ASTE SPONSORED SESION, NSTA 2017, LOS ANGELES, CA What Can I Do and How Do I Get There? Trajectories of Science Teacher Learning Brooke Whitworth, Northern Arizona University Julie A. Luft, University of Georgia Vanessa Kind, Durham University Mandi Berry, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Shannon Dubois, Valparaiso University ASTE SPONSORED SESION, NSTA 2017, LOS ANGELES, CA

Considering your Career How long have you been in your position? What are the long term goals for your career? How quickly do you want to achieve those goals?

Considering your Professional Development Experiences How have you determined what PD you attend? What characterizes PD you learn from and take back to your classroom?

Features of Effective Professional Development Programs Content focus Active learning Coherence Sufficient duration National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2015). Science Teachers Learning: Enhancing Opportunities, Creating Supportive Contexts. Committee on Strengthening Science Education through a Teacher Learning Continuum. Board on Science Education and Teacher Advisory Council, Division of Behavioral and Social Science and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. This entire paper begins with professional development – and we know that there are important components to effective professional development (makes an impact on student learning): Content focus – there needs to be a focus on the content of science. Teachers need to learn the core ideas, the cross cutting concepts, and about the scientific practices (together) Active learning – analysis of effective instruction and the analysis of student work Coherence in the program –align with district policies and practices – Sufficient duration to allow repeated practice and/or reflection on classroom experience (we did not put a number on the time – as teachers learn different things at different rates). There just has to be sufficient duration. The duration could be a week or it could be year.

Science teachers in professional development programs We know that teachers learn in a variety of ways; Improve their instructional design knowledge, their content knowledge, their understanding of student learning, or a specific instructional technique (NGSS – using the practices). wh

Is there more to professional development?

Science Teachers Learning CHAPTERS A New Vision of Science Teaching and Learning The Current Status of Science Instruction The K-12 Science Teaching Workforce Science Teachers’ Learning Needs Professional Development Programs Teacher Learning in Schools and Classrooms Creating A Supportive Context for Teacher Learning Conclusions, Recommendations and Directions for Research FREE Yes

Recommendation Design a portfolio of coherent learning experiences for science teachers that attend to teachers’ individual and context-specific needs There were several recommendations, and one of the more important recommendations was: Not only becoming a better teacher, but also building your professional capacity – towards some goal

Reflection Have your professional learning experiences been coherent? How or how not? Have your professional learning experiences allowed you to build toward a goal?

Coherent Experiences Master teacher Experienced teacher New teacher Those in charge of professional learning experiences for teachers should collaborate with teachers to identify specific learning needs of science teachers. There should be a multi- year growth plan that allows teachers to purposefully engage in professional learning towards a long-term outcome. For instance, what could be the sequence of learning to become a master science teacher

Coherent Experiences Teacher educator Mentor teacher Some experience New teacher Some experience Teacher educator Mentor teacher Department head But it could also be about supporting new teachers over time to take on new professional roles. This is something that few teachers consider or have the opportunity to learn about What should I know and do in order to group professionally??

Potential Areas Beginning Teacher Experienced Teacher Private Sector K-12 School Systems Informal Education Higher Education Policy We started to consider trajectories – we have to consider what potential professional positions existed for teachers. We developed a list that was attentive to international positions. If we consider the different types of roles that a teacher can have – they can fall in many different areas. However, they tend to be consolidated in a few broad areas. Here is our general overview, while

This is the expanded view..

With specific details

Building a Trajectory Identifying research Examining research in terms of knowledge, practices, and attributes Creating trajectories that are progressive With these components – we have the basis for building different trajectories . But to do this - - we need to have a process in place

Template Early career Experienced Knowledge Practice Attribute An outline

Science Teacher Mentors Knowledge Early Career Build PCK, content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge Build understanding of curriculum and assessment Mid-Career Build knowledge pertaining to teacher development Knowledge of instructional context Experienced Knowledge of mentoring (e.g., feedback) Knowledge of supervision So, a trajectory for a professional development specialist may look like this in the area of practices..

Department Heads Attribute Early Career Build beliefs about learning Emerging identity as a leader Mid-Career Build professional identity Experienced Supportive of colleagues Representative of the department So, a trajectory for a professional development specialist may look like this in the area of practices.. Peacock, J. S. (2014). Science instructional leadership: The role of the department chair. Science Educator, 23(1), 36-42

Professional Development Leaders Practice Early Career Assessment & feedback Science instruction Communication Mid-Career Build assessment, instruction skills Be able to make tacit aspects of practice explicit (explicit PCK) Develop leadership skills and practices Engage with professional organizations So, a trajectory for a professional development specialist may look like this in the area of practices.. Whitworth, B.A., & Chiu, J.L. (2015). Professional development and teacher change: The missing leadership link. Journal of science teacher education, 26 (2), 121-137.

Professional Development Leaders Practices Experienced Supervise, coach, and/or Mentoring Administrative duties (e.g. budget management, supply orders, hiring) Communication with multiple stakeholders (e.g. teachers, principals, superintendents) Vision casting, sets direction for improvement and growth Data analysis Model best practice through professional development Engage with professional organizations Design professional development programming

This is the expanded view..

1987 2008 Why is this important? 15 years of experience 65,000 new teachers 2008 1 year of experience 200,000 new teachers Perhaps this provides a way to convey new opportunities to new teachers. It makes explicit opportunities in the field.. Ingersoll, R., Merrill, L., & Stuckey, D. (2014). Seven Trends: The Transformation of the Teaching Force. Research report published by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE).

So, what does this mean for: Teachers More delineated pathways for development Engage in purposeful choices Teacher educators We need to support the ongoing learning of science teachers in these different positions We promote purposeful personal professional development

So, what does this mean for: Educational researchers We need to consider a process by while to build these trajectories and to examine them

Reflection Considering your long term career goals, what type of knowledge, practices, and attributes do you need to develop to get there? If you don’t know, how can you find out? How can you engage purposefully in the selection of your professional learning experiences to accomplish and meet your goals?

Thank you… The paper for this talk can be retrieved from NSTA and at ResearchGate Or you can email brooke.whitworth@nau.edu