Section archive - Instruction in Teacher Training

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between teachers’ participation in constructivist chemistry professional development (PD) and enhancement of content (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) (representational thinking and conceptual change strategies) and self-efficacy (PSTE). 69 teachers participated in this study. Results suggest that: (1) constructivist PD meets the needs of teachers of varying CK, and (2) instruction should connect representational models with alternative conceptions, integrating radical and social constructivism.

This survey study investigated high school science teachers’ challenges and needs specific to their growing English language learning (ELL) student population. Thirty-three science teachers from 6 English as a Second language (ESL)-center high schools in central Virginia participated in the survey. Results suggest that language barriers as well as ELL students’ lack of science foundational knowledge challenged teachers most. Teachers perceived that appropriate instructional materials and pedagogical training was most needed.

This study investigated how instructional challenges presented by gifted students shaped teachers’ instructional strategies. The participants were three high school science teachers who were teaching identified gifted students in both heterogeneously- and homogeneously-grouped classrooms. Data analysis indicated that these science teachers developed content-specific teaching strategies based on their understanding of gifted students.

'Robust hope' was recently championed as fundamental to achieving educational utopias. Hope feels good and has utility in some circumstances. However, in other situations different motivations - positive (e.g. curiosity) or negative (e.g. frustration) - may offer greater pedagogical value. Robust hope may lead to: (1) failure; (2) an exacerbation of existing judgement biases; and (3) emotional reasoning. Hence, best-practice principles require that the net pedagogical impact of robust hope be assessed.