Developing and Implementing a New Model for Teachers Professional Development in Science

1
Developing and Implementing a New Model for
Teachers Professional Development in Science

• Oleg Popov, Department of Mathematics, Technology
  and Science Education, Umeå University, Sweden
• www.educ.umu.se/popov
• oleg.popov_at_educ.umu.se

2
Continuing Professional Development Programme

• Teachers upgrade their competence in Sciences to
  be able to teach this subject up till Grade 9
• Teaching is mainly through Web based First
  Class conference system
• Part-time study (50) 60 credits spread over
  three years. One credit means one week of
  fulltime study
• 16 two days long face-to-face meetings with
  lectures and practical activities in Umeå,
  Gothenburg and Kalmar university campus and their
  field research stations

3
CPD programme innovations

• Interdisciplinary approach
• Combination of web-based teaching with
  faceto-face meetings
• Joint-venture project of three university
• Use of electronic portfolio
• National recruitment of students
• Web-based assessment

4
Programme participants

• Students come from all Sweden
• They have teacher diploma/qualification for
  lower or middle primary school
• They have at least two years of professional
  experience

5
Pedagogical activities

• Identifying students individual needs and
  interests through questionnaires and interviews
• Planning students practical work and home
  assignments
• Monitoring of each individual students progress
  through the course
• Organising students research work
• Controlling students progress in Electronic
  portfolio
• Using pair-evaluation of portfolio

6
Interdisciplinary approach 6 courses of
10-credits each

• Science and Science Teaching - introductory
  course
• Energy
• Evolution-Cosmology-Ecology

• Matter
• Live
• Science and science education perspectives on
  the future

7
The students course work consist of

• studying course literature (normally, a science
  book in English),
• collecting additional information from the
  Internet and e-/libraries,
• writing essays,
• developing didactical/teaching materials,
• discussing with fellow students and tutors in the
  course in First class.

8
Summary of students evaluations

• General appreciation of programme design,
  implementation and professional meetings
• Praised portfolio and essays work forms
• Level of content presentation and course
  literature valued differently
• Individual expectations were not fully met
• Missing mathematics course in the programme
• Teachers and fellow students feedback and
  evaluations were often delayed