$353, 457

Science teachers from Gary Community School Corporation in collaboration with faculty at Purdue University join forces to facilitate a three year integrated, intensive professional development program aimed at enhancing teachers’ knowledge and skills for teaching inquiry-based science.  The project has four major objectives: 1) enhance teachers’ science content knowledge beyond the level that that are expected to teach; 2) increase teachers’ knowledge and practice of scientifically based research pedagogical methods and technology-based teaching strategies; 3) establish and sustain a bridge between professionals with science practitioners; and 4) enhance teachers’ capacity to be reflective practitioners. Project activities include a series of classroom- and standards-based summer courses where teachers engage in authentic, inquiry-based experiences in life, physical, and geo-science. Summer courses are supplemented by field-based investigations with local area science professionals including law enforcement authorities affiliated with crime lab analysis. Teachers will develop and implement inquiry-based lessons while engaging in reflective practice on their attempts at enhancing inquiry-based/learning cycle approaches. Academic year sessions include teachers’ engagement in additional content- and inquiry-based professional development, a collaborative action research network, on line discussions, and conference presentations. Sustainability efforts include training of teacher leaders, development of a project website, and a bank of inquiry-base science tools and resources.

Goals and Objectives.  The overarching goal of this project is to promote inquiry-based, learning cycle approaches to K-6 science teaching that involve the scientific processes of reasoning and problem solving (including skills such as observing, questioning, hypothesizing, predicting, collecting & analyzing data, and forming conclusions). 

1.  The specific objectives include:
     a. Enhance teachers’ science content knowledge beyond the level that that are expected to teach;
     b. Increase teachers’ knowledge and practice of scientifically based research pedagogical methods and technology-based teaching strategies;
     c. Establish and sustain a bridge between professionals with science practitioners;
     d. Enhance teachers’ capacity to be reflective practitioners.

Gary Community School Corporation’s role in this partnership includes the following: 1) co-planning summer courses and academic year activities; 2) providing teacher leaders who will serve as science inquiry coaches; 3) providing a venue for professional development activities; 4) contributing resource and curricular materials (i.e. existing science inquiry-based units, performance-based assessments, and district-adopted science kits); and 5) co-facilitating the collection and evaluation of student achievement and teacher effectiveness data. Purdue’s role in their partnership includes: 1) co-planning summer courses and academic year activities; 2) providing science and science education faculty for professional development instruction in inquiry-based science content and pedagogy; 3) providing a venue for professional development activities; 4) contributing resource and curricular materials; 5) co-facilitating the collection and evaluation of student achievement and teacher effectiveness data; and 6) assigning and collaborating with an external project evaluator.

We had a successful and enjoyable professional development workshop in June 2006.  Ten enthusiastic GCSC teachers participated in a 2 week series of authentic, inquiry-based, and standards-based activities involving physics, life science, and environmental science.  Pedagogical discussions about inquiry-based teaching and learning, productive questioning, and lesson planning were woven into our instruction.  In addition to activities at Purdue University, teachers engaged in two community-based experiences.  On Friday, June 16, as part of a week-long “crime scene investigation” unit, we visited the Gary CSI team whose presentation to the teachers included topics such as crime scene management, evidence collection, courtroom presentation, and fingerprinting demonstrations.  On Friday, June 23, as part of a week-long “science of gardening” unit, seven of the ten teachers saw a presentation about soil science at the Lake County Extension Office.  We believe that by highlighting the science involved in the daily lives of science professionals, science teachers can begin to identify the connection between scientific inquiry in the classroom with scientific inquiry in the field. In the end, we hope these “community connections” will provide an opportunity for teachers from the Gary Community School Corporation to generate new ideas for future collaborations with members of Gary community and furthermore, enhance children’s engagement in science through real world applications.  Finally, each teacher wrote two lesson plans that we have encouraged them to implement in their classroom in the upcoming academic year.  During the follow-up seminars, we will seek updates regarding teachers’ progress and experiences implementing these lessons.  In addition, we will ask them to write a reflection and provide evidence (e.g., evidence of student learning) of their lesson plan implementation.