Designing and Revising Instructional Resources and Professional Development Programs for Meaningful and Rigorous Science Education

• In Event: Bringing Science to Life through Innovative Science Intervention for Chemistry and Physics High School Students

Abstract

Introduction
Providing science instruction so that learners see science as relevant to their lives, develop proficiency in science, and have ambition for future STEM career opportunities is challenging, particularly in contexts where teachers have limited support for adopting new instructional practices. This study examines the Enrichment Program, an intervention designed to support high school physics and chemistry teachers in implementing meaningful and rigorous science instruction. The program includes coherent instructional resources and sustained professional learning (PL) to foster such instruction. We examine how this intervention enriches existing science learning environments by leveraging students’ lived experiences (Authors, 2023) while engaging them in three-dimensional (3D) (NRC, 2012) learning and project-based learning (PBL) (Authors, 2014) to support their proficiency in science and have ambitions for college.
Conceptual Framework
Teachers’ instructional practices are shaped by the interplay of instructional resources, teacher knowledge, and classroom contexts (Remillard, 2005). The Enrichment Program draws on research showing that professional learning connected to high-quality instructional resources can support student-driven inquiry and students’ learning (Authors, 2022).
Methods
The Enrichment Program aligns state standards and NGSS to design instructional resources that extend existing curricula with hands-on and minds-on activities, connected to phenomena students encounter in their daily life and communities. The program positions students’ daily life experiences and skills as a resource for building proficiency in science as they engage in integrated disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), science and engineering practices (SEPs), and crosscutting concepts (CCCs) to figure out science phenomena. Teacher guides feature (a) Lesson-level look-fors to help teachers observe and interpret students’ scientific reasoning as they engage in integrated DCIs, SEP and CCC to figure out phenomenon; (b) strategies for framing scientific content as relevant to local contexts and students’ experiences to support their understanding of science knowledge and practices, and opportunities for reflection and collaboration to adapt materials to classroom needs.
The professional development component immersed teachers in experiences of doing science through 3D learning and PBL, while supporting them in leveraging and using students’ daily life experiences and skills as a resource for learning. Teachers from rural Southern schools participated in these activities and others over a year to support the building of a professional learning community and reflect on implementation.
Data sources include teacher surveys, observations, and interviews that reflect on their classroom experiences as well as expert reviews of the instructional resources, and feedback on both the PL design and instructional resource use.
Results
Preliminary findings were generally positive. However, there were concerns with the materials, including: (1) The teacher guides, while supportive, were lengthy and sometimes difficult to navigate; and (2) Student-driven inquiry required additional time, reducing the number of performance expectations.
Consequently, revisions to the program included reorganizing teacher guides to emphasize key lesson sequences and creating a digital platform that allows teachers to select their preferred level of support.
Scholarly Significance
This study demonstrates how combining instructional resources with sustained PL can enrich existing science learning environments, support rigorous and culturally connected science instruction, and promote students’ proficiency in science.

Authors

• Ozlem Akcil Okan, Michigan State University

• Joseph S. Krajcik, Michigan State University

• Clausell Mathis, Michigan State University

• Lucky Chukwudalu Nonyelum, Create for Stem Institute

• Mathilda Smith, Michigan State University