PECASE: Making a Case for New Elementary Science Teachers

这个PECASE奖项是一项关于小学教师如何学习教授科学的纵向研究。特别令人感兴趣的是支持新入职的小学教师--初级教师和教学前四年的教师--学习教授探究性科学，并调查这些教师如何从支持性、集成性、技术中介的教学资源和学习环境中学习。研究将描述教师学习的特点，并提出一个解释这种学习的机制；调查利用技术提供的具体支持和他们更大环境的背景特征与这种学习相关的方式；并确定教师的学习、他们的实践和他们的学生的学习之间的联系。研究目标将通过一系列相互关联的纵向学习研究、设计研究、社区研究和情境研究来实现。作为一种可以调查教师学习和支持这种学习的环境，将为教师开发一个称为CASE的综合教学资源和技术中介学习环境。案例将为教师提供他们在教学的头几年所需的课程材料，并将帮助他们在实践的背景下理解关于科学教学的复杂想法。案例的开发将基于当前社会认知的教学、学习和技术设计方法的理论基础。教学计划包括将案例学习环境整合到研究员为准备成为小学教师的本科生和硕士学生的基础科学方法课程中。这项工作还将在博士课程中讨论，博士生将担任新教师的导师。

This PECASE award is a longitudinal study of how elementary teachers learn to teach science. Of particular interest is supporting new elementary teachers--preservice teachers and teachers in their first four years ofteaching--in learning to teach inquiry-based science, and investigating how these teachers learn from a supportive, integrated, technology-mediated instructional resource and learning environment.The research will characterize teacher learning and propose a mechanism explaining that learning; investigate ways that specific supports provided using technology and contextual features of their larger environment are related to that learning; and identify links among teachers' learning, their practice, and their students' learning. Research objectives will be met through interrelated series of longitudinal learning studies, design studies, community studies, and context studies.As a context in which teacher learning and ways of supporting that learning can be investigated, an integrated instructional resource and technology-mediated learning environment for teachers called CASES will be developed. CASES will provide teachers with curricular materials they need in their first years of teaching, and will help them make sense of the complex ideas about science teaching in the context of their practice. The development of CASES will be based on a theoretical foundation grounded in current sociocognitive approaches to teaching, learning, and technology design.The teaching plan involves integrating the CASES learning environment in the researcher's elementary science methods courses for undergraduate and masters students preparing to be elementary teachers. The work will also be discussed in a doctoral course, and doctoral students will serve as mentors for new teachers.