A Look at student action in the science classroom

Abstract

This research investigated the impact the level of constructivist teaching practices had on student actions emerging in science classrooms. Twenty-two K-12 in-service teachers from north-central Iowa involved in a one-year professional development project Iowa Chautauqua for Current Reform (ICPCR) were asked to share a videocassette of their instruction of a unit developed as part of the project. Fourteen videos were collected and rated using the Expert Science Teacher Educational Evaluation Model developed by Burry-Stock (1995). Two groups were formed using the two highest and two lowest rated tapes. Student actions emerging from the groups were qualitatively analyzed. Student actions in the group rated highest were more often found exhibiting outcomes suggested in Pennick and Bonnstetter’s (1993) goals for students in science, including: 1) using knowledge learned to identify and solve problems, 2) developing creativity, 3) communicating science effectively, 4) given opportunities to recognize the applicability of acquired knowledge, and 5) taking actions based on evidence and knowledge.