Enhancing Science Education: Exploring Effective Professional Development for Teachers

1. LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP NSTA Web Seminar: The NSTA Learning Center ― Focus on Teachers Wednesday, January 21, 2009

2. The National Science Teachers Association • The NSTA’s Mission:To promote excellence and innovation in Science Teaching and Learning for All • The Issues: • Science Content • Scale • Sustainability

3. Let’s begin with a couple of questions

4. Looking at the Professional Development Landscape • How do you receive the majority ofyour science PD? • On-Site, 1-4 hour in-schoolin-service workshop • On-site, 1-2 day DistrictTraining Day • Summer, 1-2 Week Workshop • Online, 4-8 week University Short Course for 1-3 hours of Graduate Credit

5. Looking at the Professional Development Landscape • How many hours of science PD did you receive last year? • 1-20 hours • 21-40 hours • 41-60 hours • 61-80 hours • 80+ hours

6. What Constitutes High Quality andHigh Impact PD? • Time Span (on-going, not one shot opportunity) • Contact Hours (30-80 hours to change practice) • Emphasizes Active Learning and Collective Teacher Participation • Content-Focus • Coherence (individual plan for long term growth) • Linked to Systemic Reform and Teacher Input • Laura M. Desimone: University of Pennsylvania • Iris Weiss, Horizon Research, Inc., Chapel Hill, NC • Workshop for State Leader and Evaluators of Teacher Professional DevelopmentWashington, DC, April 24-25, 2008 • Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice in Professional Development • Washington, DC Februrary 7-8, 2006 http://www.ccsso.org/projects/improving_evaluation_of_professional_development/Meetings/

7. Bridging the Gap betweenResearch and Practice in PD What we know—Local Systemic Change Core Evaluation: K-8 Weaknesses(75,000 data points) • “Teachers of Science” with less than 16 hours of PD in Science Education in last 3 years • What % at K-4 level? • What % at 5-8 level? • What % at 9-12 level? 76% 57% 32% Looking Inside the Classroom: A Study of K-12 Mathematics and Science Education in the United States—10 yr longitudinal national classroom observation study: Horizon Research, Weiss, 2003

8. The Research:Increased Content Knowledge A positive correlation exists between student achievement and teachers’ content knowledge(Cochran-Smith and Zeichner, 2005; Darling-Hammond and Bransford, 2005; Goldhaber and Brewer, 1998; Goldhaber and Brewer, 2000; Grossman, 2005; Ma, 1999; Monk, 1994; Wenglinsky, 2002; Wilson, Floden and Ferrini-Mundy, 2001)

9. Science ePD • Scalable • Sustainable • Individualized http://learningcenter.nsta.org

10. My PD Plan & Portfolio reminder connector University Online Affiliates MyCalendar MyNotepad MyLibrary Regional/State Face-to-Face PD NSTA Journal Articles OnlinePD Catalog SearchEngine TeacherPD Indexer connector NSTA SciPacks and Science Objects NSTASciGuides connector document NSTAe-Books and online Chapters NSTA Symposia& PD Institutes MyTranscript NSTA Web Seminars NSTA OnlineShort Courses NSTACertification Professional Development Resources and Opportunities School Report Scalable, Sustainable, and Customized Professional Development

11. Jan. 2009 Collection: 3,000+ PD Resources and Opportunities Available SciGuides [27] Science Objects [56] SciPacks [14] Archived Web Seminars [100+] Web Seminars [16-20/yr] Short Courses [3-4/year] Journal Articles [2,000+] NSTA Press Books [230] eBooks [23] eChapters [453] Symposia [10-13/year] PD Institutes [10-13/year] Have you accessed any of these resources? Use an emoticon to respond.

12. Collaborators

13. Navigating through… …is simple to do.

14. Find resources by: • Subject • Learning Resources & Opportunities • All Free Resources • Advanced Search • Grade Level • State Standards (soon!) • Learning Preference Now you try it!

15. Let’s Pause for Two Questions http://learningcenter.nsta.org

16. Featured e-PD resourceswithin the Learning Center supported by

17. Featured e-PD resourceswithin the Learning Center • Two hour free online learningexperience in a particular topic • Interactive simulations of phenomena in an engaging way • Questions to promote interaction and learning via inquiry strategy • Based on science literacy goalsin science education standards • Fifty-six (56) Science Objects are currently available

18. Let’s sample an Interactive Simulation Life Science: Coral Ecosystems

19. Do you think interactive simulations like the one you sampled can help teachers learn science concepts? • YES • NO • Not sure

20. Let’s Pause for Two Questions http://learningcenter.nsta.org

21. Featured e-PD resourceswithin the Learning Center supported by

22. Featured e-PD resourceswithin the Learning Center • 10 Hour Online and On-Demand Learning Experience • 3-5 Free Science Objects, plus • Individualized email support • Pedagogical Implications component • Opportunity for Certification by passing a Final Assessment

23. 3-5 Science Objects Assessment and Certification SciPack Content Wizard Email Support Pedagogical Implications

24. I like the idea of taking a final assessment in the SciPack to demonstrate my understanding and proficiency of a particular content area.

25. Participant Feedback: Confidence in teaching subject matter: • 7%: Very Confident Beforecompleting F&M SciPack • 60%: Very Confident Aftercompleting F&M SciPack 98%: Found SciPack content relevant 96%: Would recommend SciPack 98%: Found interactive simulations worthwhile • Pre/Post Assessment and Final Assessment Results • Horizon Research Instrument:Positive significant gains in learning between pre/post test • Final Assessment: 92% passed the final assessment JSOT, Vol. 17, N. 1, Feb 2008 Evaluation of Online, On-Demand, ScienceProfessional Development Material InvolvingTwo Different Implementation Models

26. Let’s Pause for Two Questions http://learningcenter.nsta.org

27. Featured e-PD resourceswithin the Learning Center supported by

28. Featured e-PD resourceswithin the Learning Center • Valuable classroom resources for science teachers interested in integrating the web into their teaching • Each SciGuide consists of: • Approximately 100 standards-aligned web-accessible resources • Customized lesson plans using selected web resources • Teacher media vignettes describing and showcasing the lessons • Samples of student work • Interactives utilized in SciPack on same topic

30. Do you think SciGuides that include lesson plans with student work samples, URLs, and interactive simulations can help students learn science concepts? • YES • NO • Not sure

31. Other e-PD resourceswithin the Learning Center • Journal Articles • eBook Chapters • Live Seminars & Archives • Online Short Courses

32. Let’s Pause for Two Questions http://learningcenter.nsta.org

33. NSTA Learning Center Tools

34. My Library • Store and create collections of resources • Create notes for individual resources • Share your collections with colleagues

35. Flavio Mendez has 13 items in his “My Library” space. How many do you have?

36. My PD Indexer • Diagnose your needs in specific content areas • NSTA provides suggestions for e-PD resources and opportunities • Diagnose all subject areas or just selected subjects

37. My PD Plan & Portfolio • Create multiyear plan outlining goals, evidences, and justifications for growth • Upload files to demonstrate completion of goals with reflections • Generate automatic PDF report with embedded URL links and images

38. My Transcript • Receive certificates • Generate PDF transcript report • Share report with administrators

39. Thank you! Join me for more Q&A after the evaluation

40. Elluminate logo http://www.elluminate.com

41. NLC screenshot http://learningcenter.nsta.org

42. National Science Teachers Association Dr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-Learning NSTA Web Seminars Paul Tingler, Director Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator LIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING @ YOUR DESKTOP