ERIC Number: EJ904397
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Dec
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1941-5257
EISSN: N/A
Using Professional Development to Achieve Classroom Reform and Science Proficiency: An Urban Success Story from Southern Nevada, USA
Crippen, Kent J.; Biesinger, Kevin D.; Ebert, Ellen K.
Professional Development in Education, v36 n4 p637-661 Dec 2010
This paper provides a detailed description and evaluation of a three-year professional development project in a large urban setting in the southwestern United States. The impetus for the project was curriculum development focused on integrated scientific inquiry. Project goals included the development of a professional learning community, reformed teacher practice, and improved content knowledge for teachers and their students. Annually, a two-week summer institute was provided for approximately 50 high school science teachers with graduate-level coursework during the academic year. The results document improvements in teacher content knowledge and key changes in the classroom characteristics of teacher participants. Further, students enrolled in a target course with teachers who participated fully in the professional development were more than twice as likely to pass the state science examination. The results from this project add to what is known about delivering successful, contextually relevant professional development. (Contains 5 tables and 3 figures.)
Descriptors: Curriculum Development, Academic Achievement, Educational Change, Science Teachers, Faculty Development, Urban Areas, Program Evaluation, Scientific Research, Inquiry, Teaching Methods, Science Instruction, Secondary School Teachers, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Science Tests, Teacher Behavior, Teacher Effectiveness
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Nevada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A