Julie A. Luft

Bridging the Gap: Supporting Beginning Science Teachers

It is widely recognized that support systems for beginning science teachersfacilitate the process of socialization into the existing school culture (Atkinson D Gold, 1996; Henry, 1989; Loughran, 1994). Beginning scienceteachers need support as they struggle with the mechanics of implementing student-centered inquiry activities in teacher-centered environments (Loughran, 1994; SalishI Research Project, 1997; Sanford, 1988), and they need support as they confrontthe disparity between their student-centered ideology and their survival-basedteacher-centered practice (Salish I Research Project, 1997). Salish I Project (1997)researchers concluded, after following 300 induction science teachers from 11universities, that providing support for secondary science teachers during theirfirst three years is critical if they are to develop and maintain the inquiry-basedclassrooms described in the

Learning To Teach in a Diverse Setting: A Case Study of a Multicultural Science Education Enthusiast.

This study explores the student teaching experience of Jill, a multicultural science education enthusiast who taught in a school whose predominant culture was different from her own. The purpose of this study was to thematically describe Jills student teaching experience as a multicultural science education enthusiast and to examine how she negotiated the constraints she encountered. Three data sources were used to capture Jills student teaching experience: in-depth interviews that were conducted with her throughout the semester; observations that were made while she taught different classes; and her journal that described her teaching experiences and reflections. Themes describing Jills experiences were developed, evaluated, and refined from various data sources to ensure their authenticity. A constant comparative analysis revealed that Jill experienced: (1) an unfamiliarity with her students and their life experiences; (2) a marginalization of herself as she tried to create new lessons for students in science; and (3) a desire for her science instruction to be more relevant to her students. Within each salient experience, Jill felt constrained. Some of the constraints she encountered were mediated, whereas others remained present throughout her student teaching experience. Jills experiences reveal the complexity of learning to teach in a school whose predominate culture is different from your own.

Using an alternative report format in undergraduate hydrology laboratories

Across the nation, undergraduate faculty and staff in the sciences are being called upon to examine traditional laboratory practices. The Vee map is a graphic organizer that is a viable alternative to one component of the traditional laboratory, the laboratory report. It consists of a large Vee with six areas: Focus Question, Word List, Concept Map, Events, Data and Data Transformations, and Conclusions and Claims. The Focus Question guides the investigation, while the Word List and Concept Map reveal prior knowledge. The Events area is a description of the plan students devise to answer the Focus Question. The collected data are recorded and analyzed in the Data and Data Transformation area, findings and results of the investigation are described in the Conclusions and Claims area. Students proceed through these areas in the above mentioned sequence as they engage in an open-ended laboratory investigation. As students complete a Vee map, they contemplate their prior knowledge, engage in the process of knowledge construction, and build meaningful knowledge. Ultimately, a Vee map is a tool that assists an instructor in creating a more interactive and student-centered laboratory report.

Informing expectations for induction: explorations of attrition among supported beginning secondary science teachers in the United States

Abstract The problem of teacher shortages in many industrialized countries has been the catalyst for the provision of induction programs. The guiding purpose for these programs is to ease the transition from novice to professional and in turn encourage teachers to remain in the profession. This article explores the status of one science-focused induction program in the United States, with particular attention to the expectation that induction programs can help retain beginning teachers. The authors present the context for US induction programs and describe their development. They then examine the cases of eight beginning secondary science teachers who participated in the program but nevertheless chose to leave teaching. Findings indicate that teachers left because they were either out of place in the profession, or they had lost patience with their working conditions. The study broadens our understanding of reasonable expectations for induction programs and, through content analysis and cross-case comparison, examines the needs of the beginning teachers for whom these induction programs are designed.