Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

The study focuses on changes indicating professional learning, observed in four primary and secondary science teachers’ practices regarding inquiry, both during their participation in a professional learning program and also six months after its completion. The program was a designed based research, called in service Science Teachers’ Education (STED), aiming to educate participants on current trends of science education while recording possible changes in their practices. It consisted of three phases, focusing on enabling teachers to incorporate inquiry teaching through Teaching Learning Sequences (TLS). Changes in teaching practices indicating professional learning, were captured using a semi qualitative method that utilized multiple research tools. The mixed group approach was adopted in order to identify and conceptualize common factors and conditions that facilitate learning in inquiry teaching for both educational levels. Recorded changes present similarities between the two educational levels. Results show that teachers achieved substantial understanding of inquiry teaching and thus managed to incorporate guided inquiry practices into their teaching design during the program. Findings confirmed that six months after the program, inquiry teaching practices were also implemented.