In-service Science Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to explore teachers’ professional development when using the tool Content Representations (CoRe) to plan a learning study in chemistry, which they also implemented and analysed. The work of six experienced science teachers, all teaching at the 6th to 9th year (age 13 to 16 years), was followed at eight group meetings during one year. The teachers’ discussions during the group meetings were audio and/or video recorded. Recordings were transcribed and a thematic analysis was performed. The results show that two main approaches to teaching emerged in the teachers’ discussions, a pragmatic and a reflective approach, respectively. During the investigation period, the focus of the teachers’ discussions changed, from a predominantly pragmatic approach to a predominantly reflective approach. The results indicate that the work with CoRe and learning study stimulated the teachers to express and discuss their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards teaching, i.e. promoted their professional development.