role of teacher in laboratory

Roles and Responsibilities of Teaching Assistants Hegarty-Hazel, E. (1990). Although no national information is available about high school teachers participation in laboratory internship programs, a recent survey found that only 1 in 10 novice elementary school teachers had participated in internship programs in which they worked directly with scientists or engineers. Teacher and classroom context effects on student achievement: Implications for teacher evaluation. Formative assessment, that is, continually assessing student progress in order to guide further instruction, appears to enhance student attainment of the goals of laboratory education. Education Next, 2(1), 50-55. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Professional development and preservice programs that combined laboratory experiences with instruction about the key concepts of the nature of science and engaged teachers in reflecting on their experiences in light of those concepts were more successful in developing improved understanding (Khalic and Lederman, 2000). (Working Paper No. McComas and Colburn (1995) established an inservice program called Laboratory Learning: An Inservice Institute, which incorporated some of the design elements that support student learning in laboratory experiences. Seattle: Author. However, several types of inflexible scheduling may discourage effective laboratory experiences, including (a) limits on teacher planning time, (b) limits on teacher setup and cleanup time, and (c) limits on time for laboratory experiences. Teachers need to decide what kind of phenomena are important and appropriate for students to study as well as the degree of structure their students require. In contrast to these short, ineffective approaches, consensus is growing in the research about key features of high-quality professional development for mathematics and science teachers (DeSimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, and Birman, 2002; DeSimone et al., 2003, p. 10): New forms of professional development (i.e., study group, teacher network, mentoring, or task force, internship, or individual research project with a scientist) in contrast to the traditional workshop or conference. (2004). You choose your level of involvement based on your needs. The research described above indicates that undergraduate laboratory experiences do not integrate learning of science content and science processes in ways that lead to deep conceptual understanding of science subject matter. This course is developed to improve the effectiveness of laboratory classes in higher education. In M.C. Many schools schedule eight 40- to 55-minute class periods, so that following the AAPT guidelines would allow physics teachers two preparation periods. Associations of science teachers have taken differing positions on how administrators can best support teachers in preparing for and cleaning up after laboratory experiences. U.S. Department of Education. This timely book investigates factors that influence a high school laboratory experience, looking closely at what currently takes place and what the goals of those experiences are and should be. ), The black-white test score gap. Finally, an . (2004). This would require both a major changes in undergraduate science education, including provision of a range of effective laboratory experiences for future teachers, and developing more comprehensive systems of support for teachers. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Gather people close to focus them on what you are doing and consider the range of visual and auditory needs among your students to provide equitable access to the demonstration. The Role of the Laboratory in Science Teaching: Neglected Aspects of Introduction The laboratory in the school has been defined by several authors in different ways. However, the students were surprised that methods taken from the literature did not always work. The following 10 roles are a sampling of the many ways teachers can contribute to their schools' success. Some individual teachers told our committee that they did not have adequate preparation and cleanup time. Culturally adaptive teaching and learning science in labs. Laboratory experiences as a part of most U.S. high school science curricula have been taken for granted for decades, but they have rarely been carefully examined. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(1), 79-86. We do not yet know how best to develop the knowledge and skills that teachers require to lead laboratory experiences that help students master science subject matter, develop scientific reasoning skills, and attain the other goals of laboratory education. Sutman, F.X., Schmuckler, J.S., Hilosky, A.B., Priestly, H.S., and Priestly, W.J. ), Internet environments for science education. Background: Synergy research and knowledge integration. (2002). These school-based teacher communities, in turn, not only supported teachers in improving their teaching practices, but also helped them create new resources, such as new curricula. (2001). Studies focusing specifically on science teacher quality and student achievement are somewhat more conclusive. To be successful in leading students across the range of laboratory experiences we have described, teachers must choose laboratory experiences that are appropriate at any given time. The importance of pedagogical content knowledge challenges assumptions about what science teachers should know in order to help students attain the goals of laboratory experiences. This paper explores the role of laboratory and field-based research experiences in secondary science education by summarizing research documenting how such activities promote science learning. ROLE DESCRIPTION Education Support Employee Laboratory Assistant Brown, A.L., and Campione, J.C. (1998). Center for Education. Science for all, including students from non-English-language backgrounds. For example, Northeastern University has established a program called RE-SEED (Retirees Enhancing Science Education through Experiments and Demonstration), which arranges for engineers, scientists, and other individuals with science backgrounds to assist middle school teachers with leading students in laboratory experiences. (71) $4.50. