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A Structural Model of Elementary Teachers' Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices for Next Generation Science Teaching

Cook Whitt, Katahdin Abigail
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3227-149X
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1469091648

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Education (EdD), Wright State University, Leadership Studies.
The publication of the National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science Education (2012) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) marked a turning point in science education characterized by a shift away from the idea that students should learn about a set of science facts and toward the idea that students should figure out core science ideas by solving problems and making sense of phenomena. To successfully realize the vision for science education that was articulated in the reform documents, teachers’ science classroom practices will need to change, particularly at the elementary level. Science education research has suggested that teachers’ science subject matter knowledge, topic specific professional knowledge, and beliefs about effective science instruction may impact teachers’ implementation of classroom practices consistent with the reforms. The goal of this causal structural analysis using an ex post facto research design was to empirically test a proposed conceptual model for teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices and to examine the direct and indirect effects of science subject matter knowledge, topic specific professional knowledge, and beliefs about effective science instruction on teachers’ implementation of science classroom practices consistent with the reforms. The sample for this study consisted of 731 elementary teachers who were surveyed as part of the 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education. Structural equation modeling was used to test the overall model structure, the amount of variance in science classroom practices that could be explained by the model, and the direct and indirect effects of science subject matter knowledge, topic specific professional knowledge, and beliefs about effective science instruction on science classroom practices. Results from analyses supported the conclusion that science subject matter knowledge, topic specific professional knowledge, and beliefs about effective science instruction work together to impact science classroom practices. Furthermore, science subject matter knowledge and topic specific professional knowledge emerged as particularly important variables in the model. To support elementary teachers in implementing classroom practices consistent with the reforms, pre-service and in-service professional learning experiences need to focus attention on developing elementary teachers’ science subject matter knowledge in combination with topic specific professional knowledge. Recommendations for future research include creating and utilizing instruments to measure teachers’ three dimensional beliefs about effective science instruction, further testing and revising the conceptual model for teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices, and investigating strategies to improve elementary teachers’ science subject matter knowledge and topic specific professional knowledge.
Suzanne Franco, Ed.D. (Committee Chair)
Yoko Miura, Ed.D. (Committee Member)
Nimisha Patel, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
James Tomlin, Ed.D. (Committee Member)
201 p.
Education; Elementary Education; Science Education
Next Generation Science Standards; elementary science teachers; subject matter knowledge; topic specific professional knowledge; pedagogical content knowledge; beliefs about effective science instruction; science classroom practice

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cook Whitt, K. A. (2016). A Structural Model of Elementary Teachers' Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices for Next Generation Science Teaching [Doctoral dissertation, Wright State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1469091648

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cook Whitt, Katahdin. A Structural Model of Elementary Teachers' Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices for Next Generation Science Teaching . 2016. Wright State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1469091648.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cook Whitt, Katahdin. "A Structural Model of Elementary Teachers' Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices for Next Generation Science Teaching ." Doctoral dissertation, Wright State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1469091648

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

wright1469091648
864
© 2016, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License A Structural Model of Elementary Teachers' Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices for Next Generation Science Teaching by Katahdin Abigail Cook Whitt is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.