Fases Fenológicas y ciclo de Rye grass var Magnum

In contrast to the use of interviews (cf. Kwakman, 2003; Lohman & Woolf, 2001; Van Eekelen, 2005), the Story-line method appeared to be a relatively easy way to get teachers to talk about their participation in professional learning activities and the development of their competences. Teachers evaluated their professional learning activities and competences themselves, which is a difficult task for a researcher to do. The stories about their professional learning activities and competence development, however, yielded qualitative data that had to be categorized and interpreted by the first and second authors. In contrast to the keeping of an electronic diary (cf. Van Eekelen, 2005), story-lines are relatively quick and easy to make, and can, therefore, be used to evaluate a teacher’s learning over a longer period of time. The Story-line method is selective in that it focuses on what is really found relevant to teachers. We acknowledge, however, the subjectivity of this method of evaluating important experiences. One disadvantage of the Story-line method (unlike an electronic diary) is that the information collected can be too general or may fail to do justice to relevant detail (Gergen, 1988).

4.7.3 Implications

With this study, we also aimed to generate ideas that can be used in supporting and coaching teachers’ execution of future innovations in science education. Based on the results of our study, we suggest the following initiatives for teachers’ professional development in the workplace.

1. Given our finding that teachers learned in qualitatively different ways, interventions should take differences between teachers, in terms of preferred learning activities, and already acquired competences, as a starting point, rather than adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach which seems common in in- service training programmes.

2. As all teachers appeared to share stories, help, materials, ideas, and good practices with other teachers (and external experts), interventions could

involve teachers’ participation in diverse activities of sharing (resources, support, etcetera).

3. As teachers’ learning may be related to learning styles, stages of professional development, and pedagogical perspectives and goals for PUSc., interventions could start from teachers’ participation in systematic reflection on their own way of learning, stage of development, and pedagogical beliefs and educational goals (cf. Schön, 1983, 1987; Fullan & Hargreaves, 1992; Calderhead & Gates, 1993).

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Appendix I

Storyline method Participants

Experienced teachers of biology, chemistry, and physics who had been teaching the new Public Understanding of Science syllabus since 1998 or 1999.

Goal

To measure the development in teachers’ competences in subject matter contents and teaching methods related to the subject of PUSc. in general and to the specific subject of ‘the Universe’ between September 1998 (1999) and September 2004, from their own evaluations,

Procedure

An individual interview was conducted with each teacher, using an audio cassette recorder and standardised graphs to draw the story lines in.

A. Competences in subject matter content for PUSc.

Please, scale (graph I) your competences in the subject matter content for PUSc. at this period of time (September 2004).

• Explain your scaling.

Scale your competences in the subject matter content for PUSc in September 1998 (1999).

• Explain your scaling.

Draw a line symbolizing the course of development of your competences between these two moments in time (line a).

• Comment aloud on your drawing.

Continue the line to the year 2007 (when the content and organization of PUSc. will be changed).

• Explain your scaling.

Please, repeat the procedure for the competences in subject matter content for the specific subject of ‘the Universe’.

B. Competences in subject matter content for the specific subject of ‘the Universe’

(graph II, line b).

Please, repeat the procedure for the competences in teaching methods for PUSc. C. Competences in teaching methods for PUSc.

(graph III, line c).

Please, repeat the procedure for the competences in teaching methods for the specific subject of ‘the Universe’.

D. Competences in teaching methods for the specific subject of ‘the Universe’. (graph IV, line d).

Appendix II

Categories of learning activities, and codes

Category Learning activity Code

Doing Unconscious learning activities while practicing the act of teaching

Doing

Experiencing Experiencing concrete real-life situations Experiencing computer simulations Experiencing students’ activities

Experience(reallife) Experience(comp) Experience(activ)

Experimenting Testing new materials Preparing lessons individually

Experimenting with new teaching approaches Constructing lesson materials

Organizing study visits for students

Experm(test) Experm(lesson) Experm(teachapp) Experm(material) Experm(visits) Information gathering

Studying the subject matter literature Reading (professional) journals Studying teaching methods and manuals Reading newspapers

Reading students’ work

Attending lectures /professional conferences Browsing the Internet

Watching television Watching film and video

Info(literature) Info(journals) Info(meth/man) Info(papers) Info(stwork) Info(lectures) Info(internet) Info(tv) Info(vid/film) Reflecting individually

Reflecting individually upon a lesson Reflecting individually upon students’ work Reflecting upon students’ attitude

IR(lesson) IR(studwork) IR(studatt)

Interacting with students

Getting in touch with and communicating with students Int(students) Collaborating with teachers and external experts Story telling Asking/giving help

Sharing a) good practices; b) materials; c) ideas about innovation

Reflecting with a) team members; b) other teachers; c) experts

Joint work a) joining a committee in or outside the school; b) preparing lessons or a curriculum; c) making agreements about the implementation of an innovation; d) co-teaching; e) writing a teaching method; f) preparing and leading a workshop

Coll (teach/ exp)story Coll (teach/ exp)help Coll (teach/ exp)share/pract. Coll (teach/ exp)share/mat Coll (teach/ exp)share/idea Coll (teach/ exp)ref/team Coll (teach/ exp)ref/teach Coll (teach/ exp)ref/exp Coll (teach/ exp)joint/comm. Coll (teach/ exp)joint/lesson Coll (teach/ exp)joint/innov Coll (teach/ exp joint/co-t Coll (teach/ exp)joint/writ Coll (teach/ exp)joint/wshop

Chapter 5

The development of experienced science