Virginia Mathematics Teacher Fall 2016

Content Knowledge

to measure angles as the light rays passed through various media, teachers discussed ways in which they could reinforce students’ understanding of angles and protractor use to both science and mathematics content. For participating in the PD, teachers received physics graduate course credit, all materials needed to implement the modeled light and optics activities in their classrooms as well as generate new activities, feedback from peers and instructors through follow-up sessions, and the opportunity to attend and present lessons they developed through the project at the annual Virginia Association of Science Teachers Professional Development Institute. Research Design Participants included 24 teachers from 22 schools in 15 divisions. Twenty (80%) of the teachers taught in middle school, 28% of teachers had 5 or fewer years of experience and 64% held Master’s degrees in education. The PD was evaluated through a quasi- experimental pre-/post-test design in which teacher and student pre-assessments served as their own control. The design assessed changes in teachers’ content and pedagogical knowledge, and their perceptions of the PD as well as their students’ science achievement. Teachers’ content knowledge was assessed on two light and optics content- knowledge assessments pre- and post-summer institute as well as year-end. Teachers also completed surveys related to pedagogical knowledge. Changes in their students’ science content knowledge were assessed at the beginning of the year and following light and optics instruction via a researcher-developed instrument. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially and qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Two major limitations need to be considered when interpreting the results described below. First, all data related to pedagogical knowledge were self-reported by participants. Second, the research design did not employ a control group, therefore, causal inferences regarding the impact of the PD must be interpreted with caution. Results suggested the PD positively influenced teachers’ knowledge related to light and optics content, pedagogical knowledge for teaching light and optics, and their students’ light and optics content knowledge. In addition, teachers had positive perceptions of the PD. Results

Results indicated teachers’ content knowledge significantly improved from pre- to post-instruction on both Light and Optics content assessments; assessment 1 pre (M = 10.3), post (M = 15.9) (t = 5.883, p < .001), assessment 2 pre (M = 28.8), post (M = 32.1) (t = 3.776, p = .001). These results suggest the PD positively influenced teachers’ understanding of physics content. Themes in the qualitative data supported these findings. For example, teachers perceived their content knowledge to be limited prior to the PD and that the PD helped them develop a deeper understanding of the content. For example, one teacher noted, “I haven’t honestly had physics since college, so it was really good for me to refresh my memory of physics and my knowledge of physics and even go beyond what my students need.” They also perceived that the content of the PD went beyond what they needed to know to address grade-level physical science standards. For example, a teacher indicated, “There were some things that I won’t teach in eighth grade, like all the understanding of the distance of the lens from the focal point and all that. That’s high school and while I feel I need to know that, if it were professional development it goes beyond what I need.” Finally, developing their content knowledge through the PD appeared to provide teachers with confidence in their ability to explain physics ideas, answer questions, and design lesson plans. A teacher described how the PD supported her understanding the mathematics behind the physics involved in the content: “It taught me more of the physics and the mathematical part behind things so as I’m doing labs I’m not just following directions and getting through but I actually understand the reasoning behind some of the things that we’re doing.” Pedagogical Knowledge Teachers’ self-rated pedagogical knowledge was statistically significantly higher following participation in the PD for all assessed pedagogical skills (Tables 1 and 2). Qualitative data support these findings. As exemplified by the interview response below, many teachers noted the use of simulations was a novel instructional tool that they would use to support their physical science teaching. “I honestly have not used simulations in the past and so being able to find a wide variety of simulations as a result of that class was great.” Others noted the use of the POE model supported their thinking about how to integrate inquiry into their physical science instruction:

Virginia Mathematics Teacher vol. 43, no. 1

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