Creating a holistic model for Physical Science teacher development: establishing a baseline

Abstract

We are in the beginning stages of trying to develop a holistic model of teacher development that will integrate the development of teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and teaching approaches, and professional attitudes. As a first step in the process, baseline information on three Physical Science teachers were collected in each of these three dimensions using a variety of data collection methods. The data were combined to create case studies. The results indicate that there is a need for development in each of the three dimensions. Furthermore, the results show that there is a strong interaction between teacher’s content knowledge and the focus of their lessons. An important implication is that teachers’ content knowledge and teaching approach cannot be addressed in isolation from one another. In addition, teachers’ attitudes towards their own professional development and time they are willing to spend on teaching-related activities play an important role in the quality of instruction they are able to provide.