IBSE Final

22 NaTIoNal SCIENCE TEaChERS aSSoCIaTIoN

Chapter 1 The Teaching of Science: Contemporary Challenges

Standards for science education cannot change teachers’ beliefs or behav-

iors, but they can provide clear and crucial directions for change because they

define goals and identify directions for improvement. Standards do have the

power to change elements at the instructional core and provide a vision of what

should be maintained and what should be changed within science education.

When developing the national standards, we recognized professional devel-

opment as a key component of the science education system, one often neglected

when concentrating on core content. The professional development standards

consider what teachers should learn and how they should learn it. Although the

contexts for professional development will vary, leaders can use the standards

as a model for designing professional development. Note that the terms inte-

grating and integrated are used in two of the four standards, thus reinforcing

the idea that professional development should be seen as central to leadership

activities, especially as it applies to science teachers.

Professional Development and the Curriculum

One area of support—teacher professional development and its critical link to

curriculum—seems essential. Researchers and practitioners have identified two

important ways in which new curriculum and professional development are

symbiotic. First, for teachers to use new curricula well, especially those materials

that incorporate new content and teaching requirements, they need opportuni-

ties to learn new knowledge, skills, and approaches to instruction. Professional

development is required for new curricula to be used well and with fidelity.

Although that idea is far from new, another research finding is a more recent

discovery. New curriculum materials appear to be effective vehicles for teacher

learning. By studying new materials, using them in classrooms, examining the

thinking and products of students who interact with the materials, and sharing

their observations and dilemmas with others, teachers can strengthen their

understanding of content, student learning, and effective teaching strategies (Ball

1996; Cohen and Hill 1998; Russell 1998). Professional development based on

and using an integrated science curriculum can provide students with a variety

of ways to learn that focus on fundamental understandings and skills while also

helping teachers learn more content and more effective ways to teach.

The book Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Math-

ematics (Loucks-Horsley et al. 2003) describes 15 strategies that are being used

successfully to help teachers learn. Three of these strategies link to curriculum.

One of these strategies, curriculum development, can help teachers learn in situ-

ations when appropriate curriculum materials do not exist or when teachers

have the expertise, time, and resources necessary to develop their own. Another

strategy, the use of replacement units, helps teachers learn how to teach in a new

way, or teach content that is new to their curriculum, by trying a series of lessons

and then reflecting on their experiences. This strategy is especially helpful when