Advertisement

Cultural Studies of Science Education

, Volume 11, Issue 2, pp 235–251 | Cite as

Inquiry identity and science teacher professional development

  • Nadine Bryce
  • Sara E. D. Wilmes
  • Marissa Bellino
Forum
First Online:

Abstract

An effective inquiry-oriented science teacher possesses more than the skills of teaching through investigation. They must address philosophies, and ways of interacting as a member of a group of educators who value and practice science through inquiry. Professional development opportunities can support inquiry identity development, but most often they address teaching practices from limited cognitive perspectives, leaving unexplored the shifts in identity that may accompany teachers along their journey in becoming skilled in inquiry-oriented instruction. In this forum article, we envision Victoria Deneroff’s argument that “professional development could be designed to facilitate reflexive transformation of identity within professional learning environments” (2013, p. 33). Instructional coaching, cogenerative dialogues, and online professional communities are discussed as ways to promote inquiry identity formation and collaboration in ways that empower and deepen science teachers’ conversations related to personal and professional efficacy in the service of improved science teaching and learning.

Keywords

Inquiry Identity Science education Professional development Community of practice 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1989). Science for all Americans. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  2. American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks for science literacy. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  3. Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3–15. doi: 10.3102/0013189X033008003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Davis, E. A., Petish, D., & Smithey, J. (2006). Challenges new science teachers face. Review of Educational Research, 76(4), 607–651. doi: 10.3102/00346543076004607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. De Jong, O. (2007). Trends in western science curricula and science education research: A bird’s eye view. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 6(1), 15–22.Google Scholar
  6. Deneroff, V. (2013). Professional development in person: Identity and the construction of teaching within a high school science department. Cultural Studies of Science Education,. doi: 10.1007/s11422-013-9546-z.Google Scholar
  7. Gee, J. P. (2000). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education. Review of Research in Education, 25, 99–125. doi: 10.2307/1167322.Google Scholar
  8. Heineke, S. F. (2013). Coaching discourse: Supporting teachers’ professional learning. The Elementary School Journal, 113(3), 409–433. doi: 10.1086/668767.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Johnson, C. C., & Marx, S. (2009). Transformative professional development: A model for urban science education reform. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 20, 113–134. doi: 10.1007/s10972-009-9127-x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Lawrenz, F., & Desjardins, C. D. (2012). Trends in US Government-Funded Multisite K—12 Science Program Evaluation. In Second international handbook of science education (pp. 723–734). Netherlands: Springer.Google Scholar
  12. Luehmann, A. L. (2007). Identity development as a lens to science teacher preparation. Science Education, 91(5), 822–829. doi: 10.1002/sce.20209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Luehmann, A. L., & Tinelli, L. (2008). Teacher professional identity development with social networking technologies: Learning reform through blogging. Educational Media International, 45(4), 323–333. doi: 10.1080/09523980802573263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Mensah, F. M. (2012). Positional identity as a lens for connecting elementary preservice teachers to teaching in urban classrooms. In M. Varelas (Ed.), Identity construction and science education research: Learning, teaching, and being in multiple contexts (pp. 105–121). The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. doi: 10.1007/978-94-6209-043-9_8.
  15. National Research Council. (2000). Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A guide for teaching and learning. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.Google Scholar
  16. National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
  17. NQSS Consortium of Lead States. (2013). Next generation science standards: By states, for states. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
  18. Penuel, W. R., Fishman, B. J., Yamaguchi, R., & Gallagher, L. P. (2007). What makes professional development effective? Strategies that foster curriculum implementation. American Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 921–958. doi: 10.3102/0002831207308221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Ramaley, J. A., Olds, B. M., & Earle, J. (2005). Becoming a learning organization: New directions in science education research at the National Science Foundation. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 14(2), 173–189. doi: 10.1007/s10956-005-4420-8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Ritchie, S. M. (2009). Looking for daisy: Constructing teacher identities. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 4(3), 595–599. doi: 10.1007/s11422-008-9172-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Ritchie, S. M., Tobin, K., Roth, W.-M., & Carambo, C. (2007). Transforming an academy through the enactment of collective curriculum leadership. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 39(2), 151–175. doi: 10.1080/00220270600914850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Roth, W.-M., & Tobin, K. (2004). Cogenerative dialoguing and metaloguing: Reflexivity of processes and genres. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 5(3), Art. 7.Google Scholar
  23. Siry, C., & Lara, J. (2012). “I didn’t know water could be so messy”: Coteaching in elementary teacher education and the production of identity for a new teacher of science. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 7(1), 1–30. doi: 10.1007/s11422-011-9339-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Smith, T. M., Desimone, L. M., Zeidner, T. L., Dunn, A. C., Bhatt, M., & Rumyantseva, N. L. (2007). Inquiry-oriented instruction in science: Who teaches that way? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 29(3), 169–199. doi: 10.3102/0162373707306025.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Tobin, K. (2010). Global reproduction and transformation of science education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 6(1), 127–142. doi: 10.1007/s11422-010-9293-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Tobin, K., & Roth, W.-M. (2005). Coteaching/cogenerative dialoguing in an urban science teacher preparation program. In W.-M. Roth & K. Tobin (Eds.), Teaching together, learning together (pp. 59–77). New York: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
  27. Upadhyay, B. (2009a). Negotiating identity and science teaching in a high-stakes testing environment: An elementary teacher’s perceptions. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 4(3), 569–586. doi: 10.1007/s11422-008-9170-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Upadhyay, B. (2009b). Narratives, choices, alienation, and identity: Learning from an elementary science teacher. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 4(3), 601–610. doi: 10.1007/s11422-008-9169-y.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/cbo9780511803932.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Windschitl, M. (2003). Inquiry projects in science teacher education: What can investigative experiences reveal about teacher thinking and eventual classroom practice? Science Education, 87(1), 112–143. doi: 10.1002/sce.10044.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Nadine Bryce
    • 1
  • Sara E. D. Wilmes
    • 2
  • Marissa Bellino
    • 3
  1. 1.School of EducationHunter College of the City University of New YorkNew YorkUSA
  2. 2.Institute of Applied Educational SciencesUniversité du LuxembourgWalferdangeLuxembourg
  3. 3.Urban EducationThe Graduate Center of the City University of New YorkNew YorkUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options