Instrument Development for a Study Comparing Two Versions of Inquiry Science Professional Development Paul R. Brandon Alice K. H. Taum University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Identifying Constructs on teaching science with inquiry methods –Reviewed FAST and other inquiry science documents and worked closely with inquiry science experts. on the context within which inquiry-based science is taught. –Reviewed 55 books and key articles on curriculum indicators and school effectiveness.

Developing the Teacher Log Purpose: To identify the extent to which teachers implement the key features of inquiry-based science. Reviewed the recent literature on logs. Kept the instrument short to avoid overburdening teachers (21 items). Is completed immediately after finishing each student science investigation.

Focus of the Teacher Log Instrument addresses topics such as: –students’ questioning behaviors. –the teacher’s use of questioning strategies. –the teacher’s circulation about the classroom. –teacher-led discussions about variations in the data.

Developing the Teacher Questionnaire Purposes: –To obtain information about implementation that is most appropriately collected once a year. –To collect information on implementation of investigations not covered on logs.

Focus of the Questionnaire 150 items address topics such as: –implementation of key features. –the investigations taught during the entire year. –the adequacy of materials, equipment, etc. –teacher demographics. –teacher attitudes toward science. –teacher participation in science activities outside the classroom

Types of Validation Studies to Date Two types of questionnaire-data validation studies conducted to date: –analyses addressing the relationship between the responses on the log and the questionnaire (“concurrent” validity) –an analysis examining the theoretical model underlying our study (construct validity)

Relationship Between Log and Questionnaire Responses Compared results on total scores for five items that the two instruments had in common Correlation =.54; effect size =.50

Examining the Theoretical Model Second set of analyses examined whether the expected relationships were found among some questionnaire variables. We regressed a variable measuring program implementation on five independent variables measuring: –teachers’ ongoing learning about science. –the resources available for teaching science. –the number of science courses taken. –the number of years have taught K–12 science –teachers’ attitudes toward teaching science

Validity Argument Teachers’ ongoing learning about science (including learning that occurred in recent PD) should predict implementation more than –science education background. –years of experience teaching science. –attitudes toward teaching science. –classroom resources available.

Results of Second Analysis Teacher learning about science outside the classroom: beta =.19(significant at the.05 level) Teacher attitudes toward teaching science: beta =.17 (significant) Classroom and school resources for teaching science: beta =.04(not significant) Number of university science courses taken: beta = -.02 (not significant) Number of years the teacher has taught K–12 science: beta = -.02 (not significant)