reported a very high degree of outcomes, 53% a high degree, 34% a medium
degree, 2% a small degree, and 0% a very small degree. Likewise, the teachers were
generally positive about the course content and referred to gaining new insight into
student learning in science, and to trying out models, tools, and activities from the
course modules in their own classrooms. These quantitative results were quite
stable over the four modules.
The answers to whether the teachers experienced changes in the way the PLC
cooperated locally were more divided, with great variation between schools, and
with a positive trend from thefirst to the last course module. On average from the
four modules 6% reported a very high degree of change, 29% a high degree, 43%
some degree, 19% a small degree, and 3% a very small degree. Teachers’rating of
the effect of QUEST on their teaching of science and collaboration with science
colleagues is represented in Fig.21.2.
Analysis of the quantitative data (Fig.21.2) revealed a moderate positive cor-
relation (R= 0.553) between how the teachers rated the effect from QUEST on the
way they are teaching science, and their ratings of the effect from QUEST on the
way they are collaborating with their science colleagues. This does not say anything
about cause-effect, but social and individual changes seem to be mutually sup-
portive. Below we will see that sharing experiences in the PLC might inspire
teachers to make changes in their classrooms, while sharing ideas and approaches
from individual classrooms, instead of just discussing purchases for the science lab,
can help energize the PLC.
21.4.2 Development of Teacher Collaboration
The categorization of sustained development at the participating schools was based
on teacher self-reports, reflections about collaboration, etc., assembled in the case
protocols“following each school through the project”(Table21.1). The investi-
gation methods were data-based, but also included descriptors like shared respon-
sibility and values used in the literature about PLCs (Stoll et al. 2006 ). The naming
Fig. 21.2 The perceived effect on the teaching of science and collaboration with science
colleagues after phase 1, with the four course modules
320 B.L. Nielsen