Print PageThe Pathways to Environmental Science Literacy Project is building research-based learning progressions that describe how student understanding develops from grades 6 to 12 with regards to pivotal big ideas about carbon, water and biodiversity in socio-ecological systems. We now are exploring the question, How can professional development help teachers make productive use of learning progressions in fostering environmental science literacy? We hypothesize that learning progressions help teachers: 1) identify and focus on the important, big ideas and ways of thinking needed for effective instruction; 2) probe and respond productively to student reasoning; 3) select and implement activities that move students along effective learning trajectories; and 4) help students use experiences and evidence from the real world to build more sophisticated understandings. Our research will describe teaching practices that reflect or demonstrate these benefits. We further hypothesize that the quality and extent of teachers’ use of learning progressions will be influenced by: 1) their self efficacy and motivation to use learning progression-based teaching practices; 2) perceived success (e.g., enhanced student learning) ; 3) their own understanding of the key ideas in the learning progressions; 4) their understanding of student reasoning in each topic; 5) their skill at responsive teaching; 6) the context they are in (school system, etc.); and 7) the professional development and support we provide. We are exploring these questions and hypotheses with middle and high school teachers at 4 Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER). They are participating in professional development programs that involve summer and school year workshops, curriculum materials built on the learning progression research, and in-class support from fellow teachers and project staff. Data is being drawn from student and teacher pre- and post-tests (to gauge understanding and learning), teacher surveys, journal prompts, end-of-year portfolios, interviews and in-class observations.
Results/Conclusions
Teachers reported that their professional development experiences had positive impacts on their self confidence, their motivation to teach toward the kinds of outcomes that were targeted, and their skills in teaching. Results from assessments of teachers’ own understanding of carbon, water and biodiversity content suggest that this might be a limiting factor. However, teacher learning gains measured and reported indicate that this factor can be addressed through workshops and educative curriculum materials. Portfolios and classroom observations revealed at least a few instances of each expected benefit from the use of learning progressions. Additional results from the current school year will be presented.
