Teacher Fidelity and Ambitious Instructional Practices: Measuring Teacher Adaptations of Ambitious Science Instruction Through a Multiplicity of Enactment Approach

• In Event: An Examination of Learning Environments in STEM Education and the Use of Technology

Abstract

There is growing interest in supporting teachers to adopt Ambitious Instruction (AI) in science classrooms. However, current efforts to evaluate the fidelity of professional development use adherence as a measure. This is problematic as AI is shaped by situational demands, teachers' content knowledge, and beliefs, and hence varies across contexts. Using adherence as a measure fails to capture the variability in instruction caused by contextual factors and thereby limits our understanding of the challenges teachers face. We propose using a multiplicity of enactment approach to understand how and why three teachers enacted AI differently. We present three enactments from the varied combinations of teachers' existing beliefs and their situational demands, providing a spectrum of ways AI can be supported.

Authors

• Noora Fatima Noushad, University of Pennsylvania
  Presenting Author

• Jooeun Shim, University of Pennsylvania
  Non-Presenting Author

• Susan A. Yoon, University of Pennsylvania
  Non-Presenting Author