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Accessible Professional Development for Teaching Aquatic Science Inquiry: Final Report

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Accessible Professional Development for Teaching Aquatic Science Inquiry: Final Report Accessible Professional Development for Teaching Aquatic Science Inquiry: Final Report Curriculum Research & Development Group College of Education University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Honolulu, Hawai‘i August 2014 Accessible Professional Development for Teaching Aquatic Science Inquiry: Final Report ________________________ Edited by Kanesa Duncan Seraphin Curriculum Research & Development Group College of Education University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Honolulu, Hawai‘i August 2014 This is the final report of a project funded by the U.S. by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A100091 to the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG), College of Education, Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, Principal Investigator (PI), Paul R. Brandon, co-PI, Thanh Truc Nguyen, co-PI. Supplementary funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the University of Hawai‘i (UH) Sea Grant College Program, Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, PI, Darren Okimoto, co-PI, and Darren Learner, co- PI. Authors of this final report include members of the TSI Aquatic PD project team (Duncan Seraphin and Philippoff), the learning technology team (Nguyen), and the evaluation team (Brandon, Harrison, Vallin, and Lawton). The project team developed and provided the professional development and associated materials for the PD recipients in addition to working with the learning technology team and the evaluation team. The learning technology team developed and assessed the online learning community. The research team conducted research and evaluation activities. Chapters of this summative final report were prepared by their corresponding team members. The project itself was an inquiry-based, year-long, modularized professional development (PD) for middle and high school teachers focused on aquatic science. The evaluation of the project was an eclectic, mixed-method study, which used instruments for collecting both formative-evaluation and summative-evaluation information. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education or NOAA. This research was approved by the UH committee on Human Subjects CHS # 15657. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................ vii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION TO THE PEDAGOGY AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURE Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, Joanna Philippoff, Lauren Kaupp, and Lisa M. Vallin ............. 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................ 1 The need for accessible professional development ................................................... 2 Creating a synergy between accessibility, depth and sustained interaction .............. 3 The need for professional development in scientific inquiry .................................... 5 Professional Development: teaching and learning science the way it is practiced ... 6 TSI Pedagogy ............................................................................................................ 8 TSI and Metacognition ............................................................................................ 11 The need for professional development in aquatic science education .................... 12 Exploring Our Fluid Earth Curriculum ................................................................... 13 Providing content and skills support across aquatic science disciplines ................. 14 Module 1. ............................................................................................................ 15 Module 2. ............................................................................................................ 16 Module 3. ............................................................................................................ 16 Module 4. ............................................................................................................ 16 CHAPTER II. DESCRIPTION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND PROJECT TEAM REFLECTIONS Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, Joanna Philippoff, and Brian E. Lawton........................... 23 IMPLEMENTATION OF TSI PD ........................................................................................ 23 Cohort 1 (O‘ahu) 2010-2012 ................................................................................... 23 Cohorts 2 & 3 (Maui and Hawai‘I Island) 2011-2012 ............................................ 23 Cohorts 4 & 5 (O‘ahu II and Kaua‘i Island) 2012-2013 ......................................... 24 Teacher Leaders ...................................................................................................... 24 Summary ................................................................................................................. 24 Course Dates ........................................................................................................... 25 Professional Development Credits .......................................................................... 25 TSI Lesson Implementation .................................................................................... 31 Modifications .......................................................................................................... 31 Aquatic Science Content ......................................................................................... 37 IMPLEMENTATION OF TSI PEDAGOGY ........................................................................... 37 TSI Lesson Plans and Reflection ............................................................................ 38 TSI WITH STUDENTS .................................................................................................... 40 CONSULTANT MEETING IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................... 41 CHAPTER III. ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY Thanh Truc T. Nguyen, Joanna Philippoff, Francisco V. Jumawan, and Kanesa Duncan Seraphin .................................................................. 43 OLC VERSION 1 ............................................................................................................ 43 iii Software development ............................................................................................. 43 Characterization of Cohort 1 ................................................................................... 44 Implementation with Cohort 1 ................................................................................ 44 Implementation with Cohorts 2 and 3 ..................................................................... 44 OLC VERSION 2 ............................................................................................................ 45 Exploring Our Fluid Earth Curriculum Website ..................................................... 45 Transition from vBulletin to Drupal ........................................................................ 46 COHORTS 4 AND 5 ........................................................................................................ 48 Characterization of Cohorts 4 and 5 ........................................................................ 48 Analysis of the OLC ................................................................................................ 49 Cohort 4 and 5 Teacher Interactions on the OLC ................................................... 49 The teachers’ use of the curriculum and OLC components of the EOFE website ..................................................................................................................... 51 Most Useful Aspects of OLC and Areas for Improvement ..................................... 54 Context and frequency of EOFE and OLC site use ................................................ 56 Community Building Online and In-Person ............................................................ 56 Continued use of the EOFE curriculum and OLC website post-PD ....................... 56 Conclusions About the OLC ................................................................................... 57 Future OLC Directions ............................................................................................ 59 CHAPTER IV. EVALUATION PLAN AND METHODS George M. Harrison, Lisa M. Vallin, Brian E. Lawton, Joanna Philippoff, Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, and Paul R. Brandon ......................... 61 APPROACH, PURPOSES , AND EVALUATION QUESTIONS ................................................ 61 EVALUATION DESIGN AND METHODS ........................................................................... 62 INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT, VALIDATION, ADMINISTRATION, ANALYSES, AND RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 66 TEACHER INSTRUMENTS ............................................................................................... 66 Teacher Background Questionnaire ........................................................................ 66 Classroom Instruction Questionnaire ...................................................................... 66 Inquiry Teaching Assessment ................................................................................. 71 Teacher Science Content Assessments ..................................................................
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