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 6(2), 120-124. Journal of College Science Teaching, 33(6). educational outcomes (Ferguson, 1998; Goldhaber, 2002; Goldhaber, Brewer, and Anderson, 1999; Hanushek, Kain, and Rivkin, 1999; Wright, Horn, and Sanders, 1997). Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/July_1213_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Sanders, M. (1993). Pomeroy, D. (1993). Marjolein Dobber a. , Rosanne Zwart b. , Marijn Tanis a b 1. , Bert van Oers a. ), International handbook of science education (pp. London, England: Routledge. Trumbull, D., and Kerr, P. (1993). The authors of the review found that, when laboratory education is available, it focuses primarily on the care and use of laboratory equipment and laboratory safety. Formulating research questions appropriate for a science classroom and leading student discussions are two important places where the interaction of the four types of knowledge is most evident. For example, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched its Laboratory Science Teacher Professional Development Program in 2004. School administrators have a strong influence on whether high school science teachers receive the professional development opportunities needed to develop the knowledge and skills we have identified. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 11(1), 57-67. Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features? Teachers must consider how to select curriculum that integrates laboratory experiences into the stream of instruction and how to select individual laboratory activities that will fit most appropriately into their science classes. They knew little about how various ideas were related to each other, nor could they readily explain the overall content and character of biology. Washington, DC: Author. Educational Policy, 17(5), 613-649. It is necessary even to lead students in activities designed to verify existing scientific knowledge. School administrators play a critical role in supporting the successful integration of laboratory experiences in high school science by providing improved approaches to professional development and adequate time for teacher planning and implementation of laboratory experiences. Enforcing laboratory rules . High school science laboratories. Catley, K. (2004). Few professional development programs for science teachers emphasize laboratory instruction. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. (2004). (2001). In this section we describe the difficulty school administrators encounter when they try to support effective laboratory teaching. Goldhaber, D.D. Teachers do not have sole responsibility for carrying out laboratory experiences that are designed with clear learning outcomes in mind, thoughtfully sequenced into the flow of classroom science instruction, integrating the learning of science content and process, and incorporating ongoing student reflection and discussion, as suggested by the research. The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) suggests that physics teachers should be required to teach no more than 275 instructional minutes per day. Teachers, Laboratory Attendants and Gardeners must be made to attend, at regular . Do all student have access to laboratory experiences? Laboratory Demonstrations: Do start class by demonstrating key techniques or equipment operation or describing the location and handling of special materials. Further research is needed to evaluate these and other efforts to link scientists with K-12 education. (1986). Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/June_3-4_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed Oct. 2004]. In many cases teachers ranked in-service training as their least effective source of learning (Windschitl, 2004, p. 16; emphasis in original). (2000). In this approach, school administrators recognize that leadership for improved teaching and learning is distributed throughout the school and district and does not rest on traditional hierarchies. At this time, however, some educators have begun to question seriously the effectiveness and the role of laboratory work, and the case for laboratory . However, the undergraduate education of future science teachers does not currently prepare them for effective laboratory teaching. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 27, 761-776. Forty-seven percent completed and returned the questionnaire. Perhaps this is because, among scientists, decisions about the kinds of questions to be asked and the kinds of answers to be sought are often developed by the scientific community rather than by an isolated individual (Millar, 2004). 