Implementing Reform: Teachers’ Beliefs about Students and the

CurriculumTara Bartiromo and Eugenia Etkina

http://pum.rutgers.edu/GSE

Rutgers UniversityNSF DRL-0733140

Teacher Teaching Experience

Grade Level and Subject

Teacher Training Experience with Curriculum

KP 2.5 years 9th grade physics

Certified through alt. route program.PhD in physics.

Didn’t help develop PUM, no experience with ISLE.

HD 4 years 9th grade physics

Certified in physics through physics education program at large university.Strong physics background + methods courses.

Didn’t help develop PUM, grad classes with ISLE.

AR 5 years 8th grade MS science

Certified in MS science through K-8 program at liberal arts college.Physics background through methods courses.

Helped develop PUM, grad classes with ISLE.

CK 3 years HS conceptual physics

Certified in physics through physics education program at large university.Avg. physics background + methods courses.

Helped develop PUM, grad classes with ISLE.

DJ 6 years HS college prep physics

Certified in HS physics through program at liberal arts college.Avg. physics background + methods courses.

Helped develop PUM, grad classes with ISLE.

Thirty teachers implemented the PUM curriculum. We collected field notes and RTOP scores while observing

teachers implement PUM.

We wrote Summaries of interviews for each teacher.

We wrote Narratives for each teacher

based on RTOP scores and field

notes.

Lesson Goals

Classroom Culture

Curriculum Implementation

and Beliefs

We developed Reformed-Not-Reformed continua for each behavior

and belief.

Placed teachers along continuum

based on interview

summaries.

Placed teachers along continuum

based on narratives and

RTOPs.

Teacher KP HD AR CK DJ

# of Lessons Observed 4 2 12 5 4

Mean RTOP Score 63 51.5 82.3 82.2 78

Standard Deviation 17.6 3.5 7.7 6.2 11.2

This study investigates the implementation of scientific inquiry practices in the classroom in the context of the new Physics Union Mathematics (PUM) curriculum. Extensive field notes and RTOP scores from classroom observations and interviews provided us with multiple perspectives on the goals of instruction, the teacher’s roles, and the students’ roles in the classroom. We show how

teachers’ perceptions of the goals of instruction, their roles, and students’ roles in the classroom compare with their actual behaviors and affect what happens in the classroom.

Five teachers volunteered to participate in the study. Teachers

participated in 30-60 min. interviews.

Participating Teachers’ Information: Teaching Experience and Experience with Curriculum

We identified three main themes in teacher beliefs and behaviors from

interview summaries and narratives.

RTOP Data by Category and Teacher

References* D. Sawada, M. D. Piburn, E. Judson, J. Turley, K. Falconer, R. Benford, & I. Bloom, School Science and Mathematics, 102, 245-253, 2002.* D. MacIsaac & K. Falconer,, The Physics Teacher, 40, 16-22, 2002.* E. Etkina & A. Van Heuvelen, in Research-Based Reform of University Physics, Vol. 1, 2007.* C. Henderson & M. H. Dancy, Phys. Rev. Special Topics, 3, 020102 2007. * P. C. Taylor, B. J. Fraser, & D. L. Fisher, International Journal of Educational Research, 27, 293-302 1997. * K. D. Squire, J. G. Makinster, M. Barnett, A. L. Luehmann, & S. L. Barab, Science Education, 87, 468-489 2003.* A. Lieblich, R. Tuval-Mashiach, & T. Zilber, Narrative Research: Reading, analysis and interpretation, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998.

Conclusions* Teachers’ beliefs are consistent with their behaviors in the classroom.* Teachers with higher RTOPs have higher opinions of the reformed curriculum.* Teachers who participated in the development of the curriculum materials and who had minimal/average physics backgrounds implemented materials faithfully. They also followed ISLE framework during most lessons.* Propositional Knowledge is not correlated with reformed teaching practices.

RTOP Observation Data

The tables show that teachers are consistent with their behaviors and beliefs. AR, CK, and DJ are consistently more reformed, KP is in transition, and HD is only partially reformed

in teaching practices and beliefs.

AR, CK, and DJ run significantly reformed classes (RTOP > 75). KP and HD run partially reformed classes (RTOP > 50). Prop. knowledge is not correlated with reformed teaching practices.

Three of the five teachers (AR,

CK, DJ) specifically

described the ISLE cycle when

talking about inquiry and the

PUM curriculum. All three teachers

participated in the development of the curriculum

materials.

yes

no

My observations(data)

RevisionExplanations,

mechanisms or relations between physical

quantities

Assumptions

More + Applications

Testing experiments:Does outcome match prediction based on

explanation/relation?

check

different