Brian Lewthwaite

‘It's more than knowing the science’: A case study in elementary science curriculum review

Abstract: This research exercise, based on the initial stage of a school‐wide science curriculum improvement project, explores the factors influencing science program delivery in a multicultural elementary school in northwestern Canada. Using a validated science program delivery evaluation tool, the Science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (SCIQ), as a foundation for data collection, staff discussion, and collaborative decision making, a school embarks on a self‐review process to, first of all, identify factors influencing science program delivery and, second, identify strategies for improvement of science delivery. Implications of this self‐review process on science program delivery improvement are discussed, especially within the context of the adequacy of teacher pedagogical‐content knowledge within a multicultural context. As well, recognizing the limitations of the SCIQ within the context of study, modifications to the SCIQ are also presented.

Pilimmaksarniq: Working Together for the Common Good in Science Curriculum Development and Delivery in Nunavut

This article outlines the practices informing and the preliminary outcomes derived from these practices in a 5-year school community science development project in three schools in the Qikiqtani (Baffin Island) region of Nunavut. The development process attempts to apply the guiding principles of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) to the improvement of science curriculum delivery in a manner that honors the knowledge, principles, and values the communities regard as integral to who and what they are. A basic foundation of IQ is the ground rules, customs, and the right way of doing things for Inuit. For this reason, the article outlines the processes guiding and informing the development process. Particular attention is devoted to the development of a quantitative instrument available in both Inuktitut and English that is used to inform school community discussion and monitor the degree of success in the development process. Outcomes of the initial stages of the project are discussed and implications of these outcomes for renegotiating future activity are considered.RésuméCet article présente les pratiques qui caractérisent un projet d’une durée de cinq ans sur le développement des sciences en milieu scolaire dans trois écoles de la région de Qikiqtani (Îe de Baffin) au Nunavut, ainsi que les résultats préliminaires dérivés de ces pratiques. Ce processus de développement applique les principes du Qaujimajatuqangit Inuit en vue d’améliorer les applications pratiques des curriculums scientifiques à l’école, de façon à respecter les connaissances, les principes et les valeurs que les communautés considèrent comme parties intégrantes de leur identité. Parmi les fondements principaux du Qaujimajatuqangit Inuit figurent les règles de base, les coutumes et les justes façons de faire chez les Inuits, c’est pourquoi cet article présente les grandes lignes des processus qui servent de points de départ au processus de développement. Une attention toute particulière est accordée à la mise au point d’un instrument quantitatif disponible en Inuktitut et en anglais, susceptible de contribuer au débat dans les communautés scolaires et de mesurer les progrès accomplis dans ce processus de développement. Les premiers résultats du projet sont analysés, et les implications de ces résultats sont ensuite envisagées dans une perspective d’activités futures.

Combining the views of both worlds: Perceived constraints and contributors to achieving aspirations for science education in qikiqtani

