“How Are My Talk Moves?” Supporting Inservice Teachers Through Vertical Collaborative Coaching and Learning of Science Communities

by Joineé Taylor, University of Missouri-Columbia; & Marcelle Siegel, University of Missouri-Columbia
Abstract

Talk moves are dialogic pedagogical tools used to enhance purposeful discussion and support student learning. However, employing talk moves has proven challenging for some inservice teachers because they struggle with things like student participation and time. In this article, we describe a professional development program’s adaptation of professional learning communities to support a cohort of K–12 science teachers from different school districts in improving their teaching practice and effectiveness. We discuss the structure of the program and the use of collaborative reflection, and we also provide teacher reflection notes Specifically, we focus on one vertically integrated community, including elementary, middle, and high school teachers, who chose to focus on enhancing their pedagogical practice of talk moves. Ultimately, the teacher reflection notes revealed that being a part of such a community motivated them to enhance their teaching practices, boosted confidence, and also provided them networking opportunities with other teachers.

Supporting Preservice Elementary Teachers in Teaching Science for Equity and Justice: A Practical Framework

by Elizabeth A. Davis, University of Michigan
Abstract

Preservice elementary teachers bring many strengths to science teaching but may not get extensive support in learning to work toward equity and justice in their science teaching. Drawing on four approaches to equity from a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2022), this article presents a practical framework for helping preservice elementary teachers in this challenging work. The article first explores each approach, suggesting interpretive frames and teaching moves that preservice teachers could use in moving from a relatively abstract call for equity to making concrete decisions in elementary science instruction. A practical framework is developed based on that exploration, with a description of how the framework has been used instructionally in an elementary science methods class. Then, the article presents the results of a pilot study of 31 preservice elementary teachers’ use of a pilot framework, illustrating how these participants’ lesson plans readily reflected teaching moves focused on increasing children’s opportunity and access to science learning and increasing achievement, representation, and identification but less often reflected moves oriented toward broadening what counts as science or bringing science and justice together. The article concludes by noting that research is needed to further explore the utility of this framework and how equity can be supported in science teacher education more generally. The article also urges the field to develop representations of practice and elementary science curriculum materials that would support teachers in this challenging, lifelong work to advance equity and justice.

Moving Practice-Based, Secondary Science Teacher Education Online: The Case of Inquiry-Based Labs

by Alice Waldron, Relay Graduate School of Education; Cole Entress, Teachers College, Columbia University; & Daniel Sonrouille, Relay Graduate School of Education
Abstract

Online coursework in science teacher education is becoming increasingly common. However, some content in science teacher education—how to skillfully (and safely) lead laboratory investigations, for instance—can pose a particular challenge when converted to an online format. We describe how we met this challenge in the creation of an online version of a practice-based science methods course focused on leading inquiry-based labs. Specifically, we articulate the design principles that guided our transition to a fully online course that produced student outcomes comparable to in-person sections and generated consistent, highly positive feedback from our graduate students. Additionally, by designing an online course that retained the teaching of lab competencies classically taught in person, we positioned the institution to better support students and instructors who found themselves suddenly online when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in the spring of 2020.