"I Learned That Online": The Internet and the Professional Development of Science Teachers

• In Event: 70.044 - Online Tools for Professional Development

Abstract

This study explores how K-12 science teachers use the internet for professional development. We performed a multiple method case study; data were collected from working science teachers through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and a longitudinal collection of their web histories. Using the TPCK framework as an analytic lens, we found that science teachers engaged in a variety of internet practices: using web-based tools to illustrate scientific concepts for students, assessing and using web resources to bridge inadequacies in formal institutional materials, and utilizing websites in unexpected ways. Teachers overwhelmingly sought out forms of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. The cases developed from this study will inform how professional development is created and deployed for inservice K-12 science teachers.

Authors

• Samia Khan, The University of British Columbia

• Elise Gowen, The University of British Columbia

• Kendal Bergman, The University of British Columbia

• Eric Meyers, The University of British Columbia