Ferdinand G.M. Coenders

Assessing Teachers’ Beliefs to Facilitate the Transition to a New Chemistry Curriculum: What Do the Teachers Want?

In this article, we describe the results of a study of chemistry high school teachers’ beliefs (Nxa0=xa07) of the chemistry curriculum and their roles, their beliefs on the teacher as developer of materials, and their beliefs about professional development. Teachers’ beliefs influence the implementation of a curriculum. We view the use of a new curriculum as a learning process, which should start at teachers’ prior knowledge and beliefs. The results reveal that it is possible to develop a new curriculum in which teachers’ beliefs are taken as a starting point. Promising approaches to prepare teachers for a new curriculum is to let them (co)develop and use curriculum materials: It creates ownership, and strengthens and develops teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK).

Essential Characteristics for a Professional Development Program for Promoting the Implementation of a Multidisciplinary Science Module

Teachers involved in the implementation of a curriculum innovation can be prepared for this task through a professional development program. In this paper, we describe essential characteristics (identified empirically and theoretically) for such a professional development program that promotes the acquisition of competences by these teachers. The innovation deals with the introduction of modules from a new multidisciplinary subject, in which elements from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and physical geography are integrated. A 3-step approach was used to identify the essential characteristics: (a) evidence from classroom practice, (b) characteristics of the new subject, and (c) theoretical and empirical evidence from curriculum implementation studies. Analysis of the data showed that 5 characteristics need particular attention in a professional development program.

Professional development through lesson study: teaching the derivative using GeoGebra

This study focuses on mathematics teachers’ professional development through elements of Japanese lesson study. The teachers designed a research lesson with regard to sense-making of the derivative using the integration of GeoGebra. In the second year of the four-year lesson study project, seven secondary school teachers – from different Dutch schools – worked cooperatively, building on the first-year experiences with the introduction of the derivative. The teachers designed a lesson that focused on encapsulation of the conceptual understanding of the derivative before solving problems with operational symbolism later in the course. They tried to make sense of the calculus using GeoGebra as a tool to realize surprise in which conceptual embodiment and operational symbolism blend together. The teachers integrated GeoGebra to consolidate the derivative using the visual idea of zooming in on the graph to see its local behavior (where a differentiable function looks ‘locally straight’). The teachers reported that they have learned to use visualizations and experienced the importance of student interaction. The teachers realized that this approach of the derivative – integrating GeoGebra – encouraged them to reflect on how the students made sense of learning activities in general.

A Model for In-service Teacher Learning in the Context of an Innovation

When curricula change, teachers have to bring their knowledge and beliefs up to date. Two aspects can be distinguished: what do teachers learn and how is it learned. Two groups of teachers were involved during the preparation of a new chemistry curriculum. One group developed student learning material and subsequently enacted this in class. Another group only class-enacted this. Based on teacher learning, a model to understand teacher growth is presented. As the combination of a development phase with a class enactmentphase proved instrumental, an existing model, the interconnected model of teacher professional growth, was extended. The consequence is that for teacher learning for a renewal a (re)development phase followed by a class enactment phase is essential.

Design of a model for a professional development programme for a multidisciplinary science subject in the Netherlands.

Schools are increasingly integrating multidisciplinary education into their programmes. The Minister of Education, Culture and Science has introduced a new, integrated science subject in secondary education in the Netherlands, called Nature, Life and Technology (NLT). This research note describes the design of a generic model for a professional development programme to prepare teachers with and assist them during the implementation of a multidisciplinary science module. Three sources were used for this design: subject features including school practices, the curriculum design phases, and professional development characteristics, in combination with three factors influencing the quality of the professional development: context, process and content. These sources and factors have been translated into a generic model. Three experts evaluated this generic model: a teacher trainer who was also involved in the development of NLT modules; a biology and NLT teacher who was also involved in a regional NLT information centre; and a chemistry and NLT teacher. Overall, the experts were positive. They judged 12 out of 13 aspects of the model as sufficient or better. They were, however, critical about the issue of whether the model offers sufficient possibilities for participants to familiarise themselves with new subject content knowledge.

Lesson Study: professional development (PD) for beginning and experienced teachers

Abstract Central in this study is the professional development of beginning and experienced teachers collaborating in Lesson Study teams. Two high school teacher teams participated, a chemistry and a multidisciplinary team. Each team consisted of a beginning and an experienced teacher. Both teams went through the Lesson Study cycle twice. What and from what the beginning and experienced teachers learned, differences in teacher leaning and what Lesson Study elements contributed to this learning were studied in a qualitative multiple case study using interviews, reflective journals, and recordings . The Extended Interconnected Model for Professional Growth was used to interpret teacher learning. Our results show that two Lesson Study teams materialized in which participants shared experiences, thoughts, and ideas related to teaching and learning. Lesson Study contributed to both beginning and experienced teachers’ PCK development. The combination of two phases in this professional development program proved instrumental for this PCK development: a development phase in which participants meet new pedagogies, discuss these in the perspective of student learning, design a lesson plan and prepare for class use. Followed by a class enactment phase where the designed lesson is enacted, students are observed, subsequently salient results are discussed and the lesson plan revised.

Writing Prompts Help Improve Expression of Conceptual Understanding in Chemistry

To improve the writing performance of secondary school students in chemistry assessments, a set of activities was developed. First, through document analysis of written tests, five categories of frequent mistakes in answers were identified: poor punctuation (capital letters, periods), missing key answer components (omitting concepts necessary to answer the question), incomplete reasoning (logical steps are missing), unclear use of antecedents (meanings of pronouns such as “it” are difficult to discern), and poor connectives (words like “because” are lacking or used incorrectly). After this, five strategies were formulated: focus on punctuation, repeat key question components, show complete reasoning, minimize use of references, and check use of connectives. Second, a two-part intervention study was conducted. In Part A, a written prompt (arrow symbol with the word “LANGUAGE”) placed in front of context-based questions was implemented to find out if that could help students avoid making any of those mistakes. Following promising effects on the performance of 99 students, the intervention was extended with a Part B to find out if, in addition to the prompt, bonus points (for each prompt question one bonus point was awarded if the answer was formulated correctly in terms of language use) and language support (prompt card listing the five strategies, and supportive assignments) could be of extra help to students. The findings suggest that the writing performance of students can be improved by increasing students’ awareness through a simple written prompt, providing language support, and awarding bonus points for properly formulated answers to chemistry test questions.

The use of a student group log to facilitate student and teacher learning

In 21st century education students should have ample opportunities to collaborate on authentic problems. Many teachers however find it difficult to make the transfer from teacher to student-centered education. Giving students autonomy can be disquieting to teachers, as they fear to lose control of student learning. Teachers in a teacher development team developed context-based student learning material on the topic ‘salts’. Self-regulating student cooperative groups would work autonomously during a number of weeks using this material. To monitor the “what and how” of these groups, a student group log was developed. In this log all the work the group performed in class had to be noted and during each lesson a number of questions to stimulate interaction and reflection had to be answered. This research describes how students and teachers used and perceived the group log during their cooperative journey when studying the material on ‘salts’. The results show that students were positive, and especially appreciated teachers quick feedback. The log stimulated student interaction, guided the learning processes, and stimulated student reflection. To provide feedback, teachers needed between 3–5 minutes per log after each period, and stressed that this was well invested time as they could now monitor student progress.