Research Questions
The IMPPACT project will seek answers to the following research questions:
How do specific interventions within preservice science teacher preparation programs (e.g. multiple science methods courses, diverse field placements, nature of science coursework, science research experiences, advanced science content coursework, specialized applications courses, the creation of a research-based rationale for teaching, and the systematic and extensive use of appropriate technology to enhance learning) impact the development of secondary science teachers’ content and pedagogical knowledge?
What impact do these specific interventions have on secondary science teachers’ beliefs about effective instruction as they progress through the stages of the teacher professional continuum?
To what extent do secondary science teachers demonstrate classroom practices that are consistent with their beliefs about effective instruction as they advance through the preservice preparation program and into full-time teaching?
How closely do the knowledge, beliefs and practices of secondary science teacher graduates of these preservice programs correlate with the science achievement gains of their 7-12 grade students?
What changes occur in secondary science teachers’ beliefs and practices when they are confronted with external factors (e.g. standardized testing, state-mandated curricula, school culture) during the early stages of their careers, and how do these factors influence ongoing professional development needs and retention rates?
Research Design
In order to empirically investigate each of the research questions posed in this study, a longitudinal design involving a concurrent, mixed methods approach will be employed (Creswell, 2003). The rationale for this type of design is that it will allow project researchers to better understand the overall impact of these preservice programs by triangulating both broad numeric trends from the quantitative data with the rich, in-depth detail provided by the qualitative component of the study. The quantitative measures in this project will provide information concerning patterns and trends in the pools of data, while the qualitative measures will allow for a careful and detailed analysis of individual teacher, student and program outcomes. Multiple, repeated surveys, in-depth interviews, classroom and field observations, artifact collection, and samples of both teacher and student work will provide the bulk of the research data necessary to systematically and thoroughly answer each of the research questions. The surveys and 7-12 grade student achievement data will be analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical methods.
Timeline and Sample Size
The project investigators will randomly sample cohorts of preservice and inservice science teachers at each university across key stages of the teacher continuum and study them for a period of four years. In Year 1, the project researchers conducted a pilot study of all the instruments and data analysis protocols using one teacher in each of the four stages of the continuum at each university for a total of 12 participants. In years 2-4, the sample is increased to a minimum of ten teachers in each stage of the continuum at each site (40 teachers per university x 3 universities = 120 total science teachers in the overall study). The participants are divided into four cohorts based on the participants status at the start of the project:
Cohort 1: Entry into science teacher education
Cohort 2: Candidacy stage of science teacher education programs
Cohort 3: Early induction years as a new science teacher (years 1-4)
Cohort 4: Post-induction stage of science teaching (years 5+).
In-depth Participants
A sample of ten teachers from each site are used as in-depth portion of the sample, with two each in cohorts 1 and 4 and 3 each in cohorts 2 and 3. The in-depth participants are interviewed by project researchers on multiple occasions each year to gain greater insight to their experiences as participants in science teacher preparation programs as well as their experiences in the field. Those subjects who leave the teaching profession will not be replaced in the study, but researchers will contact those individuals to gather data on their reasons for leaving the profession and include those results in the final report documents.
Quantitative Instruments
The National Survey of Teacher Education Program Graduates (NSTEPG) (Loadman, et al., 1999)- This survey instrument measures subjects’ beliefs and self-reported classroom teaching practices as they relate to domain-specific elements of their preservice preparation program.
This survey is administered to all participants after they have completed their respective teacher preparation program.
Survey of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2000)- This survey instrument collects data on types of instructional methods used in the classroom. This survey will be repeated yearly during the study to assess changes over time.
Reformed Teaching Observational Protocol (RTOP) (Piburn, et al, 2000)- During each year of data collection, the participating science teachers will be contacted twice during the academic year and asked to videotape two consecutive lessons in the same class and to submit copies of all lesson plans, curriculum materials, and assessment tools used during those three lessons to the research assistants. In addition, samples of student work will also be submitted along with the materials from those classes. These videotapes will be evaluated using the RTOP instrument and the results will again be scaled to show movement in the direction of either teacher or student-centered beliefs and practices. When the teacher is located near campus, actual classroom observations by a doctoral associate will be done in addition to the videotaping.
Beliefs About Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL)- This survey instrument measures teachers knowledge and beliefs about reformed science teaching and learning. This survey will be repeated yearly during the study to assess changes over time.
Iowa Test of Educational Development- Science Reasoning (ITED) (University of Iowa Testing Program)- This nationally normed exam measures students’ scientific reasoning ability. The ITED instrument will be administered annually to one class of pupils taught by the participating science teachers.
Science Teachers’ Transcripts and Teacher Certification Exam Scores- These documents, along with other demographic information that will be collected on each study participant, will be used to determine knowledge attainment in science content and pedagogy throughout the preservice program.
SWEPT Student Attitudes Survey (Dubner, et al., 2001)- This survey instrument collects data on student attitudes about science, past experience with science both in and out of school, views about career opportunities in science, and educational and professional levels of their parents. This survey will be repeated yearly for each in-depth teacher’s classroom.
Qualitative Instruments
Introductory Interview- This interview sets the stage for the following interview instruments by allowing the researcher to begin to establish a relationship with the in-depth teachers.
Salish Preservice Program Interview (Salish I Research Project, 1997)- This comprehensive interview guide has versions for science content faculty, science education faculty and preservice science teachers to complete gathering information of the specific impact of program interventions on secondary science teachers’ development. It will be administered in the first year of the project and again in the final year of the project to collect in-depth information about changes in the in-depth teachers’ beliefs and practices as they gain experience in the classroom.
Interview Maps (IM) (Luft, Roehrig, & Brooks, 2003)- Each year, the in-depth teachers in this project will be interviewed at the beginning and end of the school year to examine changes in their teaching beliefs regarding effective science instruction. The interview questions on this instrument reveal beliefs that are traditional, instructive, transitional, responsive, and reform-oriented. The interview maps will be scaled to show movement in the direction of either teacher or student-centered beliefs. [from Teachers Pedagogical Philosophy Interview (Richardson & Simmons, 1994)]
Classroom Observation Field Notes- Research assistants will visit the classrooms of teachers located within a reasonable distance to campus and collect detailed observation notes on the practices exhibited by the teacher s participating in the study and the learning activities of their students during these lessons.
Program Descriptions- Both the electronic and print versions any of preservice program documents and inservice professional development program materials that are available will be examined qualitatively to determine the extent to which they describe the intended impact of these experiences on science teacher learning.
This work was funded by the National Science Foundation, grant #0455819
page updated: 11/18/08.