Springer Researching Practitioner Inquiry as Professional Development: Voices from the Field of Science Teaching

This book presents the authentic voices of science teachers engaged in practitioner inquiry as one component of a comprehensive professional development program. Practitioner inquiry as a genre of educational research, allows teachers to intentionally study their practices thus generating practical solutions to problems in their teaching and students’ learning. The teachers’ voices allowed us to enter their science classrooms to observe their posture and practices as reflective practitioners. They encountered issues such as culturally responsive teaching and low literacy proficiency and metacognitive skills among their struggling science learners. Their firsthand accounts provide new insights about practitioner inquiry as a tool to support teachers continuous learning, regardless of the disciplinary content areas. The book therefore provides a blueprint that can inform inservice teacher educators and support school and district administrators as they seek to nurture teachers’ professional growth. From the Back Cover This book presents the authentic voices of science teachers engaged in practitioner inquiry as one component of a comprehensive professional development program. Practitioner inquiry as a genre of educational research, allows teachers to intentionally study their practices thus generating practical solutions to problems in their teaching and students’ learning. The teachers’ voices allowed us to enter their science classrooms to observe their posture and practices as reflective practitioners. They encountered issues such as culturally responsive teaching and low literacy proficiency and metacognitive skills among their struggling science learners. Their firsthand accounts provide new insights about practitioner inquiry as a tool to support teachers continuous learning, regardless of the disciplinary content areas. The book therefore provides a blueprint that can inform inservice teacher educators and support school and district administrators as they seek to nurture teachers’ professional growth. About the Author Rose M. Pringle, PhD, is an associate professor in science education in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida. Her research agenda includes interrelated themes within the continuum of science teacher education, including teacher learning, science-specific pedagogical practices, and the promotion of teachers’ cultural competence. Dr. Pringle investigates pedagogical content knowledge as a framework for shifting practices to heighten teachers’ stance toward issues of social justice and their roles in positioning learners who traditionally, are underrepresented in science – specifically, girls of African descent. She therefore operates at the nexus between what knowledge teachers need and how it becomes translated into equitable and culturally sustaining practices in science teaching and learning. Her work with teachers therefore challenges assumptions and the status quo toward broadening participation in science and science related-careers.