Karen Goodnough

Enhancing pedagogical content knowledge through self-study: an exploration of problem-based learning

This self-study was designed to explore problem-based learning (PBL) as an instructional approach in the context of a pre-service science education methods course. Through the development and implementation of PBL curriculum, the authors goals were to improve her classroom practice and her understanding of that practice, to contribute to the knowledge base of teaching and learning, and to immerse students in authentic learning experiences that would encourage them to adopt an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. In studying her own practice, the author adopted classroom-based action research as a strategy to explore PBL. Data collection methods and sources included field notes, interviews, and student-generated documents. The author describes how many aspects of her pedagogical content knowledge (conceptions of the purposes for teaching subject matter, knowledge of students’ understanding, curricular knowledge, and knowledge of instruction and assessment) and classroom practice were transformed.

Examining the long‐term impact of collaborative action research on teacher identity and practice: the perceptions of K–12 teachers

This study focused on teacher perceptions of the long‐term impacts of engaging in collaborative action research on professional identity and practice. This qualitative, phenomenological study focused on understanding the lived experiences of 10 teachers before, during, and after engaging in action research. Each teacher was interviewed before engaging in action research, after one year of engaging in action research, and two to four years after completing an action research project. Outcomes revealed that several aspects of teacher identity and classroom practice were changed. In addition, the impact of teacher engagement in action research on the broader educational context is discussed.

Facilitating action research in the context of science education: reflections of a university researcher

Abstract In this qualitative case study, the author engages in critical selfreflection about her role as a researcher/facilitator of an action research group that explored multiple intelligences (MI) theory (Gardner, 1983) in the context of science education. Her multi-faceted role within the action research group and the nature of the research in terms of the orientation, purpose, and type of reflection are described. Through the process of reflective practice, both as the study was ongoing and after the completion, the author enhanced her understanding of the action research process and how to foster collaborative inquiry within the context of an action research group. In addition, the article reports on how MI theory was applied to classroom practice, the nature of collaboration that emerged and the perceptions of the teacher participants about the efficacy of action research as a form of teacher development.

Teacher Learning and Collaborative Action Research: Generating a “Knowledge-of-Practice” in the Context of Science Education

In this case study, teacher inquiry groups from 3 school districts engaged and transformed various facets of their professional knowledge and practice in the context of science education. To examine the nature of teacher learning, a 3-part teacher knowledge and learning framework, proposed by Cochran-Smith and Lytle in 1999, was adopted (knowledge-for-practice, knowledge-in-practice, and knowledge-of-practice). While 16 school-based inquiry groups participated in the collaborative action research project, one case study involving a primary teacher, Katrina, is highlighted to illustrate outcomes related to the role of collaborative inquiry in supporting teacher learning, contextual issues and concerns that impact teachers’ daily classroom practice, and the types of knowledge generated by teachers within collaborative inquiry communities.

Enhancing pedagogical content knowledge in elementary science

In this study, five elementary teachers and a university researcher developed and implemented problem‐based learning (PBL) experiences in the context of science teaching and learning. Collaborative inquiry was adopted as a methodology, while a variety of qualitative methods were used to examine the engagement and development of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). A PCK model is used as a framework to examine teachers’ professional knowledge growth in areas such as orientations to teaching science, knowledge of science curriculum, knowledge of students’ understanding of science, knowledge of assessment, and knowledge of instructional strategies. Implications for how teachers may be supported when adopting instructional innovations are discussed.

Teacher Development through Action Research: A Case Study of an Elementary Teacher.

Abstract This paper describes the experiences of an elementary teacher, Ingrid, as she conducted an action research project in science with her grade five students. By adopting the framework of action research within the context of an action research group consisting of four teachers and a university researcher/facilitator, she was able to critically examine her instructional and assessment practices and to make changes in those practices. She attributed her personal and professional growth primarily to the collaboration and support that manifested itself through the action research group. This case study provides supporting evidence for the value of action research as an effective and feasible form of teacher development, while acknowledging both its strengths and limitations.

Engaging Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Adopting a Nine-Step Problem-Based Learning Model

Engaging primary and elementary students in meaningful, relevant science learning is challenging. PBL is an instructional approach that provides a means to foster meaningful science learning while enhancing teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This paper reports on the experiences of a teacher inquiry group consisting of fi ve teachers (K-5) and a university researcher as they adopted a nine-step problem design model to develop PBL experiences. The objectives of the study were to examine how various facets of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge are engaged as they design PBL modules; describe how teachers engage with a nine-step problem design model; and document teachers’ perceptions of the strengths and limitations of the nine-step problem design model.

Enhancing Professional Knowledge: A Case Study of an Elementary Teacher

In this case study, I report on the teacher development that resulted when an elementary teacher explored multiple intelligences theory (MI theory) and used it as a guide to make decisions about her curriculum planning and classroom practice. Several data collection methods and sources were used — semi-structured interviews, participant observation, group action-research meetings, and journal writing. Through critical self-reflection, she became more adept at integrating many aspects of her professional knowledge — subject-matter knowledge, pedagogical-content knowledge, knowledge of her own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher, and knowledge of how students learn — thus enhancing her ability to teach science. L’auteure rapporte une etude de cas portant sur le perfectionnement professionnel. Une enseignante du primaire a etudie la theorie des intelligences multiples et s’en est servie pour planifier ses cours et choisir ses methodes pedagogiques. L’enseignante a reussi a mieux integrer ses competences professionnelles – connaissance de la matiere, du contenu pedagogique, de ses forces et de ses faiblesses comme enseignante et du mode d’apprentissage des eleves –, ce qui lui a permis d’ameliorer son aptitude a enseigner les sciences.

Moving Science Off the “Back Burner”: Meaning Making Within an Action Research Community of Practice

In this study, the participants conceptualized and implemented an action research project that focused on the infusion of inquiry principles into a neglected science curriculum. Specific objectives were to find (a) What factors challenge and support the evolution of an action research community of practice? (b) How are teachers’ beliefs about science teaching and learning transformed? and (c) How does teachers’ knowledge of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and student learning change as a result of learning within a community of practice? In this instrumental case study (Stake 2000, In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 435–454). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage), a range of data collection sources and methods were adopted. Outcomes focus on how the design principles for cultivating a community of practice emerged in the action research group, as well as the types of teacher learning that occurred by engaging in action research.

Changing Teacher Beliefs about Giftedness and Differentiation Practices

Abstract This study explored the developing belief of a group of pre-senice and in-senice teachers (n=28) about the nature of giftedness and of teaching and learning of gifted learners as they participated in a six-week undergraduate introductory course in gifted education. Case study method, field notes, interviews, and open-ended questionnaires were used and triangulated to interpret the nature and extent of changes in teacher beliefs. Through participation in the course, students developed broader conceptions of the nature of giftedness and increased their awareness of the options available for differentiating curriculum for gifted learners.