Assessing Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Inquiry Science Teaching

介绍。研究性科学教学是指反映科学家用来发现和构建新知识的调查态度和技术的教学方法（教育学）。对本科生的科学内容知识进行常规评估。我们国家努力改善科学教育的一个补充部分是有效评估教师探究科学教学的教学知识的能力。目前，这种评估工具是不可用的。本项目正在开发一种实地验证的、客观的评估工具，用于测试本科职前小学教师对探究性科学教学的教学知识（POSIT，科学探究性教学教学法测试）。测评项目既可用于总结性评价，也可作为本科教学的形成性工具。知识价值。美国教育部最近呼吁教育修订应以研究和科学证据为依据。这个项目有助于达到这个标准。它包括一个仔细的测试开发计划，随后是两轮试点和修订，最后是一个盲法现场测试课堂观察部分，以研究POSIT的有效性。该项目的智力价值在于其设计中创新性和研究性特征的连贯结合——该设计包括真实性、基于问题的学习、认识论、例证、方法论以及总结和形成功能。该项目有一个明确的目标，即满足国家科学基金会、国家研究委员会和美国科学促进会明确提出的国家需求。这个项目也是跨学科的。参与的有十所大学，几个地理和人口分布各异的公立学区，以及一个全国性的专家小组。最终的仪器将符合《学生评价标准》和《教育与心理测试标准》的要求，影响更广。教育学评估的“黄金标准”是教师在课堂上的实际表现。POSIT正在按照这样的标准进行盲测。一旦它被开发出来，并通过观察课堂实践来验证标准，任何本科院校的教育工作者都可以使用它来评估和改进科学教师教育计划。提高教师毕业生的准备水平和质量，将有助于改善为代表性不足的人口服务的学校的不平等现象，方法是增加有资格教授科学的教师的数量。POSIT也将对寻求改善科学教师的教育和实践的科学教育研究人员有价值。教授本科生和研究生SMET课程的教授可能会发现POSIT很有用。先前的研究表明，考虑到如何最好地向年轻人教授科学，科学教授可以被激励去改进自己的教学实践。1)制定反映探究教学法的项目标准，以指导项目开发和评估。2)根据基础科学教学的现实教学场景，在满足探究题标准的前提下，编写、试点并修订一套基于问题的K-8科学课程客观题。3)在反映种族和性别多样性的本科和职前教师中试点测试项目。4)建立标准化的评分和考试管理方向。5)建立可靠性的初步估计。6)通过研究该工具在课堂探究性教学的实际教师实践中的预测能力来验证该工具。7)通过互联网、会议演讲和期刊文章传播评估项目和项目报告。

Introduction. Inquiry science teaching refers to teaching methods (pedagogy) that reflect the investigative attitudes and techniques that scientists use to discover and construct new knowledge. Undergraduate students are routinely assessed for their science content knowledge. A complementary component of our national effort to improve science education is the ability to effectively assess teachers' pedagogical knowledge of inquiry science teaching. Currently, such an assessment tool is not available. This project is developing a field-validated, objective assessment tool for testing undergraduate pre-service elementary teachers' pedagogical knowledge of inquiry science teaching (POSIT, the Pedagogy of Science Inquiry Teaching test). The assessment items can be used both in summative evaluation and as a formative tool in undergraduate instruction. Intellectual merit. The U.S. Department of Education has recently called for educational revisions to be informed by research and scientifically based evidence. This project helps to meet that standard. It involves a careful plan for test development followed by two rounds of piloting and revision, concluding with a blinded field-test classroom observation component for studying the validity of POSIT. The intellectual merit of the project lies in its coherent combination of innovative and research-based features in its design -- a design that includes features of authenticity, problem-based learning, epistemology, exemplification, methodology, and summative and formative functions. The project is focused with a clear goal - one that serves a national need as articulated by NSF, the National Research Council and the AAAS. This project is also interdisciplinary. Participating are ten universities, several geographically and demographically diverse public school districts, and a national panel of experts. The final instrument will conform to The Student Evaluation Standards and the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing Broader impact. The "gold standard" for pedagogy assessment is what teachers actually do in the classroom. POSIT is being blind-tested against such a standard. Once it has been developed and validated against the criteria by observation of classroom practice, educators at any undergraduate institution could use it to evaluate and improve science teacher education programs. Improving the preparation and quality of teacher graduates will help ameliorate inequalities in schools that serve underrepresented populations, by increasing the number of teachers well qualified to teach science. POSIT will also be of value to researchers in science education seeking to improve the education and practice of science teachers. Professors teaching undergraduate and graduate SMET courses may find POSIT useful. Previous research indicates that science professors can be motivated to improve their own teaching practice as a consequence of considering how science is best taught to young people. Project Goals1) Develop criteria for items reflecting the pedagogy of inquiry to guide item development and evaluation. 2) Compose, pilot, and revise a set of problem-based objective items for K-8 science curricula, based on realistic teaching vignettes of elementary science teaching, and meeting inquiry item criteria. 3) Pilot the test items with undergraduate, pre-service teachers reflecting racial and gender diversity. 4) Establish standardized scoring and test administration directions. 5) Establish initial estimates of reliability. 6) Validate the instrument by studying its predictive power with respect to actual teacher practice of inquiry teaching in classrooms. 7) Disseminate assessment items and project reports via the Internet, conference presentations, and journal articles.