This paper reports on the first phase of a multiphase science education development project being conducted in three Inuit communities in the northern Qikiqtani region of Nunavut. The development project, in its entirety, employs an action research methodology, and by so doing endeavours to support the improvement of science education delivery in accordance with school community aspirations. The project focuses on (a) establishing the current situation in Kindergarten to Grade 6 science education in the communities; (b) identifying developmental aspirations for stakeholders within the communities and potential contributors and constraints to these aspirations; (c) implementing mechanisms for achieving identified aspirations; and, finally, (d) evaluating the effectiveness of such mechanisms. This paper focuses on the initial phase of the development project: evaluating the current situation in Kindergarten to Grade 6 science education, and identifying the developmental aspirations and perceived constraints and contributors for achieving these science education aspirations within these communities. Finally, the paper outlines some priorities to consider for further education development based on the outcomes of the preliminary discussions. Résumé: Cet article fait un compte-rendu de la premiere phase d’un projet de d’veloppement en enseignement des sciences dans trois communautés inuit de la région nordique de Qikiqtani, au Nunavut. Le projet de d’veloppement dans son entier se fonde sur une méthodologie de recherche-action, afin de tenter d’améliorer la qualité de I’enseignement des sciences en accord avec les aspirations des communautes scolaires. Le projet vise essentiellement à: (1) d’terminer quelle est la situation actuelle en enseignement des sciences, de la maternelle à la sixieme année, au sein de ces communautés, (2) d’terminer quelles sont les aspirations developpementales des parties prenantes au sein des communautés et quels seraient les éventuels facteurs susceptibles d’avoir un impact positif ou négatif sur ces aspirations, (3) mettre en place des mécanismes permettant de réaliser les aspirations ainsi identifiées, et enfin (4) évaluer l’efficacité de ces mécanismes. Cet article centre son attention sur la premiére étape du projet, laquelle vise d’abord à évaluer la situation actuelle en enseignement des sciences, de la maternelle à la sixième année, ensuite à d’terminer quelles sont les aspirations des communautés inuit en termes de d’veloppement, et enfin à identifier aussi bien les contraintes perçues que les facteurs qui favorisent la réalisation de telles aspirations. l’article dresse également un tableau des priorités dont il faudra tenir compte lorsqu’il s’agira d’établir de nouveaux d’veloppements pédagogiques fond’s sur Ies résultats des discussions préliminaires sur ces questions.

The development and validation of a primary science curriculum delivery evaluation questionnaire

This study describes the processes involved in the development and statistical validation of a primary science curriculum delivery evaluation instrument, the Science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (SCIQ), used to identify factors influencing science programme delivery at the classroom and school level. The study begins by exploring the themes generated from several qualitative studies in the New Zealand context pertaining to the phenomenon of primary science delivery. Building on the findings from the qualitative studies, quantitative procedures used to develop and validate both a five‐scale, 35‐item SCIQ and a seven‐scale, 49‐item SCIQ are presented. Finally, current applications of the seven‐scale, 49‐item SCIQ as a foundation for data collection, staff discussion and collaborative decision‐making for the purpose of primary science delivery are briefly discussed.

Are you saying I'm to blame? Exploring the influence of a principal on elementary science delivery

This research exercise, employing an action research model for curriculum improvement, explored the factors influencing science program delivery at an elementary school in New Zealand. Using a validated science program delivery evaluation tool, the Science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (SCIQ), as a foundation for data collection, staff discussion and collaborative decision-making, a school embarked on a self-review process and, first of all, identified factors influencing science program delivery and, secondly, identified strategies for improvement of science delivery. After a school-wide cycle of focused science delivery improvement, the evaluation was repeated and further emerging trends and strategies for improvement were collaboratively discussed and implemented. Implications of this self-review process on science program delivery improvement are discussed, especially within the context of the role of the principal in influencing curriculum delivery.

Teacher perceptions of science in the National Curriculum: findings from an application of the Science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire in English primary schools

This article presents and discusses outcomes arising from a recently completed National Primary Science Survey (England) intended, in part, to elicit how teachers and others perceive the effectiveness of colleagues and the schools in which they work to implement and deliver primary science within the National Curriculum. While the majority view among respondents was found to be generally positive and encouraging, particularly so in terms of school ethos and regard for science as a curriculum area, certain personal or ‘intrinsic’ and environmental or ‘extrinsic’ elements were nevertheless identified as more inhibiting than others and for certain subgroups within the sample of participants itself. The majority of findings reported here were obtained using a seven-scale, 49-item diagnostic research instrument originally developed for use in New Zealand and subsequently transported to other locations around the world. In its first fully documented use within the UK, the validity, reliability and potential of this instrument to provide teachers and others with a means of evaluating science education provision together with providing an evidence-base for professional dialogue, strategic planning and decision-making for overall school improvement are considered.

Outcomes from Flexible Learning Options for disenfranchised youth: what counts?

