Andrew Gilbert

There and Back Again: Exploring Teacher Attrition and Mobility with Two Transitioning Science Teachers

This study chronicled the professional journeys of two beginning science teachers. The focus of the research effort documents what brought them to science teaching and investigated their resulting career paths. Data artifacts for this instrumental case study approach included: interviews, written survey responses, personal communications and member checks. All data was transcribed and coded into emergent categories using a constant comparative analysis approach. The findings indicated that their decisions to enter and leave teaching were a complex mélange of issues that included career disposition, notions of isolation, overarching culture of the school, and future possibilities. However, most striking was their re-entry into teaching on a temporary basis after considerable time away from the classroom, which suggests that teachers develop a sense of agency regarding their career decisions. This may require researchers to reconsider how we view teacher decision-making within the context of teacher attrition and mobility. Implications for science teacher education indicate that some teachers may enter the profession considering teaching to be a transition into a different career path. Secondary science teachers may perceive multiple career options (beyond the classroom) based on their preparation and teaching experience. Further implications and possibilities for science teacher education are discussed.

Models of School-Based Practice: Partnerships in Practice

This chapter describes the five individual models of school-based practice involving university–school partnerships, each presented as a single case study. Each partnership was independently developed, and there are both common and unique characteristics of the partnership and the pedagogical practices that emerge when a cross-case analysis is conducted. This variety illustrates that there is not one way to work in partnerships in teacher education. Each case study is presented including a set of pedagogical principles that are common across the case studies, and set of themes are developed that are further explored in Part 2 of this book.

Science Teacher Education Partnerships with Schools (STEPS)

This chapter describes the background and context surrounding the STEPS project and articulates both the process and goals established at the outset of the research endeavour. The STEPS research responded to a continuing concern regarding primary teachers’ acquisition of scientific understanding, confidence to teach science and persistent questions concerning the effectiveness of traditional approaches to teacher education. STEPS brought together academics from five Australian universities with established, innovative and successful primary science practices involving partnerships between universities and primary schools that engaged pre-service primary teachers in classroom teaching and learning that effectively connected theory with practice. This chapter presents the multiple case-study methodology (Yin in Case-study research: Design and methods, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2009) utilised to examine the experiences of establishing, maintaining and growing these partnerships with each university campus acting as a “site”. Key features and critical success factors required to establish and maintain strong working relationships with schools leading to the development of the interpretive framework are presented.

Inquiry and wonder in the university classroom

This session will highlight findings from a case study exploring the use of inquiry and wonder as pedagogical tools essential for meaningful engagement with science. This includes exploring current research findings regarding the powerful connection between emotion and learning in science. Lastly, we will brainstorm ideas for bringing these connections into our current classroom practices.