Teacher Practice

Inquiry-based educative curricula and teachers who use these curricula as intended are major factors in achieving successful student learning outcomes in science. Educative curricula can also bring about significant change in teacher practice. Educative curricula are generally accompanied by carefully designed print teacher guides that facilitate the implementation of curricula, encourage new instructional strategies, and accommodate curriculum modifications while retaining fidelity to the developers’ content sequencing and pedagogy.

New technologies are increasingly giving science teachers the ability to access and customize science lessons. However, there is substantial debate in the literature about whether and under what conditions teacher customization benefit student learning. In this study, we examined teacher customization of inquiry-based science lessons from an online lesson portal. We found that students who completed teacher-customized lessons had greater improvements in science content understanding than students who completed non-customized lessons.

This paper argues that successful practice-based teacher education requires innovations in assessment that can better inform preservice teachers and those who prepare them. Such assessments must focus directly on specific teaching practices of novice teachers, as well as offer opportunities to assess the use of content knowledge for teaching. Simulations, an assessment type used in other professional fields, hold promise as one means for gathering data about and providing feedback on teaching.

The recent revisions to the advanced placement (AP) chemistry curriculum promote deep conceptual understanding of chemistry content over more rote memorization of facts and algorithmic problem solving. For many teachers, this will mean moving away from traditional worksheets and verification lab activities that they have used to address the vast amounts of content in the AP chemistry course. Moreover, a substantial shift in teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning of chemistry will be needed to facilitate the transformation of their instructional practices.

Research leads to a framework modifying Toulmin's model of argumentation to help teachers interpret classroom discussion and support students' contributions.

Singletary, L. & Conner, A. (2015). Connecting research to teaching: Focusing on mathematical arguments. Mathematics Teacher, 109(2), 143-147).

A key aspect of supporting teachers’ learning on a large scale concerns mathematics leaders’ practices in designing for and leading high-quality professional development. We report on a retrospective analysis of an initial design experiment aimed at supporting the learning of three math leaders who were charged with supporting the learning of middle-grades mathematics teachers across a large US school district.

From the perspectives of Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs), this study examines the design and implementation of a simulated teaching environment in Second Life (SL) for prospective teachers to teach algebra for diverse learners. Drawing upon the Learning-for-Use framework, the analyses provide evidence on the development of student avatars in construction and role-playing activities. The study reveals challenges, procedures, and suggestions for future simulations. This study also calls for research efforts toward preparing mathematics teachers for cultural diversity.

Recent reform efforts and the next generation science standards emphasize the importance of incorporating authentic scientific practices into science instruction. Modeling can be a particularly challenging practice to address because modeling occurs within a socially structured system of representation that is specific to a domain. Further, in the process of modeling, experts interact deeply with domain-specific content knowledge and integrate modeling with other scientific practices in service of a larger investigation.

Many national initiatives in K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education have emphasized the connections between teachers and improved student learning. Much of the discussion surrounding these initiatives has focused on the preparation, professional development, evaluation, compensation, and career advancement of teachers. Yet one critical set of voices has been largely missing from this discussion - that of classroom teachers themselves.