ERIC Number: EJ1106803
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0950-0693
EISSN: N/A
Teachers' Use of Educative Curriculum Materials to Engage Students in Science Practices
Arias, Anna Maria; Davis, Elizabeth A.; Marino, John-Carlos; Kademian, Sylvie M.; Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan
International Journal of Science Education, v38 n9 p1504-1526 2016
New reform documents underscore the importance of integrating science practices into the learning of science. This integration requires sophisticated teaching that does not often happen. Educative curriculum materials--materials explicitly designed to support teacher and student learning--have been posited as a way to support teachers to achieve these ambitious goals, yet little is known about how elementary teachers actually use educative curriculum materials to support student engagement in science practices. To address this gap, this study investigated how five upper elementary teachers supported students to engage in science practices during an enactment of two curriculum units. Three of the teachers had units enhanced with educative features, informed by current research and reforms, while two of the teachers had units without these features. The teachers varied in how they supported students in the science practices of justifying predictions, constructing evidence-based claims, recording observations, and planning investigations. For example, some of the teachers with the educative features supported students in constructing evidence-based claims and justifying predictions in ways called for by the educative features. Implications for curriculum developers and teacher educators are discussed based on the patterns found in the teachers' use of the educative curriculum materials.
Descriptors: Curriculum Development, Science Teachers, Learner Engagement, Elementary School Science, Elementary School Teachers, Science Education, Science Instruction, Teaching Methods, Case Studies, Quasiexperimental Design, Semi Structured Interviews, Observation, Instructional Materials, Educational Change, Elementary School Students, Qualitative Research
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1007753