Changes in Elementary Science Teachers' Classroom Argumentation Practices After Participation in a Professional Development Program

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 27
  In Roundtable Session: Science Teaching and Learning: Science Teacher Education

Abstract

This study investigates elementary science teachers’ argumentation practices before and after their participation in a professional development (PD) program designed to support teachers’ scientific dialogue. In collaboration with three educational partners, the PD emphasized six critical practices of elementary science argumentation. Participating teachers recorded their science instruction pre- and post-intervention, and on average, ratings of the teachers’ argumentation increased for all six practices after the PD. Interestingly, the argumentation practices that focused on a single idea were rated the highest, while the practices that sought to establish relationships between ideas were rated lower. While the PD is ongoing, these initial results suggest that additional support is needed to have students constructively engage with each others’ ideas in elementary science classrooms.

Authors

• Matthew Wilsey, Stanford University

• Coralie F Delhaye, Stanford University

• Emily V. Reigh, Stanford University

• Hilda Borko, Stanford University

• Jonathan F. Osborne, Stanford University