Professional learning about an innovative teaching method is a demonstrated way to improve teacher practices, and ultimately impact student learning. One way to scale up professional learning is a facilitator development model, in which professional learning and development (PLD) designers prepare facilitators to understand the innovation and they…

The current mixed method study examined a Teacher Leadership Program (TLP) to determine to what extent participating teachers had changes in content knowledge (CK), practices, leadership skills, and leadership knowledge. The purpose was to determine if this program could be utilized to suggest a sustainable model for improving science education by…

In this paper, we take a longitudinal case study approach to explore changes in two middle school teachers' beliefs and their self-reported changes in practice, as they implemented a cognitive apprenticeship intervention focused on teaching written scientific explanations. We collected interview data as the primary data source and triangulated it…

This longitudinal impact study examined the effects of a leadership development program for district-based teams of educators leading science education reform efforts. Propensity score matching was used to construct a comparison group of demographically similar districts who received either none or extant leadership development programming.…

Five standards-based science institutes (SI) were conducted between 2005 and 2016 to support improved content knowledge, pedagogy, and pedagogical content knowledge of in-service middle and high school science teachers in the area of biology. The SI were conducted for 90 hours during the summer and academic year. Content covered was related to…

The purpose of Science Education Against Drug Abuse Partnership (SEADAP) is to use the planarian animal model to develop an inquiry-based program to teach the science of drug addiction and pharmacology of drugs being abused. Upon completion of a SEADAP teacher professional development, study data reveals a favorable increase in teacher awareness…

Increasing emphasis on students' understanding of the practices of science and engineering necessitates that teachers themselves possess a strong understanding of these practices. Unfortunately, a teacher's potentially limited engagement in science and engineering practices throughout his or her own education may impede his or her understanding of…

A three-year, National Institutes of Health-funded residential project at a southeastern research university immersed 83 secondary science teachers in a summer institute called "Bench to Bedside." Teachers were provided with knowledge, skills, experiences, and incentives to improve their science teaching skills and increase their…

The release of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States, 2013a) raised concerns regarding elementary school science educators' preparation to adequately teach engineering practices using potentially hazardous engineering tools and materials (Love, 2014, 2015b; NSTA, 2016; Roy, 2012, 2013, 2014a, 2014b, 2015). This study…

One could argue that attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, and differing definitions and perceptions can all affect science teachers' motivation to engage in inquiry practices. Better understanding what motivates science teachers' instructional behaviors can result in improved efforts by researchers to align their instruction with quality inquiry-based…

Engineering education can be a wonderful mechanism for students to apply mathematics and science in authentic real world settings; however, less than half of U.S. states have engineering requirements in their mathematics and science standards. The many positives of engineering education can be used to help teachers see the benefits of integrating…

Examining repeated classroom encounters over time provides a comprehensive picture of activities. Studies of instructional practices in classrooms have traditionally relied on two methods: classroom observations, which are expensive, and surveys, which are limited in scope and accuracy. Teacher logs provide a "real-time" method for…

For many years, changing beliefs has been considered a prerequisite for changing classroom practices. However, professional development research has also shown that the opposite relationship is also true--change in practice can precede change in beliefs. This study investigated the effect of a one-year professional development program on…

Teachers are professional learners and leaders. They seek to understand how their students learn, and they participate in programs that provide new instructional skills, curricular materials, and ways to become involved in their community. This study follows a science teacher leadership program over a three-year period of time. There were…

The social controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution puts pressure on secondary biology teachers to deemphasize or omit evolution from their curriculum. In this growing pressure, professional development can offer support to biology teachers. In this study, we surveyed secondary biology teachers in Missouri and report the data from…