1071 Palmer Commons The inequities in the availability of academically prepared teachers may pose a serious challenge to minority and poor students progress toward the. They also face uncertainty about how many variables students should struggle with and how much to narrow the context and procedures of the investigation. (2004). ), Proceedings of the Conference on K-12 Outreach from University Science Departments. Given the vast array of possible courses led by Teaching Assistants at UWM, their individual roles will vary considerably. Hofstein, A., and Lunetta, V.N. Hirsch, E., Koppich, J.E., and Knapp, M.S. 1. Teachers help their colleagues by sharing instructional resources. The paper recommend among others: . (1997). The study examined the relationship between professional development and teaching practice in terms of three specific instructional practices: (1) the use of technology, (2) the use of higher order instructional methods, and (3) the use of alternative assessment. or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31, 621-637. (2000). ), Knowledge base for the beginning teacher. (1994). It may also be because teachers lack the content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of assessment required to lead such discussions (Maienschein, 2004; Windschitl, 2004). ERIC - ED213672 - Laboratory Schools: Updated or Outdated., 1981 van Zee, E., and Minstrell, J. The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. Millar, R., and Driver, R. (1987). Prepare lab apparatus and equipment. Paper presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching meeting, March 23, Chicago, IL. Gamoran and others studied six sites where teachers and educational researchers collaborated to reform science and mathematics teaching, focusing on teaching for understanding. 249-262). Undergraduate science students, including preservice teachers, engage. The role of practical work in the teaching and learning of science. Further research is needed to inform design of professional development that can effectively support improvements in teachers laboratory instruction. Williams, M., Linn, M.C., Ammon, P., and Gearhart, M. (2004). Clearly, their preservice experiences do not provide the skills and knowledge needed to select and effectively carry out laboratory experiences that are appropriate for reaching specific science learning goals for a given group of students. (1995). Advanced Practice: Doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Science Respecting childrens own ideas. Slotta, J.D. On the basis of a review of the available research, Lunetta (1998, p. 253) suggests that, for students, time should be provided for engaging students in driving questions, for team planning, for feedback about the nature and meaning of data, and for discussion of the implications of findings, and laboratory journals should provide opportunities for individual students to reflect upon and clarify their own observations, hypotheses, conceptions.. One study found that having an advanced degree in science was associated with increased student science learning from the 8th to the 10th grade (Goldhaber and Brewer, 1997). of habitual errors aids pupil in understanding nature of satisfactory performance Managing Practice Effectively laboratory and clinical experiences not merely repeating same exercise essential to goal attainment in psycho-motor and cognitive areas a teacher can manipulate whole-part approaches Helping Students . Teaching Assistant Responsibilities Arrive on time & remain in lab. (1998). Laboratory Schools: History Teacher, High School The California Institute of Technology has a program to help scientists and graduate students work with teachers in elementary school classrooms in the Pasadena school district. The. Hilosky, A., Sutman, F., and Schmuckler, J. Lynch, S., Kuipers, J., Pike, C., and Szeze, M. (in press). take place in a school laboratory, but could also occur in an out-of-school setting, such as the student's home or in the field (e.g. Their previous, closely prescribed laboratory experiences had not helped them to understand that there are many different ways to effect a particular chemical transformation. University researchers inchoate critiques of science teaching: Implications for the content of pre-service science teacher education. Atkin, P. Black, and J. Coffey (Eds.). One study illustrates undergraduate students lack of exposure to the full range of scientists activities, and the potential benefits of engaging them in a broader range of experiences. Science Education, 88, 28-54. Shulman (1986, p. 8) has defined pedagogical content knowledge as: [A] special amalgam of content and pedagogy that is uniquely the province of teachers, their own form of professional understanding. Available at: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/bose/March_29-30_2004_High_School_Labs_Meeting_Agenda.html [accessed Oct. 2005]. In addition, some researchers argue that, although professional development expends resources (time, money, supplies), it also creates new human and social resources (Gamoran et al., 2003, p. 28). Why staying ahead one chapter doesnt really work: Subject-specific pedagogy. Between sessions, teacher participants reflected on what they were learning and applied some of it in their classrooms, following the active learning approach suggested by the research on professional development for science teachers. Pre-service education and in-service professional development for science teachers rarely address laboratory experiences and do not provide teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to lead laboratory experiences. Chemistry laboratories play an essential role in the education of undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM students. Moreover, the teacher console (keyboard) is usually fitted with a tape recorder to monitoring each compartment in the class by the teacher headset and an intercom facility to enable 2-way communication between the teacher and his/her