Discussion
These results would seem
to indicate that teachers are more interested in learning the latest
methodologies instead of the latest technologies. That is not to say
that they are not interested in technology applications in the classroom,
as all the questions had means above 3.0, indicating a positive response
to all questions. It does seem to indicate that what most interests
science teachers in North Carolina at this time is to improve their
teaching through improved methodology.
This is in agreement with
the National Research Council’s National Science Education Standards
(1996). These standards suggest that teaching be more focused on the
use of scientific ideas, inquiry processes, and facilitating and guiding
students in extended scientific inquiry. They also suggest that the
role of the teacher be less authoritative, students work alone less,
and less focus on reciting knowledge or factual information (Kahle,
1996). The modeling of the successful implementation of these non-traditional
teacher roles is what could be observed on the video clips at the completion
of this project.
The opportunity for teachers
to observe these methodologies also fits with the Standards recommendations
for professional development. The Standards suggest that professional
development should focus on inquiry teaching and learning and integrate
theory and practice (Kahle, 1996). By seeking out this web site and
what it would have to offer, teachers would be meeting both of these
objectives directly.
In order to to act upon
what they observe, teachers will be required to move away from a reliance
on text-books and worksheets. Most curricular materials from the major
publishers do not follow what is defined as the full inquiry process.
According to the Standards, that would include students (a) posing a
productive question; (b) designing an investigation directed toward
answering that question; (c) carrying out the investigation (d) interpreting
and documenting their findings; (e) presenting their findings (Huber,
2001). That does not mean that teachers would have to fully abandon
their familiar materials. They would, however, have to learn how to
adapt these materials to make them inquiry based. A five-step model
to accomplish just that task was proposed and tested successfully by
Richard A. Huber, and Christopher J. Moore (2001). Their method is designed
to allow teachers to use their existing materials as a starting point
and incorporate them throughout a full inquiry based lesson.
This research indicates that
North Carolina science teachers are willing to try to improve their
teaching. They are interested in seeing applications of the latest technologies
in science education in the classroom. They are most interested, however,
in trying to make their teaching the best practice that is currently
available. Most encouraging is that teachers ndicated a strong willingness
to take their own time to access this information that could help them
to improve their own teaching practices.
About
the Author
David A. Slykhuis
received
his Masters in Education with an emphasis in Physical Science from Eastern
Illinois University. He is currently a PhD student at NC State University.
He is interested in technology and science education, especially the
delivery of science content via the web to high school students.
Email daslykhu@unity.ncsu.edu
Science
Junction Survey
Please complete the following demographic information. Your name will
be used only to contact you if you are the winner of one of the SIX
Lexmark printers given away to those who complete and return this survey
by November 15, 2001.
Name________________________________________
Years Taught_____________
Size of school: [ ] 0-400 [ ] 401-800 [ ] 801-1200 [ ] 1201 or More
Grade level(s) you teach: _______________________________________________
Subjects you teach: ____________________________________________________
How would you categorize
your school: [ ] Urban [ ] Suburban [ ] Rural
Name of your high school: __________________________
County: ____________
Please answer the following
questions using the 1-5 rating scale that is shown below. You are trying
to decide if video clips of expert teachers doing these suggestions
would be something that you would access on the Internet to help you
in your teaching.
