PERPS

The current reform efforts in science education continually focus on changing how science is being taught in classrooms, which requires an equal substantive change in professional development practices at all levels (NRC, 1996).  One of the recent focuses of professional development programs for elementary science teachers is to help them understand the meaning and nature of inquiry and how to implement inquiry in their classrooms.  The Quality Elementary Science Teaching (QUEST) professional development program is designed for K-6 classroom teachers to learn physical science content and instructional strategies for inquiry based teaching through the learning cycle.  The purpose of this case study is to explore how a 3rd grade QUEST teacher incorporated the 5E learning cycle in his lessons to teach topics based on physical sciences.  Data were collected over a four month period and included classroom observations and interviews.  The data analysis process generated three major assertions further supported by sub-assertions, or themes, which ran throughout the data and were supported, in turn by the participants’ voice across the multiple sources of data.  These include participant’s success and enthusiasm in incorporating the learning cycle in his classroom teaching and also the difficulties in implementing the model.  The study makes a significant contribution towards reform-based teaching by setting stage for elementary teachers to use inquiry based instructional strategy and also informing that professional development program should explicitly tailor the needs of those attending the program.

The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) has been widely acknowledged as a useful measure of student cognitive attitudes about science and learning. The initial University of Colorado validation study included only 20% non-Caucasian student populations. In this Brief Report we extend their validation to include a predominately under-represented minority population. We validated the CLASS instrument at Florida International University, a Hispanic-serving institution, by interviewing students in introductory physics classes using a semistructured protocol, examining students’ responses on the CLASS item statements, and comparing them to the items’ intended meaning. We find that in our predominately Hispanic population, 94% of the students’ interview responses indicate that the students interpret the CLASS items correctly, and thus the CLASS is a valid instrument. We also identify one potentially problematic item in the instrument which one third of the students interviewed consistently misinterpreted.

Energy concepts are fundamental across the sciences, yet these concepts can be fragmented along disciplinary boundaries, rather than integrated into a coherent whole. To teach physics effectively to biology students, we need to understand students' disciplinary perspectives. We present interview data from an undergraduate student who displays multiple stances towards the concept of energy. At times he views energy in macroscopic contexts as a separate entity from energy in microscopic (particularly biological) contexts, while at other times he uses macroscopic physics phenomena as productive analogies for understanding energy in the microscopic biological context, and he reasons about energy transformations between the microscopic and macroscopic scales. This case study displays preliminary evidence for the context dependence of students' ability to translate energy concepts across scientific disciplines. This points to challenges that must be taken into account in developing curricula for biology students that integrate physics and biology concepts.

Quality Elementary Science Teaching (QUEST), a unique two week professional development program in itself designed for K-6 classroom teachers for learning science content and pedagogy through inquiry based lessons. The program incorporates and fits in 5E instructional model, seamless assessment and Universal design of learning as its key components for training K-6 classroom teachers.
The teacher participants in QUEST learn how to design physical science lessons based on 5E instructional model during first and then try out on kids during second week. The program features also include follow up sessions and classroom observations by QUEST staff to help teachers and provide feedback during their implementation of what they learned in their actual classrooms. The program also has online component for support where the teachers can share their experiences with their fellow participants and staff.

Abstract: We present “Implicit Action”, a discourse management tool, through a qualitative video analysis of a Florida International University Modeling Instruction Introductory Physics I class. Implicit Action in Modeling Instruction is where instructors deliberately create intellectual space in which students ideally see value and need for the construction of new classroom norms and tools that are productive in developing a learning community. This space is created by the implications expressed through the instructors’ deliberate actions. Discourse Management is a technique to moderate student discussion in Modeling Instruction classes at the university level that was initially described by Desbien [1]. Implicit Action is one of 9 Modeling Discourse Management tools that we have identified. By means of qualitative analysis we illustrate the effectiveness of Implicit Action in implementing the Modeling Theory of Instruction.

Eric Brewe1,2,*, Vashti Sawtelle2, Laird H. Kramer2, George E. O’Brien1, Idaykis Rodriguez2, and Priscilla Pamelá2
1Department of Teaching & Learning, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, USA
2Department of Physics, Florida International University, Miami, Florida 33199, USA
Received 9 October 2009; published 20 May 2010
We report the results of a five year evaluation of the reform of introductory calculus-based physics by implementation of Modeling Instruction (MI) at Florida International University (FIU), a Hispanic-serving institution. MI is described in the context of FIU’s overall effort to enhance student participation in physics and science broadly. Our analysis of MI from a “participationist” perspective on learning identifies aspects of MI including conceptually based instruction, culturally sensitive instruction, and cooperative group learning, which are consistent with research on supporting equitable learning and participation by students historically under-represented in physics (i.e., Black, Hispanic, women). This study uses markers of conceptual understanding as measured by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and odds of success as measured by the ratio of students completing introductory physics and earning a passing grade (i.e., C− or better) by students historically under-represented in physics to reflect equity and participation in introductory physics. FCI pre and post scores for students in MI are compared with lecture-format taught students. Modeling Instruction students outperform students taught in lecture-format classes on post instruction FCI (61.9% vs 47.9%, p<0.001), where these benefits are seen across both ethnic and gender comparisons. In addition, we report that the odds of success in MI are 6.73 times greater than in lecture instruction. Both odds of success and FCI scores within Modeling Instruction are further disaggregated by ethnicity and by gender to address the question of equity within the treatment. The results of this disaggregation indicate that although ethnically under-represented students enter with lower overall conceptual understanding scores, the gap is not widened during introductory physics but instead is maintained, and the odds of success for under-represented students is not different from majority students. Women, similarly enter with scores indicating lower conceptual understanding, and over the course of MI this understanding gap increases, yet we do not find differences in the odds of success between men and women. Contrasting these results with the participationist view on learning indicates a movement toward greater equity in introductory physics but also indicates that the instructional environment can be improved.
© 2010 The American Physical Society

Abstract:
We propose a process designed to help actors (instructors and students) reflect on their classroom learning environments, and negotiate social action to modify those environs. Usually actors implicitly negotiate their roles in, and expectations of, their classrooms. However, an explicit process whereby actors list, rank, and discuss their important learning elements, and then rate their classroom with respect to those elements, can shape this negotiation into a cogenerative goal setting activity. This mediation is useful for continuously identifying and addressing specific targets for classroom reform. Furthermore, all community members can have the opportunity to be collectively engaged in building a unique learning environment. Benefits to students and instructors include a concrete method for negotiating a frame shift toward student-centered learning modes. Advantages to educational researchers include new opportunities to analyze artifacts produced as a result of a collective process.