Page 79 - Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education

A Paradigm Shift for Teachers’ Professional Development Structure in Turkey

The researchers visited the teachers in their schools to observe their ABI practices in the classroom
settings. With these on-site visits, proper assessments were made and guidance was offered to the teach-
ers. Figure 1 presents a summary of this process.
The data presented in Figure 1 was collected from the participating teachers and their classes form-
ing the experiment / control groups. For data collection, the Scientific Process Skills Test (Smith &
Welliver, 2006), Cornell Critical Thinking Skills Test (Ennis, Millman & Thomko, 2005), Science and
Technology Attitude Scale (Nuhoglu, 2008), and Unit-Based Achievement Tests designed collectively
by the researchers and teachers were used.
Video recordings of the teachers’ ABI practices were also used for data collection to help determine
their ABI practice levels. These recordings were analysed by the project team using the Revised Teacher
Observation Protocol (RTOP). The RTOP observation form to be used for the assessments was designed
in light of the recommendations and standards set forth by the US National Council of Teachers of Math-
ematics (NCTM) and the National Science Education Standards. The observation form contained 17
items this allowed the ABI practices in the classroom to be evaluated according to the student, teacher,
reasoning and scientific process skills, and questioning sub-dimensions.
The application stages of the project outlined above were; in-service training activities, ABI practices
in the classroom, and data collection and analysis. Unlike the traditional concept of in-service training,
the basic dynamics of this project required a longitudinal programme over a period of three years. This
was based on the idea that it takes time for teachers to change their teaching practices. Feedback from
the participating teachers and the results of the data analysis suggest that long-term in-service training
programmes are more satisfactory for teachers.
Furthermore, the participating teachers’ pedagogical knowledge as well as their field knowledge was
developed and improved as a result of the ABI practices directly experienced by the teachers who wore
learner’s hats. In this way the learners’ (aka the students), needs were taken into consideration in the
design of the training programmes. The participating teachers were given feedback based on the analysis
of the video recordings of their ABI practices in the classroom and the field notes collected during the
visits of the research team. Furthermore, the teachers shared and reflected upon their experiences with
their colleagues, and opportunities were created for critical thinking in the training programmes devised
by the project team and the forums with the teachers.

Figure 1. Project application and data collection process

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