Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/June_3-4_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed Oct. 2004]. 791-810). Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6(2), 227-269. McDiarmid, G.W. Journal of Research on Science Teaching, 37, 963-980. The authors of the review found that, when laboratory education is available, it focuses primarily on the care and use of laboratory equipment and laboratory safety. Laboratory Learning: An Inservice Institute. Fulfilling the promise: Biology education in the nations schools. Laboratory training is also frequently used to develop skills necessary for more advanced study or research. Google Scholar The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) suggests that physics teachers should be required to teach no more than 275 instructional minutes per day. (2004). Summer research experiences that may enhance science teachers laboratory teaching need not take place in a laboratory facility. Teachers, Laboratory Attendants and Gardeners must be made to attend, at regular . ), International handbook of science education (pp. When one college physics professor taught a high school physics class, he struggled with uncertainty about how to respond to students ideas about the phenomena they encountered, particularly when their findings contradicted accepted scientific principles (Hammer, 1997). It aims to support teachers to improve their teaching skills for active learning in university science laboratory courses. Tobin (Eds. 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. (2002). The Chemistry Department of City College (City University of New York) places undergraduate science and engineering majors in middle school classrooms to assist teachers during laboratory activities and learn classroom management from the teachers. Teaching failure in the laboratory. Educational Policy, 17(5), 613-649. Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name. Examining the effects of a highly rated curriculum unit on diverse students: Results from a planning grant. [I]t represents the blending of content and pedagogy into an understanding of how particular topics, problems, or issues are organized, represented and adapted to the diverse interests and abilities of learners, and presented for instruction. Volkmann, M., and Abell, S. (2003). The effects of instruction on college nonmajors conceptions of respiration and photosynthesis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (2004). 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). A teacher knows how to work well as part of a team. Scientific laboratories, college and university science departments, and science museums have launched efforts to support high school science teachers in improving laboratory teaching. To lead effective laboratory experiences, science teachers should know how to use data from all of these assessment methods in order to reflect on student progress and make informed decisions about which laboratory activities and teaching approaches to change, retain, or discard (National Research Council, 2001b; Volkman and Abell, 2003). The available evidence indicates that the current science teaching workforce lacks the knowledge and skills required to lead a range of effective laboratory experiences. Science for all, including students from non-English-language backgrounds. (1995). 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. Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/June_3-4_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed May 2005]. This earlier research indicated that, just as engaging students in laboratory experiences in isolation led to little or no increase in their understanding of the nature of science, engaging prospective or current science teachers in laboratory activities led to little or no increase in their understanding of the nature of science. (2004). You choose your level of involvement based on your needs. (1990). 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. (1998). What types of knowledge do teachers use to engage learners in doing science? Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/July_12-13_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed May 2005]. Organizational conditions that support inquiry in high school science instruction. 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. Maduabum (1992) sees a laboratory as a place where scientific exercises are conducted by the science teachers for the benefit of the students (learners). The school science laboratory: Considerations of learning, technology, and scientific practice. (1998). Committee on Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation, Center for Education. Active learning opportunities focused on analysis of teaching and learning. Linn, M.C. In a guided-inquiry laboratory (GIL), the teacher provides the students with a question, or set of questions, and the students design an experiment to address the question(s). In N.M. Lambert and B.L. Supovitz, J.A., and Turner, H.M. (2000). Laboratories in science education: Understanding the history and nature of science. Qualifications of the public school teacher workforce: Prevalence of out-of-field teaching 1987-88 to 1999-2000. TA may not leave the lab unattended while students are in the room. To date, however, few high schools have adopted such research-based science curricula, and many teachers and school administrators are unaware of them (Tushnet et al., 2000; Baumgartner, 2004). 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. They found that a heat-flow model was better able to connect to middle school students knowledge about heat and temperature than a molecular-kinetic model (Linn, Davis, and Bell, 2004). Researchers generally agree that the teachers academic preparation in science has a positive influence on students science achievement (U.S. Department of Education, 2000; National Research Council, 2001a). A study of a much smaller sample of teachers yielded similar findings (Catley, 2004). They also concluded that longer term interventions13 weeks in this caseresult in some change in the instructional strategies teachers use. Harlen, W. (2000). Prepare lab apparatus and equipment. Presentation to the Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and Vision, July 12-13, National Research Council, Washington, DC. The Integral Role of Laboratory Inves-tigations in Science Instruction, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA, 2007) presents a similar sen- . McDiarmid, G.S., Ball, D.L., and Anderson, C.W. In M.C. