- Year 2023
- NSF Award #1660746
- Registration Teaching Fellow
- First Name Julia
- Last Name Mayeshiba
- Discipline Physics
- Institution University of North Florida
Abstract
The 5E Instructional Model developed by Roger Bybee and his colleagues at the BSCS is a framework that is often viewed as the gold standard in science education. However, as a novice teacher, it is often difficult to implement this approach due to time and resource constraints. This poster will explore one effort to address these hurdles through collaboration between a 4th year physics teacher at an urban Title I high school and the University of North Florida’s STEP Lab (Solve, Tinker, Explore, & Play). The collaboration consisted of three parts: an initial consultation between the teacher and STEP Lab staff to identify the teacher’s desired area of development, a field trip in which the teacher brought students to the STEP Lab to take part in the implementation of new technology in a 5E framework, and a classroom visit by STEP Lab staff to observe and assist with a teacher-designed lesson implementing the new technology. This study examines the effects of this process on both teacher and students through the examination of teacher reflection and student assessment data. Results of this project were largely positive. Teacher confidence and resource knowledge increased, and students produced work that indicated a deep understanding of projectile motion during the teacher-created lesson. However, results from a follow-up assessment approximately a month later were inconclusive as to the long-term effects on student understanding. These results are promising and suggest benefits to expanding this collaboration between the STEP Lab and classroom teachers.
