1. Leadership for Educators: Academy for Driving Economic Revitalization in Science
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
Developing Science Teacher Leaders to
Facilitate the Implementation of
Project-Based Science in Schools:
Preliminary Findings
Gale Mentzer
Janet Struble
The University of Toledo
NARST Conference 2012
Indianapolis, Indiana
2. Goal
To improve science education by making it relevant
to students through the incorporation of Project-
Based Science (PBS) that is linked to the
renewable energies industry and its environmental
impacts.
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
3. Overview
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
4. Overview
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
5. Outcomes
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
1. Develop a cadre of effective teacher leaders who transform science
education by linking science content with emerging science-based
industries in Great Lakes Region.
2. Increase the number of teachers in partnering districts who have
strong content, pedagogy and leadership skills and knowledge.
3. Transform existing K-12 science courses to rigorous and relevant
science courses through PBS.
4. Prepare K-12 students who can meet science and mathematics
achievement standards and who become interested in science and
technical careers.
5. Develop community science education networks that collaborate
through the development and implementation of advanced or
improved science courses.
6. Plan of Study
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
Term Course Credit
Summer I Physical Principles of Energy Sources for Humans 3.0
Chemical Aspects of Sustainable Energy 3.0
Project-Based Science 3.0
Leadership
AY 1 Leadership (cont.) 3.0
Summer II Biofuels 3.0
Earth Technologies 3.0
Climate Change 30.
Leadership
AY 2 Leadership (cont.) 3.0
Summer III Alternative Energy: Sources, Applications and
Economics
3.0
Earth Systems Science 3.0
Master’s Project 3.0
AY 3 Leadership 3.0
7. Academic Year Activities
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
Implementation of PBS
in their classrooms
Design and develop
district professional
development
8. Analysis & Findings
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
Measures of Teacher Leadership
• Content
• Pedagogical Content
• Science Teacher Self
Efficacy Beliefs Instrument
• Science Teacher
Ideological Preference
Scale
• Leadership
9. Content Courses
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
Course t statistic p value Cohen d U3
Physical Principles 18.60 0.0001 5.57 (large)
1.00
Chemical Aspects 4.43 0.0004 0.94 (large)
0.83
Biofuels 13.69 <0.0001 3.54 (large)
1.00
Earth Technologies 4.06 0.0010 3.92 (large)
1.00
Assessment &
Leadership
5.27 0.0002 4.78 (large) 1.00
10. STEBI (Science Teacher Efficacy Beliefs Instrument)
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
mean mu t p
Personal Beliefs 42.38 23 10.57 < 0.05
Outcome Expectancy 46.76 30.5 7.98 < 0.05
Scale Mean1 Mean2 t p d U3
OE 35.41 46.76 1.20 0.13 0.52 0.70
PB 41.09 42.38 2.06 0.03 0.2 0.58
When compared with the previous year:
11. STIPS (Science Teacher Ideological Preference Scale)
Teacher Leaders preferred inquiry-based
instructional strategies over non-inquiry
based strategies at a ratio of 1.6:1.0
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
mean mu t p
Inquiry Preference 32.40 24.81 2.75 < 0.025
Non-Inquiry Preference 20.40 30.58 -14.21 < 0.025
12. STIPS (Science Teacher Ideological Preference Scale)
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
• The student should figure out on his/her own the important
concepts of the materials being studied rather than receiving them
directly from the teacher.
• Students should have a major role in making decisions about what
are the best means for learning the concepts in the material being
studied.
• To learn a scientific law or principle, students should be provided
exemplifying instances from which they infer it without the teacher
giving it
Items difficult for teacher leaders to agree with:
13. LI (Leadership Inventory)
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
• Leadership responsibilities: very little change
(increased from 68 to 69 rankings of 4 or 5).
• Comfort engaging in leadership activities:
increased dramatically (107 positive responses
in 2011 as opposed to 11 in 2010).
14. LI (Leadership Inventory)
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
• Designing customized professional learning opportunities and
programs for other science educators.
• Providing energy-related content support to other science
educators.
• Organizing and facilitating professional learning communities
for science educators.
• Being an advocate for science activities and strategies.
• Working with scientists and industry partners.
Areas of increased comfort levels:
15. LI (Leadership Inventory)
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
• I am knowledgeable about project-based science.
• I have the knowledge and skills to help new teachers
understand and teach about energy issues.
• I have the knowledge and skills to write curriculum about
energy issues.
• I have the knowledge and skills to help experienced teachers
understand and teach about energy issues.
