Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
APPENDIX B Committee's Methods The committee made extensive efforts to identify a broad range of profes- sional-development activities in the sciences at the K-12 level. In the winter of 1992, the committee advertised requests for information in a variety of journals and newsletters of professional teacher and scientific organizations. It sent the same request directly to the members of some organizations and to principal investigators of programs sponsored by federal agencies and private foundations. It also posted the request electronically on electronic bulletin boards. Almost 200 programs responded to our requests for information. Those programs repre- sented a wide range of activities short, topical workshops, 1- to 3-week insti- tutes during the summer, lecture series during the academic year, and programs designed to influence systemic reform. The activities were housed in numerous places university science departments, schools or colleges of education, com- munity colleges, museums and science and technology centers, nature preserves, professional societies, and industrial settings. A list of the programs is found in Appendix A. An informal questionnaire was sent to all programs that responded to the committee's request for information. The questionnaire was designed to collect more specific information about each program but was not designed to be used to draw statistical inferences from the data. It was impossible to conduct a thorough review of all programs that responded to the questionnaire. Instead, committee members reviewed the questionnaires and selected a number of programs for followup telephone calls and a smaller number for site visits during the summer of 1992. Programs that were selected for further review had the following char- acteristics: each had been in existence for a number of years, each had some type 177
178 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE TEACHERS of evaluation process, and each used the results of the evaluations to revise and improve itself. During the visits, committee members met with both program directors and teachers who had participated in the program. In several instances, committee members talked directly with teachers separately from the program directors. The generalizations about professional-development programs found in this report are derived from both the committee members' professional experiences and the information gathered from programs around the country. The committee recognizes that many of its conclusions and recommendations are not based on empirical evidence, because such data do not exist. Instead, in the absence of empirical data, the committee drew useful conclusions and inferences from infor- mation learned from both program directors and teachers who participated in programs. The committee's intention is to draw attention to characteristics of programs that seem to be having an impact on the professional lives of teachers and therefore on the teaching and learning of the nation's students.
COMMITTEE'S METHODS NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL COMMISSION ON LIFT: SCIENCES BOARD ON BIOLOGY C~ttee on Biology Teacher Inservice In ograms QUESTIONNAIRE FOR SCIENCE INSERVICE PROGRAMS FEBRUARY 1992 179 lbe goal of the National Rich Council's Committee on Biology Tearer Insenricc Programs is to identify successful biology inservice programs and assess Be reasons for Heir success in order to my recommendations for improving opporh~nities for mcb~' continuing education. Ihc purpose of this qucstio~e is to determine some ch~ac~ishcs of scicnec inserv~ce programs at the K-12 level, not only biology inservice programs. Your responses will remain confidential. Answer each question as completely as possible. If more space is needed, please attach additional pages. Slap any questions you feel are not relevant to your program. PLEASE FILL OllT ONE QUESTIONNAIRE BOOKLET FOR EACH INSERVICE PROGRAM. YOU MAY MAKE A COPY OF IS BOOKLET FOR EACH ADDITIONAL INSERVICE PROGRAM. Name of program: Adds: Name of respondent: Telephone number:
180 1. What are the distinctive feature of your program? 2. What has been the most significant Impact Or this pro~m? 3. Hut your program been institutionalized within ~ heal school ~tan? PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE TEACHERS Irucn~icc Qucstionn~rc, page 4. How dom your program ena~ge participation by undated populatior~ or ndnorit, groups? S. Is teacher inse~ice ~ component of a larger program?
