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Effects of Integrating Hypermedia into Elementary Science Professional Development on Science Content Knowledge

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Abstract

Past research has indicated that a number of problems in the teaching of science in elementary classrooms are rooted in the preparation of inservice teachers. One continuing concern is elementary teachers' lack of science content knowledge. As indicated by numerous research studies reporting positive results, one method of addressing these problems is through inservice teacher professional development workshops. While improved content knowledge has been reported as a positive result of professional development workshops, elementary science workshops have not resulted in the same success levels as other subject areas. One method of addressing some of the deficiencies in elementary science professional development workshops is with the integration of hypermedia into the professional development environment. This study examined whether the integration of hypermedia into elementary science professional development workshops resulted in greater increases in the science content knowledge of elementary teachers of science than traditional methods of elementary science professional development workshops. Workshops that integrated hypermedia into the professional development environment resulted in a significant increase in inservice elementary teachers' science content knowledge, when compared to the control group. However, when compared to the experimental group that participated in workshops without hypermedia, however, there was no significant difference in increases of science content knowledge. Implications of these outcomes are discussed.

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  1. Department of Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina

    Richard Hartshorne

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Hartshorne, R. Effects of Integrating Hypermedia into Elementary Science Professional Development on Science Content Knowledge. J Sci Educ Technol 14, 415–424 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-005-8086-z

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