Knowledge & Skills Improvement
16. District Teacher Feedback
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
• Learned new content and how to use new equipment.
• Realized students lack essential problem solving skills.
• The teachers are now more likely to take risks in the
classroom.
• Appreciated resources and guidance.
• Want to continue their interaction with TLs and their fellow
science teachers.
17. Findings
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
Substantial gains in content
and leadership skills
Remained constant in
pedagogical content
TLs have been successful in
providing PBS professional
development to the science
teachers in their districts
18. Questions/Comments
Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
19. Funded by the National Science Foundation Grant # 0927996
LEADERS is a partnership of the The University of Toledo, Toledo Public Schools, Toledo Catholic Schools, and Monroe County Schools.
LEADERS Information
Dr. Gale Mentzer
gale.mentzer@utoledo.edu
Janet Struble
Janet.struble@utoledo.edu
419-530-4993
Editor's Notes
The goal of LEADERS is to improve science education by making it relevant to students through the incorporation of Project-Based Science (PBS) that is linked to the renewable energies industry and its environmental impacts, which is becoming a vital element in the economic development of the Great Lakes Region. The program aims to create teacher leaders who can modernize the science curriculum and increase student achievement.
- LEADERS gathers and merges the expertise of four essential entities in the economic revitalization of the Great Lakes Region—K-12 school districts, higher education, the renewable energy industry, and informal education. -The MSPpartnership focuses on student-centered education that knits community economic growth with science education. -Specifically, teacher leaders and district level support personnel collaborate with university, industry, and informal science partners in the development of Project-Based Science (PBS) curricula that will unite education with community.
- LEADERS gathers and merges the expertise of four essential entities in the economic revitalization of the Great Lakes Region—K-12 school districts, higher education, the renewable energy industry, and informal education. -The MSPpartnership focuses on student-centered education that knits community economic growth with science education. -Specifically, teacher leaders and district level support personnel collaborate with university, industry, and informal science partners in the development of Project-Based Science (PBS) curricula that will unite education with community.Talk about teacher selection here
To examine the progress our TLs were making we used a triangulated approach that included measures of content, pedagogical content knowledge and application, and leadership. When combined, they provide a comprehensive picture of TL development. (reference for STIPS is Jones and Harty, 1978)
Instructor administered pretest/posttest. As you can see, p values indicated a statistically significant gain in scores. Cohen’s d suggests large effect size gains, and the U3 shows how much someone in the 50 percentile on the pretest is likely to score on the posttest (again, all gains).
(Riggs and Enoch, 1990)Statistically higher on both scales than their district science teacher population. Compared with their own scores last year, modest growth on the outcome expectancy scale and little change on the personal beliefs scale.
STIPS gauges a science teacher’s preference for inquiry-based instructional strategies and non-inquiry based instructional strategies. Comparisons on scores as a ratio shows where the teacher’s preferences lie. Expected mean on the two scales was 25 each. TLs scored statistically significantly more positive on both scales when compared with the mu.
Rasch analysis allows us to view which items are the hardest for TLs to give a strongly agree score to. All three of these items center on giving students more control over how they learn which is fundamental to PBS. Observations of our TLs teaching a PBS lesson validate that the TLs have difficulty giving more control to students as they often use controlled experiments rather than truly following the PBS process.
LDRSP inventory was based upon the Georgia Partnership for Reform in Science and Mathematics (PRISM). Scale is 1 -5 with 4 and 5 being the optimal responses. It examined amount of leadership responsibilities, knowledge and skill to enact these responsibilities, and comfort level enacting the responsibilities.
We collected feedback on TL performance from district science teachers through an exit survey at the conclusion of the PD sessions and also during focus group interviews. Learned about solar energy, new vocabulary/terminology, and how to use new equipment. They realized through implementation of aspects of PBS that their students lack essential problem solving skills they will need for employment in science-related careers. The teachers enjoyed implementing PBS, are now more likely to take risks in the classroom, and noticed that student disciplinary problems disappeared during PBS activities. The TLs provided resources and the teachers appreciated the supplies (and guidance) they were given to use in their classrooms. They expressed hope that their interaction with their learning groups as well as with the TLs will continue and are interested in learning more.
The development of a TL is an ongoing process and these findings provide some evidence that the combination of obtaining advanced content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge (PBS) and leadership skills and theory can provide a potential TL with the experience, ability and confidence to implement positive change within their districts. Further research will continue to monitor TL development and success including the implementation of PBS in the district teacher classrooms.
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