COMMITTEE'S METHODS PROGRAM DESCRIITIlON c. d. e. f. burned or ind~ scientists 8. I (specify) C. Who initiated the teacher ins~ioe program? (Circle the Icttcr~s) of your answer) a. K-12 Lechers b. school or system administrator collegel~vc~q ocien&c faculty collegc/uni~crsity education faculty collegc/u~ rersity adm~nist~tore 7. How tong ha the teacher insert progran been in option? I. H~i - ~? C. 181 Inscrvicc Qucstionnairc, panic 2 t. How are p~pants in the it ~rem Beloved? (lyric the kttcr(,J Kayo-an) a. ~...~1 ~ ~ Licit b. all Siam self~lectod d. a_ ~ (trio 10. How nuns hours of instruction dom each reacher receive during the Ins~vice p~m? 11. What is the average direct cost for each pertkipent In the teacher Instance program? 12. What Is the tool direct cost of the teddy Ir~ioe pin? 13. Wlut parentage of funding for the teache lice program coma from each of the following sources? a. federal agencies (specify) b. sate department of education c. ante dot of higher oducatiue d. pnvatc foundlings and indi~ndus:s e. corporation f. doll oducdion agencies g. colleges and um~remiti h. other (specify) 14. Does me ball school stem provide an, of the folbwlng: (C'rek the l~ncr(sJ of your o~rJ a operating funds for the program b. intend contributions released time for participants d. direct program support pay for substitute Embers none of the above
182 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE TEACHERS l~c~vicc Qucsimuna~rc, page 3 15. On a scale of 0 to 5, how important is each of the following goals to the teacher inserYice program? For each item, enter a number (0 = 1 - st important; 5 = most imporlant). a. improve content Icoowledge of the par~icipu~ts b. Use the range of Aching Eateries for the participants c. improve Unit outcome d. network leachers with 6cientim c. nctworlc teachers with each other f. develop curricular materials g. chop temper behavior h. other ('pocify) 1C. What is the primary unit of participation in the teacher in~r~rice pro~m? (Circle only one For) ·. individual tempers b. ted of led c. entire Tool or dqar~t d. Are ~1 system e. other (specify) 17. Wldcb of the follow components are included in the teacher Ice Putnam? (Ciao the cry) ~ - w I) ·. demonst~oos b. poor c. acia~tific h~owbdge d. c. f. ~- h. i. i 1. deagaung and conducting investigation field work m~torship twining curricula ~ cumculum deYelopm~t hit ins - ratio" Icctu~ Lions access to additional information 18. What percentage of tints is spent on ends of the following activities us the Aches in~r;ice program? a. 1ec~16emmar b. dennD~io" c. wok ~ 0~) d. discussioll e. computer instn~ction £ field woric 8. A (specify) 19. Does the teach" inse~nce program invoice - 'r of i' e tol:~wing -computer el~ts' (Cat `~ - ~(5) ~ - I a. solh~ (editing) b. 800W~ (~velop~g) c. interactive video d. compute actwori~g e. telecommunications f. CD-ROM g. multim`'dis h. other (~ccify)
COMMITTEE'S METHODS 20. Which follow~up activities are part of the teacher Inscribe p~grun? (Cirdc the l - Arts) Of yow ansmerJ a. condom visits by scientist b. ~n8 with Cache" c. Shooing with ocicotids d. return to institution vie Ice activity owamd e. equipment low f. additional expenma~ts g. ucondtthird year access to it witty h. compiling of m~eriale Jcve~d by bacbe" i. ~' j. o~oial' mderiale support It. semis, Mu, otc. 1. "ding for pal m. DO blowup "vi" 183 /nscrvicc Qucs~ionnairc, page 4 21. Use the ~bk bdow to indicate ~ of the following groups or ~-are Involved or prUdpate In the teacher Iroer~ce program and he ash he parUdpabd. dam* aU ~ ply d_ ~ - ~ pro - - ~ Pa K-t2 bit It s_ aim I b look of o_ ~ "d_ K-12 lead .~4 mu_ ·~#, _ loci - ;e~ alit -~ ~Ce 4 - c_ achalhc If Mete For -_ _ P ~- ~PI amp_ -_- __ . _ _ - _ _ _ _ __ .. , . . _ ~: _. _ . ._. ~
184 Dow ~ Hap ~ of adhere ~ ~ ~ For ~ ~ chat cbeqpa u. cow of bide" ewe_ cornea ~ capon of pat PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE TEACHERS ~nscr~cc g'~c~`ionnairr, page 5 PROGRAM EVALUATION 22. Use the tabb below to indicate Intuit effe `s of the teacher inservice program Iron l - Ire measured and bar wlmt mahod(s). (Cheat all that aPPO quest "~ its leaf dbcr 1 1 . =C 1 = If you have indicated that you use other methods to collect data, please summarize your methods here: 23. E:stinute the Kurd of awu~ss/k~wbdge about the teacher ir~rice pin in the following Individuals or groups in your local school district. For em item, enter a numb" (0 = no sw~; S = high lend of awards). a wpai~1 - b. did aimin~advo - ff c. pn~cip~ d. tot a. parents f. fits g. president of local ~ union h aci_ 24. Have o'er elements of the teacher inservice p~m bom adapted or used bar othe - ? Thank ~oulor~our Zinc and Whorl. Lease return the con4)kted ques~on~ to: Board on Biology N4S 356 National Research Council 2101 Const0~1ltioA Arenue, NW Washington, DC 20418