| NSF Org: |
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | April 26, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 23, 2021 |
| Award Number: | 1812576 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Fengfeng Ke
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | May 15, 2018 |
| End Date: | April 30, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $2,884,239.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $2,884,239.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2020 = $959,594.00 FY 2021 = $486,541.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
105 JESSUP HALL IOWA CITY IA US 52242-1316 (319)335-2123 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
2 Gilmore Hall Iowa City IA US 52242-1320 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Discovery Research K-12 |
| Primary Program Source: |
04002122DB NSF Education & Human Resource 04001819DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emphasize the integration of scientific knowledge and the practices of science, a recognition that science classrooms are complex learning environments. Meeting this expectation requires teachers to move beyond traditional routines of practice to become adaptive experts who can adjust their teaching to maximize learning in varied classroom situations. A teacher who has adaptive expertise is defined as someone who can self-assess and strategically adjust decision-making before, during and after teaching episodes. To become adaptive experts, teachers must understand the foundational ways that scientific knowledge is advanced and develop knowledge of, and practices related to, using argument, language, and dialogical environments--individually and collectively--as tools for learning science. To effectively use these tools requires teachers to shift from viewing science teaching as the transfer or replication of knowledge through routines of practices to one in which students are participants in a more cognitively based approach to learning. How teachers develop adaptive expertise for NGSS-aligned learning environments is still little understood. This project will examine the complex nature of the relationship between these learning tools and teacher orientation that enables teachers to develop adaptive expertise over the course of a multi-year professional development program.
The project will work with 150 Grade 3-5 teachers in Iowa and Alabama to implement a three-year professional development program to assist teachers develop adaptive expertise. Through implementation of an argument-based inquiry approach focused on development of adaptiveness, teachers will be supported as they shift their expertise from routine to adaptiveness. Project data will include teachers' implementation of the approach, their understanding of science argument, and their shifting epistemic orientation. The project will examine selected case studies of teachers to better understand the variations in development of adaptive expertise. The project outcome will be a model of adaptive expertise that can be used by in-service and pre-service educators to advance teacher practices towards adaptive expertise. The aim is to design ways to transfer adaptive expertise to students in STEM. The mixed-method project will integrate analyses with a focus on understanding complexity, using large-scale quantitative data.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Helping teachers become more adaptive in promoting rich, generative learning environments requires developing several systems utilized in teaching. By working with 90 elementary teachers from Iowa and Alabama as they implemented the Science Writing Heuristic approach, we gained a better understanding of the interaction of three systems used by teachers. These systems are: an orientation to learning system, a tool level system, and an instructional practice system.
The Orientation to Learning system focuses on how teachers believe learning occurs. In this project, we helped teachers consider the role of students in generating their own knowledge.
The Tool Level system centers on the critical tools learners use to understand the discipline. We emphasized three essential tools: language, dialogue, and argument. Language is necessary for actions in learning, dialogue is needed to negotiate public knowledge, and argument is used to build disciplinary knowledge.
The Instructional Practice system focuses on how teachers view the other two systems and how they translate this thinking into action within the classroom.
Throughout the project, we found that not all teachers changed equally. The degree to which these systems are connected determines how well teachers can create generative learning environments. This requires further research to promote more successful implementation, especially for elementary teachers.
Last Modified: 07/29/2024
Modified by: Brian Hand
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