Inquiry into Practice

“探究实践”是一项为期五年的关于教师专业发展的研究，它记录了中小学科学教师如何首先形成科学学习的观点，将这种观点转化为他们自己的教学实践，最后与他们的同事建立明确的联系。本研究遵循教育设计研究的传统，将理论研究与教育实践相结合。具体来说，它正在调查基于基于模型的推理的专业发展的影响，由课程研究和教师领导的学徒式计划支持。该计划包括两个周期的专业发展与选定的教师在加州。一个由30名教师组成的队列在第一年开始这个项目，第二个队列在第三年开始。每个周期包括两个暑期学院，教师在其中学习使用科学数据来构建和应用解释模型。每个学院还包括有效的教学策略建模和领导技能指导。两年来，重点逐渐从主要的科学模型教学转变为主要的领导技能教学。每个周期还包括通过课程学习小组的学年支持。使用多种措施，包括教师内容知识和模型工具的设施，以及课堂观察，访谈和分析教师写作和教案。本课题的重点研究问题是：1。教师对关键科学概念的理解是什么？当他们将科学视为一个生产和测试模型的过程时，他们的理解会发生怎样的变化？教师对科学课堂中有效教学实践的看法是什么？这些观点如何通过他们自己的建模方法的经验而改变？教师目前在他们的学校中扮演什么角色？参与这个项目对他们在学校和其他环境中与教师的合作有什么影响？

"Inquiry into Practice" is a five-year sequence of research on teacher professional development that is documenting how middle and secondary school science teachers first develop a perspective on science learning, translate that perspective into their own teaching practice and finally make explicit links to their colleagues. The research is carried out in the tradition of design research in education that bridges theoretical research and educational practice. Specifically, it is investigating the impact of professional development based on model-based reasoning, supported by Lesson Study and an apprentice-like program in teacher leadership. The program consists of two cycles of professional development with selected teachers in California. A cohort of 30 teachers begins the program in year one and a second cohort in year three. Each cycle includes two summer institutes in which teachers learn to use scientific data to construct and apply explanatory models. Each institute also includes modeling of effective pedagogical strategies and instruction in leadership skills. Over the two years, the emphasis gradually changes from primarily instruction in scientific models to primarily instruction in leadership skills. Each cycle also includes academic year support through Lesson Study groups. Multiple measures are used including teacher content knowledge and facility with models instruments as well as classroom observations, interviews and analysis of teacher writings and lesson plans. The key research questions of the project are:1. What are teachers' understandings of critical science concepts and how do their understandings change when they approach science as a process of producing and testing models?2. What are teachers' conceptions of effective pedagogical practices in the science classroom and how do those perspectives change through their own experiences with a modeling approach?3. What roles do teachers currently play at their school sites and how does participation in the program affect their work with teachers at their school site and in other settings?