TERC, in close collaboration with the Mason School in Roxbury, MA, the Benjamin A. Banneker School in Cambridge, MA, Newton Massachusetts Schools, and scientists and linguists from Tufts University in Medford, MA, Clark University in Worcester, MA, and Boston University, in Boston, is conducting a four-year project to enhance and study the development of elementary science teachers' skills in managing productive classroom talk in inquiry-based physical science studies of matter. The project hypothesizes that aligning professional learning with conceptually-driven curriculum and emphasizing the development of scientific discourse changes classroom culture and increases student learning. The project deliverables are new web-based resources, Talk Science! PD, to help elementary teachers better facilitate scientific discourse. These resources are comprised of two nine-week professional development courses for 4th and 5th grade teachers. The resources are being designed in collaboration with scientists, linguists, and cognitive psychologists to develop media-rich video case-based learning experiences that enhance teachers' understanding of the science and classroom discourse. The resources are closely aligned with the newly-developed, NSF-funded Inquiry Curriculum, a curriculum for elementary grades about the nature of matter and the conceptual development of material, mass, volume, and density.
The project is studying three research questions:
1. How do teachers' awareness, understanding and skills for supporting science talk change as they use Talk Science!? 2. How does student talk change as a result of changes in teachers' language-related actions? 3. How do classroom discourse patterns change as a result of changes in the teacher's action?
The resources are being evaluated through a comprehensive pre/post evaluation plan. The project is documenting teachers' learning and closely studying the changes in discussion patterns in 18 science classrooms from urban, suburban and rural schools in Massachusetts and Vermont. The products and research results of the project are being disseminated widely through conference presentations and publication of articles in appropriate professional journals.
Through Talk Science Professional Development teachers learn to facilitate productive and equitable science discussions; they learn to engage students in the dynamic knowledge-generating enterprise of science, and to support strategic and purposeful classroom discussions in which students together build coherent lines of reasoning based on their own ideas. The program is the collaborative effort of TERC, Clark University, and urban, rural, and suburban New England area schools. It is freely available on the web at: inquiryproject.terc.edu. The Talk Science program blends web-based study, implementation of new practices in the classroom, and face-to-face study group meetings with grade level colleagues. The program is comprised of eight sessions that take place over a three-month period. Central to the program is a rich collection of video cases. The Scientist Video Cases are designed to help teachers understand the science more deeply; the Classroom Video Cases provide opportunity for teachers to see and study productive discussion taking place in other classrooms; and the Talking Points and Strategies help teachers to develop skills for facilitating productive discussions. This collection of video cases provides just-in-time, contextualized support, and is cross-linked and embedded in the Inquiry Curriculum, providing ongoing encounters with the resources as the curriculum is taught. While the program is about science talk, the strategies, skills, and PD model are applicable for learning in other disciplines. The program was piloted in 25 classrooms. Results of the research suggest that the hybrid model used by Talk Science holds promise for effective professional development. Independent video-rich, web-based study provides teachers with vivid examples from the classroom and from science, and allows teachers to learn at their own pace. Meeting with colleagues in school-based study groups provides teachers with opportunity to share their insights, reflect on classroom experiences, and plan for teaching. Classroom trials encourage teachers to apply their learning to practice. Having all program resources readily accessible on the web increases flexible use to meet the varying needs of teachers in different school settings.?The careful alignment of teachers’ professional learning with the curriculum they teach, as reflected in the tight coupling of the Talk Science program with the Inquiry Project curriculum, allows teachers to develop both relevant subject matter knowledge and instructional practice to promote students’ reasoning through discussions. The research shows that in shifting the culture of classroom talk toward more productive science discourse and student reasoning, the Talk Science model enables teachers to incorporate new instructional strategies, develop their knowledge of core scientific ideas, and begin to conceptualize classroom discussions in more dialogic terms. The findings suggest that changes in all three aspects of teachers’ professional learning—knowledge of the science, underlying perspectives on classroom discourse, and expected transfer to instructional practice—are critical for supporting teachers’ facilitation of student reasoning. Intellectual merit: Talk Science research findings reveal the potential effect of productive science talk on student reasoning and provide understanding of how teachers can move from unconscious and spontaneous talk to strategic and purposeful classroom talk through professional learning. The work documents a hybrid model of professional development that 1) deepens teachers’ content knowledge, understanding of discourse practices, and supports the incorporation of new skills into practice; 2) aligns professional learning with curriculum by using advances in web-based technology; and 3) uses video cases to support effective teacher learning. Broader impact: The Talk Science program promotes more effective science teaching and learning. The research results enhance the field’s understanding of the role and importance of discourse in science classrooms as well as increase understanding of how teachers learn the skills of discourse facilitation. Through encouraging and coaching teachers to focus on equitable classroom discussions in which every child contributes to scientific meaning-making, the program advances the goals of rigorous science learning for all students. Through partnerships with three universities, two urban schools, a suburban school district, and a rural state, it enhances the infrastructure for educational research and development. The professional development program, research findings, and design documentation, reports and papers are available at: inquryproject.terc.edu
