Science Teachers' Learning Enhancing Opportunities, Creating Supportive Contexts (2015) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Current Status of Science Instruction
3 The Current Status of Science Instruction
Pages 47-68
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From page 47... ...
The other two surveys capture characteristics of science teachers' perceptions and classroom instruction across countries that include the United States. The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)
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From page 48... ...
included survey items about instructional practices in 4th- and 8th-grade classrooms. The committee focused primarily on results of the NSSME, the only survey that included a representative national sample at all grade levels.
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From page 49... ...
. About 60 percent of science teachers in the United States indicate that they are using "reform-oriented science teaching practices," such as "have students do hands-on/laboratory activities," "require students to supply evidence in support of their claims," and "have students represent and/or analyze data using tables, charts, or graphs" (Banilower et al., 2013)
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selected a nationally representative set of 40 middle schools and then randomly selected an elementary school and a high school in the feeder pattern for each of these middle schools. Each set of three schools constituted a site.
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For example, they do not consistently integrate all three dimensions discussed in Chapter 2: science practices, crosscutting concepts, and core disciplinary ideas. Nonetheless, these prototypes provide importance guidance for considering what teachers need to know and be able to do to implement high-quality science instruction.
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From page 52... ...
In some classrooms, the teacher both asked and answered the questions. These lessons did not provide sufficient time or support for students to discuss, reflect on, and make sense of laboratory activities, lectures, or demonstrations or to connect new information to existing knowledge (see Box 3-3)
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In 44 percent of U.S. lessons, there were weak or no connections between learning activities and science ideas.
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In a study of classrooms in a large school district in the eastern United States that included data from observations of 55 elementary classrooms, 37 middle school science classrooms, and 29 high school science classrooms (Corcoran and Gerry, 2011) , fewer than one-third of these observations showed students engaged in any type of higher-order thinking.
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Again, these results clearly point to the need to create learning opportunities for all teachers. Table 3-1 provides an overview of teachers' reported practices in elementary, middle, and high school science classrooms from the NSSME.
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In the limited time accorded to science in the elementary grades, what is the nature of instruction that students experience? Teachers' self-reports on the 2012 NSSME indicate that the instructional activities most frequently used in elementary school science lessons are conducting wholeclass discussion, the teacher explaining science ideas to the class, and having students work in small groups (see Table 3-1)
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From page 57... ...
In addition, the researchers found that the greatest weakness of elementary science lessons was in the area of giving students the time and structure needed for sense making and wrap-up. In addition to the lack of adequate time in the school week and day for elementary school science instruction to achieve the vision of the Framework and NGSS, elementary school teachers lack appropriate technology, curriculum, and instructional materials to support instruction aligned with the vision.
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From page 58... ...
However, given the fact that many elementary teachers have not had an opportunity for substantial engagement in science content and practices, this finding suggests the need for significant opportunities for elementary teachers to enhance their content knowledge as well as their pedagogical content knowledge. Middle School Science Instruction Most middle schools have dedicated science teachers, and students participate in science class daily or every other day.
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From page 59... ...
Differences in self-reported instructional activity are nonetheless insufficient indicators of enhanced instructional quality at the middle school level, or more specifically, of the degree to which middle school science instruction is consistent with the vision expressed by the Framework and NGSS. Two observational studies of science classrooms conducted since 2000, although predating the release of the current standards, suggest that middle school students may have limited experience of highquality science instruction.
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From page 60... ...
of middle school teachers indicated that their facilities were adequate, and about half viewed their equipment as adequate, while only about 40 percent viewed their consumable supplies and instructional technology as adequate. As at other levels, middle school science classes do not incorporate instructional technology to a great extent (Banilower et al., 2013)
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From page 61... ...
However, middle school teachers are more likely than elementary teachers to supplement these materials with other resources or to skip parts they deem unimportant. High School Science Instruction Like middle schools, high schools provide more time for science learning than elementary schools, and about one-third (34 percent)
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Like middle school teachers, high school teachers often supplement textbooks and modules with other resources or skip parts they deem unimportant. Summary of Science Instruction across Levels of Schooling The vision of science teaching and learning portrayed by the Framework and NGSS will likely present a substantial challenge for many teachers, especially at the elementary level, but also at the middle and high school levels.
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From page 63... ...
Furthermore, an extensive descriptive literature portrays quality science instruction. For example, some elementary teachers integrate science into their curriculum, support meaningful science learning, and find ways to engage in their own professional learning -- all despite working in teaching contexts and with curricula that rarely support such integration (Banilower et al., 2013; Dorph et al., 2011; Gallas, 1995; National Research Council, 2007)
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From page 64... ...
Yet while this is an essential aspect of effective instruction, this view does not begin to include features of instruction that are more student oriented, including attention to the quality of student engagement and discourse. Teachers' opinions about ability grouping vary considerably by grade range, with 65 percent of high school science teachers, 48 percent of those in the middle grades, and 32 percent at the elementary level indicating that students learn science best in classes with other students of similar ability.
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From page 65... ...
. Although teachers across grade levels report some use of such practices as "having students do hands-on/laboratory activities," "requiring students to supply evidence in support of their claims," and "having students represent and/or analyze data using tables, charts, or
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From page 66... ...
It is critical, however, to resist the temptation to blame teachers for the current state of science teaching practices, which reflect the varied and underconceptualized support teachers receive from schools and districts. In addition to being prepared as generalists, elementary teachers have very limited time to plan and deliver science instruction, while teachers at all levels receive little time, structure, and support for their own learning, whether through traditional professional workshops or through teacher study groups or one-on-one coaching.
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From page 67... ...
. Teaching for understanding in Earth science: Comparing impacts on planning and in struction in three professional development designs for middle school science.
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From page 68... ...
. How novice science teachers appropri ate epistemic discourses around model-based inquiry for use in classrooms.
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