Teacher Perceptions of Next Generation Science Standards Professional Development Effectiveness

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Empowering Teachers Through Professional Development: Co-Teaching Success, Science Standards, and Culturally Relevant Computing (Table 9)

Abstract

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) generate new expectations for teaching science. Empowering teachers to implement the standards requires effective professional development, but current research provides minimal information about science teachers’ needs. Furthermore, the authors of the NGSS Framework indicate professional development will need to change to support NGSS implementation. Conducted in the interpretivist, phenomenological paradigm using a qualitative research approach in a case study tradition, this study identified the professional-development perceptions and needs of teachers implementing the NGSS. Research participants were 23 prekindergarten through 12th-grade teachers who had participated in various professional-development activities to learn about the NGSS and participated in a large urban district’s STEAM Micro-Credentialing Program. Data were collected through a survey, focus groups, and follow-up emails.

Author

• Michael Todd Beiersdorf, Los Angeles Unified School District