ABSTRACT Flexible Learning Options (FLOs) are common across many countries to enable secondary school completion by young people for whom mainstream schooling has not worked well. Access to high-quality education through FLOs is a social justice issue. In the context of an inclination among governments for accountability and evidence-based policy, as well as of financial austerity, there is pressure on FLOs to demonstrate and publicise their outcomes. This work is not straightforward, due to debates about the purposes of education and to difficulties in measurement. This paper analyses Australian practical and evaluation reports, so-called grey literature, to examine the specific outcomes that are the focus of those publications, alongside the evidence that is provided to substantiate these claims. Our aim is to contribute to better understandings of what counts as success in these settings, and how that success may be demonstrated. Overall, the reports focus on five different sets of outcomes: traditional academic outcomes, post-programme destinations, student engagement, personal and social well-being, and broader community engagement and well-being. Across the reports, there was a strong emphasis on qualitative research methods, often supplemented with descriptive statistics and case studies. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of the analysis for determining ‘what counts’ as outcomes from FLOs.

Thinking about practical work in chemistry: teachers' considerations of selected practices for the macroscopic experience

This study explores teachers’ thinking about practical work, especially in regards to the types of practical work they privilege in their teaching of chemistry to support students in their learning. It seeks to investigate the view that practical work, especially the type of practical work selected, is unthinkingly and uncritically selected by chemistry teachers. The study is conducted at the end of a five-year professional development initiative associated with the implementation of a new curriculum chemistry initiative for Grade 11 and 12 advocating for a ‘tetrahedral’ orientation to the teaching of chemistry emphasizing the ‘practical’ experience on the ‘macroscopic’ level as one of four essential dimensions of the chemistry learning experience. Responses indicate that teachers’ thinking is informed by pragmatic, philosophical and psychological considerations; the latter largely informed by an understanding of the importance of ‘multi-level’ chemistry experiences encouraged by the ‘tetrahedral’ model.

Fostering the Development of Chemistry Teacher Candidates: A Bioecological Approach

This ongoing research inquiry investigates through the analysis of teacher candidate experiences the factors influencing two groups of chemistry teacher candidates’ development during their extended practica in their second and final year of a n after-degree bachelor of education at a university in central Canada. The tenets of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model provide insight into both the identification of factors influencing chemistry teacher candidate progress and methods for systematically documenting and supporting their reflective consideration of the practicum experience. Furthermore, Bronfenbrenner’s suggestion as to what contributes to constructive environments and development, especially pertaining to the construct of proximal processes, is utilized to foster chemistry teacher development. The outcomes of this intervention and ramification of these outcomes for teacher education are presented.RésuméPar le biais d’une analyse des expériences de futurs enseignants de chimie, cette recherche en cours se penche sur les facteurs qui influent sur le développement de deux groupes de candidats au cours du stage pratique qu’ils font pendant les deuxième et troisième années de leur programme de deuxième cycle en sciences de l’éducation dans une université du centre du Canada. Les tenants du modèle bioécologique de Bronfenbrenner fournissent les bases pour identifier les facteurs qui influencent les progrès des futurs enseignants de chimie et les méthodes pour documenter et soutenir systématiquement leur processus de réflexion sur l’expérience de stage. De plus, la thèse de Bronfenbrenner sur les éléments qui contribuent à un environnement et un développement constructifs, en particulier en ce qui a trait au construit des processus proximaux, est utilisée pour favoriser le développement professionnel des futurs enseignants de chimie. Les résultats de cette intervention et les ramifications de ces résultats pour la formation des enseignants des sciences sont présentés.

“The Growth Is There–But It’s Not That Evident, Is It!”: A Study in Science Delivery Improvement

The purpose of this study was to monitor the development of teacher personal attribute and school environmental factors at an urban intermediate (years 7 and 8) school in New Zealand as a result of an extended science professional development intervention project. Over a 2-year period, a validated, comprehensive science curriculum delivery evaluation instrument, the Science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (SCIQ, Lewthwaite, 2001), was used as a tool for data collection to monitor the initial and perpetuating influences of a full-year professional development program on science delivery. Based on the data collected and staff responses emanating from the analysis and discussion of the data represented by the SCIQ, outcomes of and contributors to the development were identified. As well, the effectiveness of both the professional development program and the SCIQ as an instrument for monitoring personal attribute and environmental changes as a result of professional development interventions are evaluated.