Examining Science Teachers’ Development of Interdisciplinary Science Inquiry Pedagogical Knowledge and Practices

Abstract

The current literature relates to how teachers develop knowledge and practice of science inquiry, but little has been reported on how teachers develop interdisciplinary science inquiry (ISI) knowledge and practice. This study examines the effect of university research experiences, ongoing professional development, and in-school support on teachers’ development of ISI pedagogical knowledge and practices. It centers on documenting diverse teachers’ journeys of experiencing ISI as well as developing knowledge of ISI. It was found that there was variation in ISI understanding and practice among the teachers as a result of the combination of teachers’ experiences, beliefs, and participation. Thus, in order to help teachers develop ISI knowledge and pedagogy, barriers to ISI knowledge development and implementation must also be addressed. Professional developers must articulate clear program goals to all stakeholders including an explicit definition of ISI and the ability to recognize ISI attributes during research experiences as well as during classroom implementation. Teachers must also be held accountable for participation and reflection in all aspects of professional development. Program developers must also take into consideration teachers’ needs, attitudes, and beliefs toward their students when expecting changes in teachers’ cognition and behavior to teach inquiry-rich challenging science.

Appendix: Description of Professional Development Workshops

Workshop title	Professional development workshop agenda and area of focus
Workshop #1  Understanding ISI	Took an in-depth look at Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS) and component of the National Common Core Standards (NCCC) and the K-12 framework and how it connects to ISI and Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Partnership (ISEP) Shared scientists explanations and examples of ISI derived from interviews Teachers given cases to identify dimensions of ISI to make understanding more explicit Teachers given an opportunity to discuss how other disciplines can enhance understanding of discipline content knowledge Explanation of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) framework and the transforming of summer research experiences into classroom lesson linked to student achievement
Workshop #2  Professional learning communities and the role of the Research Team in the process of ISEP partnership	Explanation and expectations of partnership and the role of the research team as well as topics of PD sessions for the school year. Specific data collection methods and expectations shared with teachers as well as the role of the research team in data collection and reporting Role of STEM students in teachers support as well as understanding and implementation of ISI Reviewing the ISI framework Videos of science scenarios and identification of ISI. Teachers identified aspects of ISI and created maps of their video observations to be shared with the group Exemplary examples of how teachers have collaborated with partners in the ISEP professional learning communities (PLC)
Workshop #3 and #4  ISI teaching strategies	Teachers given ISI teaching rubric and explored how to rate it Teachers engaged in a lesson with specific roles to go through an ISI investigation on the topic of cell phones and cancer Evaluated ISI lesson through rubric and discussed establishing a common language Teachers identified lesson to revise using ISI, made specific connections to ISI experiences for their students and shared and received peer feedback Teachers visited the local museum and visited exhibits Defined project-based science and ISI overlaps Discussed instructional strategies supporting PBS such as concept maps, 5E model Reiterated dimensions of ISI to explain framework Teachers discuss how exhibits at the museum could be utilized to design PBS units with ISI features embedded within it connecting it to their summer research experiences Provided examples of PBS units on topics such as the effect of solid waste and its effect on a community and identifying ISI components
Workshop #5  NGSS and Common Core and ISI teaching strategies continued	Helping teachers understand the impact of teacher knowledge of standards and its impact on curricular decisions Teachers completed survey on their understanding of implementing of NGSS, ISI and NCCC and reviewed Teachers connected their current implementation of NCCC standards to the ISI framework Teachers discuss what their needs are related to implementation such as school requirements, equipment and resources Teachers create a unit/lesson they can utilize in their classrooms integrating current standards as well as ISI framework Teachers engage in peer contributions on how other disciplines can be integrated into their science lessons and groups share their lesson plans with other participants
Workshop #6  Teacher exemplars of ISI lessons	Teachers were provided Summer Research and Implementation exemplars of colleagues that were engaged in ISI in a quality way. The summaries were prepared by the research team and included a description of the summer research, implementation strategies, role of STEM students as well as parent outreach in some cases. Examples from the first year of ISEP teacher projects were shared. STEM students also shared experiences on how they contributed to teacher understanding of ISI and implementation of ISI
Workshop #7  Assessing ISI	Teachers engaged in a review of the ISI conceptual framework and participated in an ISI investigation called Maintaining water systems. They developed a scoring rubric for ISI learning and applying the ISI rubric to this particular investigation. Groups shared scoring rubrics to agree and come to consensus on important elements of the ISI Framework. Discussion includes advantages and challenges to assessing ISI