Many school districts do not require science in the elementary school curriculum or place significantly more emphasis on the performance of students on the ELA and Math tests. With science education shifting to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there is a critical need for high quality science instruction in elementary schools. This study examines the experiences of 28 elementary teachers engaged in a science education professional development program that was comprised of 60 kindergarten through twelve grade teachers. I examine the experiences of the 28 elementary teachers as they work in vertically aligned professional learning communities with middle and high school teachers. Findings in this study indicate that the model provides a supportive environment for elementary teachers to grow and develop both personally and professionally in their science teaching practice. Evidence is presented that shows how a learning community of elementary, middle and high school teachers can provide an opportunity for elementary teachers to socially construct knowledge of how to best support student success in science. Additionally, the findings show that elementary teachers are able to socially construct knowledge about effective teaching practices in science that support core science teaching practices. The findings also indicate that the nature of these learning communities also provided many structures that can support increased efficacy amongst elementary science teachers. Finally, the experiences of elementary teachers engaged in his study were overwhelmingly positive, leading to increased trust and respect amongst peers and improved confidence and motivation to teach science at the elementary level.

background

/pdf/vertically-aligned-professional-learning-communities-as-a-2qnmozuwzl.pdf

The Development of Thought: Equilibration of Cognitive Structures

Vertically Aligned Professional Learning Communities as a Keystone for Elementary Science Teacher Professional Development, Growth, and Support

Exploring nurses' perceptions on the use of kangaroo mother care to reduce pain during heel lance procedures

Several recent literature reviews have been published with the aim to determine how to optimise a debriefing. A main element found in these reviews was the importance of structuring the debriefing. Within the steps usually outlined in the debriefing, the description phase allows participants to describe their recollections and establish a shared mental model of what happened during the simulation. The description phase is used in many debriefing models but how to realise this description remains unclear. We provide an original tool to ensure a highly structured description phase: the “Timeline Debriefing Tool”. The Timeline Debriefing Tool, or TDT, is constructed on visual support such as a whiteboard or a flipchart. It allows for a clear description phase, makes the process more dynamic, promotes exchanges between participants and establishes a clear and shared vision of the simulation in visual support which can be used by the instructor in the analysis phase. Moreover, the timeline allows participants to discover their performance gaps by themselves, thus beginning deeper cognitive processing in the participants’ mind and promoting reflection in the analysis phase.

/pdf/the-timeline-debriefing-tool-a-tool-for-structuring-the-dkzny66qzq.pdf

The "Timeline Debriefing Tool": a tool for structuring the debriefing description phase.

...................................................................................................................xi CHAPTER

/pdf/how-role-play-addresses-the-difficulties-students-perceive-91wzy6joxu.pdf

How role play addresses the difficulties students perceive when writing reflectively about the concepts they are learning in science

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of group activity therapy as a school based intervention with fourth and fifth grade preadolescents with learning disabilities experiencing behavior problems. The group activity therapy intervention followed humanistic principles and was designed to address the cognitive and social emotional needs of this population. The preadolescents were provided a variety of developmental appropriate materials and activities to encourage self expression and group interaction. The 24 volunteer preadolescents were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=12) and to the control group (n=12). The treatment group preadolescents were divided into groups of three and participated in group activity therapy one hour per week for 12 weeks. The participants were assigned to groups according to individual needs and personality traits. The control group received no treatment during the study. Pre and post test data were collected from parents using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBC) and the Behavior Assessment Scale for Children (BASC). 
Analysis of Covariate (ANCOVA) was utilized to determine statistical significance between the treatment group and the control group on the post-test means for each hypothesis. In each case, the post-test specified in each hypothesis was used as the dependent variable and the pre-test as the covariate. Specifically, the preadolescents in the treatment group showed statistically significant decreases in total behavior problems on the BASC (p=.05) and decreases in internalizing problems on both the BASC and CBC (p=.03, p=.05, respectively). While not statistically significant, positive trends were noted on the CBC total behavior scale (p=.08) and on the CBC externalizing scale (p=.09). In addition, Cohen's d effect size was calculated for each hypothesis and post hoc analysis of the subscales to determine practical significance of the treatment on the experimental group when compared to the control group. A large treatment effect size was found on the BASC (d=.91) and CBC (d=.82) total behavior problems scales and on the BASC (d=1.03) and CBC (d=.90) internalizing problems scales. A moderate to large treatment effect size (d=.78) was found on the CBC externalizing problems scale and a medium treatment effect size (d=.53) was found on the BASC externalizing problems scale. Qualitative data was also examined to determine clinical significance of the intervention. This study determined that group activity therapy is an effective intervention for preadolescents diagnosed with a learning disability.

/pdf/group-activity-therapy-with-learning-disabled-preadolescents-1s7co2de0d.pdf

The Development of Thought: Equilibration of Cognitive Structures

Citations

Vertically Aligned Professional Learning Communities as a Keystone for Elementary Science Teacher Professional Development, Growth, and Support

Exploring nurses' perceptions on the use of kangaroo mother care to reduce pain during heel lance procedures

The "Timeline Debriefing Tool": a tool for structuring the debriefing description phase.

How role play addresses the difficulties students perceive when writing reflectively about the concepts they are learning in science

Group activity therapy with learning disabled preadolescents exhibiting behavior problems.

Related Papers (5)

Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes

Thought and language

Mind in society

The Origins of Intelligence in Children

Experience and Education