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Improving Inquiry Teaching through Reflection on Practice

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Abstract

In this paper, we explore middle school science teachers’ learning of inquiry-based instructional strategies through reflection on practice teaching sessions during a summer enrichment program with middle level students. The reflection sessions were part of a larger year-long inquiry professional development program in which teachers learned science content and inquiry pedagogy. The program included a 2-week summer institute in which teachers participated in science content sessions, practice teaching to middle level students, and small group-facilitated reflection sessions on their teaching. For this study, data collection focused on teachers’ recorded dialogue during the facilitator - run reflection sessions, the teachers’ daily written reflections, a final written reflection, and a written reflection on a videotaped teaching session. We investigated the teachers’ reflection levels and the themes teachers focused on during their reflection sessions. Teachers were found to reflect at various reflection levels, from simple description to a more sophisticated focus on how to improve student learning. Recurrent themes point to the importance of providing situated learning environments, such as the practice teaching with immediate reflection for teachers to have time to practice new instructional strategies and gain insight from peers and science educators on how to handle student learning issues.

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Notes

  1. All teachers and students names are pseudonyms; quotes are identified by teacher, reflection date, and teacher grade level (e.g., Carrie, 26th, 8th)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Instruction and Teacher Education, College of Education, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Christine R. Lotter & Cory Miller

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  1. Christine R. Lotter
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  2. Cory Miller
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Correspondence to Christine R. Lotter.

Electronic Supplementary Material

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Methods supplement: daily reflection sheets, reflection on videotaped instruction, and final reflection sheet. (PDF 106 kb)

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Lotter, C.R., Miller, C. Improving Inquiry Teaching through Reflection on Practice. Res Sci Educ 47, 913–942 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9533-y

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