- Year 2024
- NSF Noyce Award # 1660557
- First Name Dennis
- Last Name Sunal
- Registration Faculty/Administrator/Other
- Discipline Chemistry, Geosciences, Life Sciences, Physics
- Role Principal Investigator (PI)
- Presenters
Dennis Sunal, Cynthia Sunal, Sergei Kilic, and Nathan McDonald at The University of Alabama
Need
The Developing Leaders in Science Teaching (LIST) Noyce Track 2 program’s aim is to fast-track participants in a strong clinically-based certification and intensive induction program with an emphasis on developing skills in engaging diverse students plus moving its teachers from mentored novices to teacher leaders in the education community.
Research Questions
The data gathered from LIST fellows focused on the question, How does collaboration of early career science teachers support reformed science teaching practice?
Approach
Using a social learning theoretical lens, this sequential explanatory mixed study investigated how novice and early career inservice secondary science teacher collaboration was related to student-centered reformed science teaching practices. The induction utilized continuously integrated communities of practice in a school professional learning community (PLC) involving teacher collaborative leadership development. Data from longitudinal classroom observations, interviews, surveys, PLC meeting transcripts and minutes indicated a significant increase in reformed science teaching co-developing with growth in participants’ professional identity as science teachers.
Outcomes
Collaboration through continuous involvement in PLCs increased reflection, fostered leadership skills, and strengthened professional identity, resulting in reformed teaching practice with diverse students.
Broader Impacts
With a focus on developing reformed teaching practice and science teacher identity in engaging diverse students the broader impact was on moving the LIST program’s teachers (fellows) from mentored novices to teacher leaders in the education community. This study highlights the importance of extended science teacher induction, which goes beyond traditional professional development in supporting reform classroom practice.
