ERIC Number: EJ1395806
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1046-560X
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1847
Science Teachers' Negotiation of Professional Vision around Dilemmas of Science Teaching in a Professional Development Context
McCausland, Jonathan; Jackson, Jennifer; McDonald, Scott; Bateman, Kathryn; Pallant, Amy; Lee, Hee-Sun
Journal of Science Teacher Education, v34 n7 p689-706 2023
Learning to teach is a culturally situated activity. As teachers learn, it is important to understand not only what teachers learn, but how they learn. This article describes a qualitative case study of a subset of four teachers' learning during a professional development surrounding a plate tectonics curriculum. Using qualitative methods, this study tells the story of how the four teachers negotiated professional vision for science teaching around dilemmas that emerged throughout the professional development. By taking a sociocultural perspective on professional vision, researchers can gain insight into how and what teachers learn in professional development settings because it renders teacher learning complex and nuanced. Additionally, we argue negotiating professional vision parallels sensemaking. Sensemaking around science teaching includes grappling with epistemic issues of science in addition to pedagogy and curriculum. Implications for science teacher education are discussed. Specifically, we argue learning to teach requires teachers to engage in conversations that create opportunities to "get somewhere" in relation to dilemmas they have about teaching. In this way, professional vision is an ongoing process of learning that has no endpoint or ideal articulation of teaching or science. Therefore, by framing professional vision as a process of learning we are able to push back on simplistic descriptions of teaching and science.
Descriptors: Science Teachers, Science Instruction, Teacher Attitudes, Case Studies, Professional Identity, Faculty Development, Teaching Methods, Sociocultural Patterns, Earth Science, Middle School Teachers, High School Teachers, Video Technology, Computer Software, Professional Autonomy
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1621176; 621176