students individually. The authors concluded that professional development activities that are short-term interventions have virtually no effect on teachers behaviors in leading laboratory experiences. Earn CE Get Involved Advocate/Support Your Profession Educational Researcher, 15, 4-14. This lack of discussion may be due to the fact that high school science teachers depend heavily on the use of textbooks and accompanying laboratory manuals (Smith et al., 2002), which rarely include discussions. (2004). To make these choices, they must be aware not only of their own capabilities, but also of students needs and readiness to engage in the various types of laboratory experiences. This is knowledge drawn from learning theory and research that helps to explain how students develop understanding of scientific ideas. In addition, few high school teachers have access to curricula that integrate laboratory experiences into the stream of instruction. In 2000, according to a nationally representative survey of science teachers, most school administrators provided inadequate time for shared planning and reflection to improve instruction. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 13(2), 189-206. Teacher awareness of students science needs and capabilities may be enhanced through ongoing formative assessment. Available at: http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/LSTPD/about.htm [accessed Feb. 2005]. As Anderson, C., Sheldon, T., and Dubay, J. The available evidence indicates that the current science teaching workforce lacks the knowledge and skills required to lead a range of effective laboratory experiences. Haase, B.S. Effects of professional development on teachers instruction: Results from a three-year longitudinal study. Tobin, K.G. A professor engaged upper level chemistry majors in trying to create a foolproof laboratory activity to illustrate the chemistry of amines for introductory students. To succeed at it and ask the types of higher level and cognitively based questions that appear to support student learning, teachers must have considerable science content knowledge and science teaching experience (McDiarmid, Ball, and Anderson, 1989; Chaney, 1995; Sanders and Rivers, 1996; Hammer, 1997). The proper performance of these duties requires the undivided attention of the teaching assistant during each laboratory period. (2001). Other studies have also found that most teachers do not experience sustained professional development and that they view it as ineffective (Windschitl, 2004). Before its too late: A report to the nation from the national commission on mathematics and science teaching for the 21st century. A teacher knows how to work well as part of a team. For example, the teacher might use descriptive or qualitative language or images to convey concepts related to. 791-810). (1990). The guidelines note that simply maintaining the laboratory requires at least one class period per day, and, if schools will not provide teachers with that time, they suggest that those schools either employ laboratory technicians or obtain student help. It examined the role of laboratory method of teaching in improving the quality of education, strategies for effective use of laboratory method and the problems facing the effective use of laboratory method in teaching science. London, England: Kluwer Academic. McComs (Eds. Block scheduling is one approach schools have used to provide longer periods of time for laboratory activities and discussion. Schulze (Eds. Science teachers behavior in the classroom is influenced by the science curriculum, educational standards, and other factors, such as time constraints and the availability of facilities and supplies. You will need to develop your own teaching style, your own way of interacting with students, and your own set of actions that determine the learning atmosphere of the classroom. The primary role of a teacher is to establish a learning environment where all students are able to learn and are motivated to learn, an environment that is both challenging and supportive: Establish a learning community consisting of the teacher and the students Current professional development for science teachers is uneven in quantity and quality and places little emphasis on laboratory teaching. Full article: Teacher motivation: Definition, research development and Discovery learning and discovery teaching. Committee on Classroom Assessment and the National Science Education Standards, J.M. Science Teacher, September, 38-41. These limits, in turn, could contribute to lower science achievement, especially among poor and minority students. Linn describes aspects of the model as pragmatic principles of heat that are more accessible goals than the microscopic view of heat that is commonly taught (Linn, 1997, p. 410). The limited quality and availability of professional development focusing on laboratory teaching is a reflection of the weaknesses in the larger system of professional development for science teachers. Linn, M.C. Primary science: Taking the plunge. Sign up for email notifications and we'll let you know about new publications in your areas of interest when they're released. ), The student laboratory and the curriculum (pp. The condition of education. This is not a simple task (National Research Council, 2001b, p. 79): To accurately gauge student understanding requires that teachers engage in questioning and listen carefully to student responses. Qualified high school teachers will have opportunities to work and learn at the Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories and at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.