Using the Communication in Science Inquiry Project professional development model to facilitate learning middle school genetics concepts

Authors

Dale R. Baker, Arizona State UniversityFollow
Elizabeth B. Lewis, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Sibel Uysal, Arizona State University
Senay Purzer, Purdue UniversityFollow
Michael Lang, National Center for Teacher Education, Maricopa Community College DistrictFollow
Perry Baker, Southwestern College, Phoenix, AZFollow

Date of this Version

7-2011

Citation

Professional Development in Education 37:3 (July 2011), pp. 453–468; doi: 10.1080/19415257.2010.509945

Comments

Copyright © 2011 International Professional Development Association (IPDA); published by Routledge/Taylor & Francis. Used by permission. http://www.informaworld.com

Abstract

This study describes the effect of embedding content in the Communication in Inquiry Science Project professional development model for science and language arts teachers. The model uses four components of successful professional development (content focus, active learning, extended duration, participation by teams of teachers from the same school or grade level) and instructional strategies for inquiry, academic language development, written and oral discourse, and learning principles as components of science activities. Teachers were given a pre/ post-institute genetics assessment. There was a statistically significant increase in scores for the entire sample and a statistically significant difference between science and language arts pre and post scores, with science teachers scoring higher in both cases.