The fourth theme was teachers believed that they used a learner centered teaching approach at the 2016 marine science summer enrichment camp to improve the ocean literacy skills of students, which included their beliefs about the role of the teacher, the balance of power between students and teacher, the function of content, responsibility for learning, and the purposes of evaluation. This theme is supported by data and categories from the teacher’s reflective journal responses. The teacher’s responses are summarized and divided by journal questions below.
Teacher reflective journal data. The first teacher reflective journal question
asked, “How would you describe your role as a science teacher during this 2016 marine science summer enrichment camp experience?” Torrie and Tabatha presented similar responses. Torrie described her role as directing the learning by keeping campers on task and encouraging them to decide what they wanted to learn about marine science. Tabatha described her role as enhancing campers’ knowledge of marine ecology and
oceanography. Tina’s answer was different from the other teachers in that she believed her role was as a role model and moral compass for students.
The second teacher reflective journal question asked, “How would you describe the balance of power between you and your students in your marine science summer enrichment classroom this past summer?” In describing the balance of power in the classroom, all three teachers described some degree of shared power. Teachers also
described the amount of power students had in the classroom differently. Tina believed the balance of power between herself and her students was equal because she learned from the students as they did from her. Torrie encouraged campers to help her in
determining what they were interested in learning. Tabatha believed that she had 60% of the power and students had 40% of the power in the classroom because students chose the labs they did for the day. Tabatha and Tina both believed that they learned from their students. For example, Tabatha learned that students enjoyed making decisions in the classroom. In addition, Torrie and Tina both described challenging students. Torrie encouraged students to have fun while learning. Tina noted that students helped her view marine science concepts in different ways through a variety of products that students created during camp.
The third teacher reflective journal question asked, “How did you present science content to students during this marine science summer enrichment camp experience?” All three teachers reported that they presented marine science content at camp using a variety of instructional methods. Tina presented the content by integrating marine science concepts into activities that she believed campers enjoyed. Torrie designed hands-on activities such as requiring students to work with different types of equipment in the marine science building. Tabatha reported that she presented marine science content through labs, field trips, power point presentations, and classroom instruction.
The fourth teacher reflective journal question asked, “How did you encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning during this marine science summer
enrichment camp experience?” Both Torrie and Tina presented similar responses to this question. They believed that they placed students in charge of their learning. Tina
encouraged students to take responsibility for their own learning by giving them flexibility in how they completed instructional activities. Tina gave students a few guidelines they had to follow but told them to be as creative as they wished according to those guidelines. Torrie assigned students to leadership roles such as putting them in charge of helping younger students during field trips. Torrie also required students to become more familiar with the marine science equipment such as a Secchi disk, a dissolved oxygen meter, and a salinity refractometer and trusted them to get help using the tools when needed instead of relying on instructors to use the equipment. Tabatha’s response was different from Tina’s or Torrie’s response. Tabatha noted that some of the labs were designed to be competitive, which helped students be more responsible for their learning by increasing their engagement in the lab. Tabatha also noted that some of the activities involved arts and crafts that required students to be responsible for their individual product.
The fifth teacher reflective journal question asked, “How did you evaluate student learning during this marine science summer enrichment camp experience?” Tina and Tabatha presented similar responses regarding evaluations of student learning during the camp program. Both teachers cited journals as a method of evaluation. Tina evaluated student learning by asking students what they learned at the end of the day, and she read their journals to evaluate their learning. Tabatha also cited daily journal writing as an
evaluation of student learning. Tabatha also used quiz bowl competitions and summative assessments of ocean literacy principles to measure student learning. Torrie evaluated student learning by asking students questions as they completed different marine science activities.
The reflective journal question responses coded and grouped into categories using Merriam and Tisdell’s (2015) constant comparative method. The similarities and
differences in the responses created categories which informed the theme from the participants’ responses to the reflective journal questions. Table 11 is a summary of the categories constructed from an analysis of the reflective journal questions for teachers. The theme, teachers believed that they used a learner centered teaching approach at the 2016 marine science summer enrichment camp to improve the ocean literacy skills of students, was based on the repetitions in the written responses from the teachers. This theme’s relationship to the related research question will be discussed in the results section.
Table 11
Summary of Categories from Analysis of Teacher Reflective Journal Data
Reflective Journal Questions Categories
1. How would you describe your role as a science teacher during this marine science summer enrichment camp experience?
--Directing student learning
--Encouraging students to make decisions about their learning
--Enhancing student knowledge about marine science
--Serving as a role model and moral compass for students
2. How would you describe the balance of power between you and your students in your marine science summer enrichment classroom this past summer?
-- Believing teachers learned from students -- Encouraging campers to decide what content to
learn
-- Believing power in the classroom was shared 3. How did you present science content to
students during this marine science summer enrichment camp experience?
-- Presenting marine science using a variety of curricular materials
-- Designing activities related to different marine science tools
-- Using familiar activities to teach new content 4. How did you encourage students to take
responsibility for their own learning during this marine science summer enrichment camp experience?
-- Giving students flexibility in what and how they learned
-- Encouraging students to complete creative projects with guidance
-- Requiring students to become familiar with marine science tools
-- Integrating arts and crafts into instruction -- Increasing student engagement through
competitive activities 5. How did you evaluate student learning during
this marine science summer enrichment camp experience?
-- Using student journals to evaluate learning -- Using self-assessments
-- Asking questions about student learning -- Using alternative assessments such as quiz