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(1), 57-77. National Research Council. Rockville, MD: Westat. Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/KTobin_71204_HSLabs_Mtg.pdf [accessed August 2005]. Results of the study also confirmed the effectiveness of providing active learning opportunities. ), Internet environments for science education. Some research indicates that teachers do not respond to sustained professional development by taking their new knowledge and skills to other schools, but rather by staying and creating new benefits where they are. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. Paper prepared for the Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and Vision, July 12-13, National Research Council, Washington, DC. For example, the teacher might use descriptive or qualitative language or images to convey concepts related to. 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). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. The inequities in the availability of academically prepared teachers may pose a serious challenge to minority and poor students progress toward the. Ingersoll, R. (2003). Goldhaber, D.D., Brewer, D.J., and Anderson, D. (1999). Studies in Science Education, 14, 33-62. (1997). (2001). Administrators allocate time, like other resources, as a way to support teachers in carrying out these routines. This course is developed to improve the effectiveness of laboratory classes in higher education. Page 111 Share Cite. 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.. Most states do not regulate the quality and content of professional development required for renewal of teaching certificates (Hirsch, Koppich, and Knapp, 2001). 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. Hudson, S.B., McMahon, K.C., and Overstreet, C.M. 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. These limits, in turn, could contribute to lower science achievement, especially among poor and minority students. In this section we describe the difficulty school administrators encounter when they try to support effective laboratory teaching. Because many current science teachers have demographic backgrounds different from their students (Lee, 2002; Lynch, Kuipers, Pyke, and Szeze, in press), the ability to communicate across barriers of language and culture is. Students cannot be admitted to the classroom until you arrive. The research comprised both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Currently, few teachers lead this type of sense-making discussion (Smith, Banilower, McMahon, and Weiss, 2002). Science Teacher Responsibilities: Designing, developing, and delivering quality lesson plans and curricula that adhere to national and school guidelines. Younger workers in a variety of occupations change jobs more frequently than their older counterparts (National Research Council, 1999). Catley, K. (2004). Collaborator. Educating teachers of science, mathematics, and technology. little information is available on the effectiveness of these efforts. In E. Hegarty-Hazel (Ed. The primary role of a teacher is to establish a learning environment where all students are able to learn and are motivated to learn, an environment that is both challenging and supportive: Establish a learning community consisting of the teacher and the students Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email. We do not yet know how best to develop the knowledge and skills that teachers require to lead laboratory experiences that help students master science subject matter, develop scientific reasoning skills, and attain the other goals of laboratory education. 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. Resource Provider. The degree to which teachers themselves have attained the goals we speak of in this report is likely to influence their laboratory teaching and the extent to which their students progress toward these goals. Cumulative and residual effects of teachers on future student academic achievement. Duration (total contact hours, span of time). The impact of longer term intervention on reforming the approaches to instructions in chemistry by urban teachers of physical and life sciences at the secondary school level. Teachers design and carry out an open-ended field research project, of their own choosing. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 4(2), 103-126. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Supovitz, J.A., Mayer, D.P., and Kahle, J. Currently, teachers rarely provide opportunities for students to participate in formulating questions to be addressed in the laboratory. Second group of factors are the environmental factors. Teacher participants at the institute experienced firsthand learning as students in several laboratory sessions led by high school instructors who were regarded as master laboratory teachers. They must guide and focus ongoing discussion and reflection with individuals, laboratory groups, and the entire class. Ready to take your reading offline? 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. 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). AAPT guidelines for high school physics programs. National Center for Education Statistics. (1989). Clark, R.L., Clough, M.P., and Berg, C.A. Hofstein, A., and Lunetta, V.N. develop and implement comprehensive safety policies with clear procedures for engaging in lab activities; ensure that these policies comply with all applicable local, state, and federal health and safety codes, regulations, ordinances, and other rules established by the applicable oversight organization, including the Occupational Safety & Health Glagovich, N., and Swierczynski, A. Linn, M.C. Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/June_3-4_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed May 2005]. They need to carefully consider written work and what they observe while students engage in projects and investigations. The authors concluded that professional development activities that are short-term interventions have virtually no effect on teachers behaviors in leading laboratory experiences. Available at: http://www.nsta.org/positionstatementandpsid=16 [accessed Oct. 2004]. Revisiting what states are doing to improve the quality of teaching: An update on patterns and trends. One theme that emerges from such research is that the content knowledge gained from undergraduate work is often superficial and not well integrated. Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. 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. We then compare the desired skills and knowledge with information about the current skills and knowledge of high school science teachers. 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). Lederman, N.G. The traditional didactic pedagogy to which teacher candidates are exposed in university science courses equips learners with only minimal conceptual understandings of their science disciplines (Duschl, 1983; Gallagher, 1991; Pomeroy, 1993, cited in Windschitl, 2004). Promoting inquiry-based instructional practice: The longitudinal impact of professional development in the context of systemic reform. Fraser and K.G. Other studies indicate that high-quality professional development can encourage and support science teachers in leading a full range of laboratory experiences that allow students to participate actively in formulating research questions and in designing and carrying out investigations (Windschitl, 2004). The role of teacher in the acquisition of scientific knowledge in Secondary School Science class cannot be underestimated. Most current professional development for science teachers, such as the activities that had little impact on the teaching strategies among teachers responding to the 2000 survey, is ad hoc. To date, over 400 RE-SEED volunteers have worked with schools in 10 states. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 13(2), 189-206. 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. A series of studies conducted over the past several decades has shown that teachers are one of the most important factors influencing students. A survey of students, teachers, and volunteers yielded positive results. McComs (Eds. Windschitl, M. (2004). London, England: Routledge. Laboratory experiences and their role in science education. 1. Science Teacher (October), 40-43. fessional development aligned with the curricula leads to increases in students progress toward the goals of laboratory experiences (Slotta, 2004). The program was designed in part to address weakness in science teachers understanding of the nature of science, which was documented in earlier research (Khalic and Lederman, 2000; Schwartz and Lederman, 2002). Anderson, C., Sheldon, T., and Dubay, J. 249-262). Available at: http://www.horizon-research.com/reports/2002/2000survey/trends.php [accessed May 2005]. McComas, W.F., and Colburn, A.I. Educational Researcher, 15, 4-14. The role of the laboratory in science teaching: Neglected aspects of research. How do teachers work and learnspecifically related to labs. A professor engaged upper level chemistry majors in trying to create a foolproof laboratory activity to illustrate the chemistry of amines for introductory students. The paper recommend among others: . Undergraduate science departments rarely provide future science teachers with laboratory experiences that follow the design principles derived from recent researchintegrated into the flow of instruction, focused on clear learning goals, aimed at the learning of science content and science process, with ongoing opportunities for reflection and discussion. Culturally adaptive teaching and learning science in labs. Teachers draw on all of the types of knowledge listed abovecontent knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of assessmentin their daily work of planning and leading instruction. Educational Researcher, 27, 12-21. This method can assist children in becoming more engaged readers and developing critical thinking abilities. They also spend a week doing laboratory research with a scientist mentor at the Fred Hutchinson Center or one of several other participating public and private research institutions in Seattle. Kennedy, M., Ball, D., McDiarmid, G.W., and Schmidt, W. (1991). 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. Reporting on a post-institute survey, McComas and Colburn note that a surprising number of teachers felt that the safety sessions were most important (p. 121) (no numbers were reported). Why staying ahead one chapter doesnt really work: Subject-specific pedagogy. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Implications of teachers beliefs about the nature of science: Comparisons of the beliefs of scientists, secondary science teachers, and elementary science teachers. To determine the current role of laboratory schools in the United States, the 123 existing laboratory schools were surveyed. High school science laboratories. teacher in the classroom and thus cause tension like tools, materials, negative working conditions, student violence on teachers, increasing teacher expectations and tiredness of teacher. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(2), 81-112. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31, 621-637. Pomeroy, D. (1993). ), Constructivism in education. It will show you how laboratory sessions can differ with respect to their aim and expected learning . Figure 1. Rethinking laboratories. Teachers who had engaged in even more intensive professional development, lasting at least 160 hours, were most likely to employ several teaching strategies aligned with the design principles for effective laboratory experiences identified in the research. Their previous, closely prescribed laboratory experiences had not helped them to understand that there are many different ways to effect a particular chemical transformation. Goldhaber, D.D. Science Education, 88, 28-54. You will need to develop your own teaching style, your own way of interacting with students, and your own set of actions that determine the learning atmosphere of the classroom. What can they contribute to science learning? Some individual teachers told our committee that they did not have adequate preparation and cleanup time. They also face uncertainty about how many variables students should struggle with and how much to narrow the context and procedures of the investigation. Hilosky, A., Sutman, F., and Schmuckler, J. In B.J. Rather, learning is an active process which goes on within the students by guiding the learning . Available at: http://www.nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2004/section4/indicator24.asp [accessed Feb. 2005]. These might include websites, instructional materials, readings, or other resources to use with students. (1995). (1990). In this approach classes meet every other day for longer blocks of about 90-100 minutes, instead of every day for 40 or 45 minutes. Cobus van Breda was born and schooled in Windhoek, Namibia. