Professional Development of K-12 Science Teachers
Pradeep M. Dass
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Iowa
K-12 science teachers begin their development as a professional from the moment they enroll in their first education class in college. From that point on, the process of their professional development continues throughout the length of their careers. For the sake of convenience, this process can be divided into two phases: Pre-service (while they are teacher education students in college) and In-service (while they are practicing teachers in schools).
As a science educator, I am equally interested in both the pre-service and in-service phases of professional development. The key focus of my research is to explore ways of enhancing science teachers' ability to bring about the kind of scientific literacy promoted by national science education reform documents such as the National Science Education Standards and the Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy. I have been exploring the effectiveness of the Science-Technology- Society (STS) approach to the teaching and learning of science as a vehicle for making this happen. The STS approach is defined as the teaching and learning of science in the context of human experience. That is to say that events, questions, problems, issues, from real-life situations are used as the organizers or contexts within which the so called 'content' of science is addressed and learned. The real-life situations provide the need for knowing the content, hence the content becomes relevant and meaningful in an immediate sense rather than something to be learned merely to pass an exam.
I have been intimately involved in the professional development of in-service teachers using the STS approach through the Iowa Chautauqua Program. Presently I am conducting a study of the influence of using the STS approach in a pre-service secondary science methods course. I am also studying how learning the history of science influences students' understanding of the nature of the scientific enterprise. The significance of this study lies in the fact that an understanding of the nature of the scientific enterprise comprises a key element of scientific literacy alluded to above. I am interested in exploring ways of enhancing both pre- and in-service teachers' understanding of the nature of the scientific enterprise, particularly through a discourse with the history of science.
Selected Publications
Dass, P. M. (1997). Organizing high school biology experiences around contemporary bioethical issues: An STS approach. Bulletin of Science, Technology, & Society, 17(5&6):325-330.
Dass, P. M., and Yager, R. E. (1999). The Iowa Chautauqua Program: Advancing reforms in K-12 science education. Science Education International 10(2):33-38.
Dass, P. M. (1999). Evaluation of a district-wide in-service professional development program for teaching science: Challenges faced and lessons learned. The Electronic Journal of Science Education 4(2): http://www.unr.edu/homepage/jcannon/ejse/ejse.html.
Dass, P. M. (1999). Science education for the 21st century: Challenges and promising approaches. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction 1(2):264-277.
Dass, P. M. (2000). Preparing coaches for the changing game of science: Teaching in multiple domains. The Clearing House 74(1):39-41.
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