Increasing national attention has been placed on the role that teacher education programs play in addressing the changing needs of teachers throughout their professional lives. The IMPPACT Project is a multi-university, collaborative research study targeted at investigating the longitudinal impact of science teacher education programs on middle and secondary science teachers and their students across critical developmental stages of the teacher professional continuum. The goal of the project is to study the formal and informal learning experiences of cohorts of science teachers at four critical points in their professional careers: 1) upon entry into science teacher education; 2) during the candidacy stage of science teacher education programs including the associated field experiences; 3) during the early induction years as a new science teacher (years 1-4); and 4) during the post-induction stage of science teaching (years 5+). Three major research universities (Syracuse University, the University of Iowa and North Carolina State University) are collaborating to empirically investigate the role that science teacher preparation plays in helping recruit, prepare and support 7-12 grade science teachers. The research generates information on how individuals develop pedagogical and content knowledge in science throughout their preservice program and professional careers, and how their needs evolve. The study is identifying the linkages between science teachers' beliefs and practices over time and how they impact student achievement scores in 7-12 grade science classrooms. The results are expected to have direct implications for how exemplary, evidence-based science teacher education programs can be created to better support science teacher development and student learning across the entire teacher continuum.