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (2004) show variation in teacher qualifications from one science discipline to another. 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. Gamoran, A., Anderson, C.W., Quiroz, P.A., Seceda, W.G., Williams, T., and Ashmann, S. (2003). Only 11 percent of responding teachers indicated that science teachers in their school regularly observed other science teachers. Shulman, L.S. Reynolds (Ed. Teachers lacking a science major may be less likely to engage students in any type of laboratory experience and may be less likely to provide more advanced laboratory experiences, such as those that engage the students in posing research questions, in formulating and revising scientific models, and in making scientific arguments. In K. Howey and N. Zimpher (Eds. However, compared with other types of professionals, a higher proportion of teachers leave their positions each year. Science educators, school administrators, policy makers, and parents will all benefit from a better understanding of the need for laboratory experiences to be an integral part of the science curriculumand how that can be accomplished. University of Michigan Physics Department: GSI training course. Gess-Newsome, J., and Lederman, N. (1993). U.S. Department of Energy. Moreover, the teacher console (keyboard) is usually fitted with a tape recorder to monitoring each compartment in the class by the teacher headset and an intercom facility to enable 2-way communication between the teacher and his/her students individually. Laboratory learning: Addressing a neglected dimension of science teacher education. Presentation to the Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and Vision, June 3-4, National Research Council, Washington, DC. For example, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched its Laboratory Science Teacher Professional Development Program in 2004. Millar, R., and Driver, R. (1987). Development of certified Medical Laboratory Scientists to assume a role as a member of the interprofessional health care team requires additional education to acquire advanced knowledge and skills. To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter. Among the volunteers, 97 percent said they would recommend RE-SEED to a colleague, and most said that the training, placement in schools, and support from staff had made their time well spent (Zahopoulos, 2003). Mortimer, E., and Scott, P. (2003). A teachers academic science preparation appears to affect student science achievement generally. School districts, teachers, and others may want to consider these examples, but further research is needed to determine their scope and effectiveness. However, it also reveals some gaps in the . The functions of the laboratory teaching assistant are to provide instruction, supervision, and assistance, as required, to the students in his/her section. As a GSI you are transitioning from a student to an instructor, from someone whose responsibility was to learn in the lab class to someone who now helps others learn in the lab class. What do they contribute to science learning? Deng (2001) describes pedagogical content knowledge for science teachers as an understanding of key scientific concepts that is somewhat different from that of a scientist. In chemistry laboratories at large universities, the instructors of record are typically graduate or undergraduate . . (2004). (2004). Paper presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching meeting, March 23, Chicago, IL. light, such as reflection, transmission, and absorption. Supporting classroom discussions may be particularly challenging for teachers who work with a very diverse student population in a single classroom, or those who have a different cultural background from their students (see Tobin, 2004). As Gallagher, J. (1997). View our suggested citation for this chapter. (2000). (2004). And, among teachers who left because of job dissatisfaction, mathematics and science teachers reported more frequently than other teachers that they left because of poor administrative support (Ingersoll, 2003, p. 7). National Research Council. 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-. A focus on deepening teachers knowledge of science or mathematics. Requirements for professional development of in-service science teachers differ widely from state to state. Paper prepared for the Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and Vision, June 3-4, National Research Council, Washington, DC. The teachers skills in posing questions and leading discussions affect students ability to build meaning from their laboratory experiences. Davis, and P. Bell (Eds. Students were asked to survey the literature for methods to reduce aromatic nitro compounds to the corresponding amines. Hirsch, E., Koppich, J.E., and Knapp, M.S. Qualified high school teachers will have opportunities to work and learn at the Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories and at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Presentation to the Committee on High School Science Laboratories: Role and Vision, June 3-4, National Research Council, Washington, DC. 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). 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. The California Institute of Technology has a program to help scientists and graduate students work with teachers in elementary school classrooms in the Pasadena school district.