How Facilitating K–12 Professional Development Shapes Science Faculty's Instructional Change

• In Event: Science Teaching and Learning: Higher Education

Abstract

Active learning pedagogies in college science courses have been shown to improve student learning and engagement. Yet, lecture-based methods still feature predominantly across university courses as faculty have been slow to adopt and enact new teaching practices. Partnerships in which faculty facilitate teacher professional development may provide an important space for faculty learning and innovation related to college instruction. This qualitative study examines the processes by which science faculty reshape their pedagogical practices through facilitating professional development for K-12 teachers, and how individual characteristics, social interactions, and organizational contexts influence their choices. We use a theoretical framework that affords an understanding of the iterative process and multiple factors that influence shifts in instructional practice.

Authors

• Kathryn N. Hayes, California State University - East Bay

• Caron Inouye, California State University - East Bay

• Christine Lee Bae, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Brit Toven-Lindsey, California State University - East Bay