An Exploratory Study of Teacher Development in the Implementation of Integrated Science Curriculum
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An Exploratory Study of Teacher Development in the Implementation of Integrated Science Curriculum Bing Wei 1
# Springer Nature B.V. 2018
Abstract This paper reports an empirical study of teacher development in the process of implementing an integrated science curriculum in a junior high school in China. Six science teachers with different subject backgrounds were invited to participate in this study. A pragmatic model of teacher learning that includes both cognitive and situated-learning perspectives was adopted with a focus on the professional, social and personal aspects of science teacher development. The data were collected from multiple sources, including in-depth interviews, direct classroom observations and participation in science teachers’ regular working meetings. The data analysis shows that the participants experienced various changes in the following aspects during the implementation of the integrated science curriculum: (1) updating science content knowledge; (2) reshaping the conception of science teaching; (3) establishing relationship with students; and (4) enhancing collegial interactions. The last part of this paper discusses these finding in the context of the literature on integrated science curricula and science teacher development. Keywords Integrated science . Teacher learning . Teacher development . Implementation of science curriculum
Introduction For a long time, the idea of an integrated curriculum has been advocated to provide more meaningful learning experiences that enhance the conceptual understanding and application of knowledge (Harrell 2010). The literature is filled with a multitude of forms of and justifications for this kind of curriculum (Blum 1991; Crane 1991; Harrell 2010; Venville et al. 2002; Wei 2015). Moreover, considerable research has been conducted to examine the implementation of the integrated science curriculum, suggesting that various issues and problems have been encountered in practice (Crane 1991; Nordine et al. 2011; Sun et al. 2014).
* Bing Wei [email protected]
1
University of Macau, Room 3027, E33, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau, People’s Republic of China
Research in Science Education
Specifically, the persistence of traditional patterns of assessment, parental pressure for traditional academic standards, subject-based qualification, restricted instructional periods, insufficient teaching materials, unqualified teachers and the lack of school collaboration were found to negatively affect the implementation of integrated science. In the classroom, the integrated science curriculum has not been implemented as effectively as originally expected. This is demonstrated by the empirical study conducted by Sun et al. (2014) on the teaching of integrated science in China, which has shown that science teachers dominated communication with students, that integrative content was marginalised and that teachers were insufficiently competent in terms of the design and delivery of content for the areas of science, technology and society. However, scholars h
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