ERIC Number: EJ1000699
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Jul
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0814-0626
EISSN: N/A
"Operation Magpie": Inspiring Teachers' Professional Learning through Environmental Science
Zeegers, Yvonne; Paige, Kathryn; Lloyd, David; Roetman, Philip
Australian Journal of Environmental Education, v28 n1 p27-41 Jul 2012
Operation Magpie was a citizen science project that involved the community in collecting data about magpies. This article describes one aspect of the project from an education perspective. The study began with a collaboration of teacher educators, environmental scientists and a local radio station. After an initial workshop with 75 teachers, three teacher educators met regularly with 13 primary teachers who each volunteered to plan and teach a unit of work on birds. Meeting regularly in focus groups, the teachers shared their pedagogical strategies that supported students to connect with their local environment. Findings include the importance of focused professional learning for teachers through ongoing, needs-based support during the planning and teaching of the unit, and the innovative ways that teachers approached the unit. One unexpected finding was that teachers tended to identify student learning in terms of the English curriculum rather than the science curriculum.
Descriptors: Radio, English Curriculum, Science Curriculum, Teacher Educators, Elementary School Teachers, Focus Groups, Science Activities, Elementary School Curriculum, Partnerships in Education, College School Cooperation, School Community Relationship, Community Involvement, Data Collection, Teacher Workshops, Inservice Teacher Education, Instructional Design, Lesson Plans, Units of Study, Educational Strategies, Environmental Education, Animals, Ornithology, Program Descriptions
Cambridge University Press. 100 Brook Hill Drive, West Nyack, NY 10994. Tel: 800-872-7423; Tel: 845-353-7500; Fax: 845-353-4141; e-mail: subscriptions_newyork@cambridge.org; Web site: http://journals.cambridge.org/AEE
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A