams of teachers to develop units or plan upcoming lessons. During the meetings the reading or math specialists are visiting the teams to answer questions or share ideas. I thought it was a very worthy way to spend time after school for teachers to better themselves and their teaching.

Final Presentation - Inspiring Our Future Scientists

Here is a short presentation summing up my blog topic.

Enjoy!!

http://portal.sliderocket.com/AIXRP/Inspiring-Our-Future-Scientists

Final Blog--Glogster

Click here to view my final presentation in the form of a Glog.

Students with Disabilities Benefit from Inquiry-based Science

I wasn’t satisfied with the articles and research I had found on the effects of science-inquiry on students with disabilities, so I furthered my search. Luckily, I came across a very interesting study. The study investigated the effects of science inquiry on students with mild disabilities using differentiated hands-on activities versus direct teacher instruction in inclusive 8th-grade science classes. The full study can be found at the following link:

http://sed.sagepub.com/content/40/3/130.full.pdf+html

To sum up the study’s findings, they found that the students with disabilities that were provided with hands-on, inquiry driven investigations significantly improved their learning of the content material than students in the traditional classroom. Not only did these students retain more information, but the study found that these students performed considerably better later on in the year on standardized tests.

Negative Attitudes to Science-Inquiry from College Students

When furthering my research on the long-term effects of inquiry-based science instruction, I came across an interesting study. The study was done, not on elementary students, but on first year college students. To read the full study and analysis of data go to the following link:

http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v3n2/articles/PDFs/Article_Brickman.pdf

The study found after analyzing student’s pretest and post tests, personal interviews, etc. that students in their freshman year of college did not positively respond to the inquiry-based lab experiences. I was surprised since in every other research paper and study I have read thus far, there has been a significant increase in positive attitudes towards a more inquiry-based science curriculum. The researchers concluded that some of the students were not cognitively equipped to meet the challenges of an inquiry-based curriculum, as it was more challenging and time consuming.
I feel that since science inquiry is a relatively new teaching method that earlier generations are suffering from a lack of experience to critical thinking and problem-solving. They have grown accustomed to traditional direct-instruction teaching methods, and are unable to adapt to a more independent learning role and assume more responsibility for their learning.

Effects of Science-Inquiry on Students with Disabilities

While continuing my research, I decided to think about the effects of science on the achievement of students with disabilities. I wanted to know if science inquiry benefited students with disabilities in their overall understanding of science concepts. The following article found at http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/special_ed.phtml stresses that science is for everyone! If we don’t challenge our students, especially our special education students, then we are inhibiting them from making great progress and connections to problem-solving in everyday life. Of course, modifications and accommodations need to be made to help students with disabilities, but they need to be included in the activities. The following website is a great resource for new teachers and provides them with strategies to use with eight different types of disabilities (each strategy is case specific):

http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/sitemap.html

Effects of Science-Inquiry on Urban Students Standardized Test Scores

As I continued my research on the effects of inquiry-based science instruction on standardized tests, I came across a very interesting article called Standardized Test Outcomes for Students Engaged in Inquiry-based Science Curricula in the Context of Urban Reform by Geier, R., Blumenfeld, P. C., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Fishman, B., Soloway, E. and Clay-Chambers, J. The abstract of the article can be found at the following link:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tea.20248/abstract

Note: (to obtain the full article, register for free at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/user-registration)

To summarize the article/research, researchers conducted a study in Detroit Public Schools with 7th and 8th graders living in urban areas. Using the rest of the District as the control group, researchers compared standardized test scores after the selected 7th and 8th grade students had received inquiry-based science curriculum that was also standard-based. Researchers found that the 7th and 8th grade urban students performed significantly higher on standardized achievement tests than the rest of the District and showed an increase in science content comprehension. Thus, science-inquiry has a positive correlation to higher standardized test scores and science content understanding.


Citation: Geier, R., Blumenfeld, P. C., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Fishman, B., Soloway, E. and Clay-Chambers, J. (2008), Standardized test outcomes for students engaged in inquiry-based science curricula in the context of urban reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45: 922–939. doi: 10.1002/tea.20248

Long Term Effects of Science-inquiry

While researching my question, I came across an interesting article/research paper that determined if inquiry-based instruction provided any noticeable changes in concept mastery, use of process skills, application of science concept and skills, student attitudes toward science, student creativity, and student perceptions regarding their science classrooms. The article can be found by going to the following link:

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+advantages+of+an+inquiry+approach+for+science+instruction+in...-a0219578800

To summarize the article, twelve teachers split students into two sections. Half of the students were taught using traditional methods; the other half was taught using an inquiry-based approach. Data was collected in the form of pre and post assessments for both sections to decipher if more progress was made in one section over another. The pre-tests were given in the beginning of a unit and the post tests were given at the end.
After analyzing the data, researchers found that students who experienced their science as inquiry were as successful as those who experienced science as a direct mastery of concepts. One was not found to be better than the other when it came to concept mastery; however, in the case of creativity/critical thinking skills the students in the inquiry-based science classrooms grew significantly over students in the traditional classroom. Students in the inquiry-based science classrooms also showed a significant growth in positive attitudes towards science, as well as a better and more appropriate perception of the nature of science.
Overall, this study concluded that both approaches can teach students science concepts, but the inquiry-based approach engages students and builds on other skills such as critical thinking and creativity.

Long Term Effects from Inquiry-based Methods

I decided to focus my research on the question, “What are the long-term effects of science inquiry on high-stakes testing, as well as on students’ attitudes towards science?” I wanted to know if the shift in science instruction, from a more direct approach to a more inquisitive approach, has negatively or positively affected students’ test scores and attitudes.
Since inquiry-based curriculum is derived from students’ investigations and prior knowledge, no two classes are identical. Each class is going to bring their own questions, preconceptions, and experiences into the class, making the curriculum and science content individualized and class specific. Of course, state and national standards may help to direct the curriculum a bit; students are still going to be the deciding factors of what content is investigated and manipulated in a student-centered learning environment. Thus, how can standardize tests be created to assess students’ knowledge, when not every class may be learning the same thing or conducting the same investigation? Will certain classes have advantages over other classes that took longer to investigate one topic over another?
I also decided to take a closer look at the impact of inquiry-based teaching on students with disabilities and possible best practices for greatest academic success.

Heidi's Intro

Hello, my name is Heidi! I am currently a fifth year senior at UW-Oshkosh. I am an Elementary Education major (1-8) with a minor in Language Arts. I am currently in my Block B placement in a fourth grade classroom. It is there that I have been able to apply what I have learned these past four years at UW-Oshkosh and gain more experience working with students in the classroom environment. This spring I will be doing my Student Teaching, and I am looking forward to graduating this May.
I think that our team was named after William Kamkwamba because his video is inspirational and stresses the value and relevancy of education. William Kamkwamba’s dedication and determination to receive an education saved his life and the lives of his family. He took it upon himself to seek a solution to his problems and in the words of William Kamkwamba, “books put knowledge in my hands.” It was through knowledge that William was able to help himself, his family, and his community.