Time for Science: Teachers’ and Leaders’ Conceptions of Time in Elementary Science (Poster 2)

• In Event: System-Building for Improving Elementary Science Teaching and Learning: From the Classroom to the Central Office

Abstract

Purpose
We identify conceptions of time that are in play in elementary science across educational systems, review how scholars theorize time as a resource and as a constraint, and examine educators' sensemaking about time for elementary science and the dilemmas therein.

Theoretical Framework
Science is often put on the back burner in elementary schools, while English language arts and mathematics take priority. A recent National Academies report’s recommendations suggest that state policy makers and district and school leaders, collectively, bear responsibility to ensure that science is “comprehensively, frequently, and consistently taught in all preschool through elementary settings” (NASEM, 2022, p. 245). Routine emphasis on classroom science instruction and priority in other areas of the educational system would set the stage for more equitable and just science learning experiences for children. The reality of elementary schools in the US, though, shows that science is typically taught for around 20 minutes per day, on some days during the week, and that elementary teachers rarely have opportunities for professional learning in science (Banilower et al., 2018). Instead, educators feel time pressure as a result of the constraint of institutionalized time, and this understandably leads to a tightrope walk of balancing many competing priorities (Authors, under review). We draw on conceptual tools relating to sensemaking (e.g., Weick, 1995) and time (e.g., Poole, 2004) to understand how leaders and teachers make sense of what it means to have time for science – including how they “make time” and “take time” for science.

Modes of Inquiry
We use qualitative content analysis to illustrate conceptions of time, connecting those to empirical and theoretical work in the field.

Data/Analysis
We drew on 26 interviews with district leaders, 55 interviews with school leaders, and 35 interviews with classroom teachers. We complemented these interview data with document analysis focusing on school and classroom schedules from 14 schools. We used a priori and emergent codes to identify conceptions of time and how educators perceive time as both resource and constraint. We developed memos and analytic matrices to identify patterns and trends in the data.

Findings
Our preliminary analysis identified 10 unique but related conceptions of time, including, for example:
• time in the daily or weekly schedule for science
• time for teachers to prepare for hands-on investigations
• time for unfolding science learning across weeks, months, and years
• time for teachers to collaborate in planning science instruction
• time to use science assessment data to inform instructional decisions
• time for science professional learning opportunities
• time for science curriculum review, adoption, and local adaptation

We use interview data to illustrate how educators navigate these meanings. We identify strategies for using time to advantage, illustrating how even given the inherent limitations of the time available, educators can manage the dilemma of prioritizing elementary science and supporting meaningful science instruction.

Significance
This paper contributes to understanding how educational systems support effective and meaningful elementary science teaching and learning, through an analysis of a resource that seems always in short supply: time.

Authors

• Elizabeth A. Davis, University of Michigan

• James P. Spillane, Northwestern University

• Christa Haverly, Northwestern University

• Donald J. Peurach, University of Michigan