A CPD Model for Scaling-up the

Dissemination of the “Learning

Skills for Science (LSS)”

Programme:

A Bi-national Israel-UK

Collaboration

Scherz Zahava & Eylon Bat-Sheva , Weizmann Institute of Science

Spektor-Levy Ornit, Bar-Ilan University

Sally Johnson, Gatsby – Science Enhancement Programme

Safed SeminarJuly 2nd – July 6th, 2006

Outline:

The LSS programme

The LSS CPD: plan and models

Dissemination & Scaling-up Implications

July 2004

January 2006

(Eylon & Linn, 1988; Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1989;Bybee & Ben-Zvi, 1998; Campbell, et al. 2000)

Independent, lifelong learner has to master high order skills:inquiry and problem-solving skills, thinking and learning skills.

(Scherz et al, 1985; Slate, Jones & Dawson, 1993; Onwuegbuzie, Slate & Schwartz, 2001)

Positive correlation between students’ performances in several learning skills and their academic achievement.

(Linn, Songer & Eylon, 1996; Bybee, 1997; Borgman, Hirsh & Walter, 1995; DeBoer, 2000)

There is a growing tendency in science education towards active independent learning.

Background

The Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training UK,

2006

• concerns about young peoples' capacity to benefit from the higher education experience

• current system leads to spoon-feeding rather than fostering independence and critical engagement with subject material

• students struggle to cope with the more self-directed style of learning expected

• greater emphasis needed on the ability to read critically, to communicate ideas in writing and to argue a case

skills need developing in a range of contexts with practice and feedback from teachers, rather than being a one-off exercise

http://www.nuffield14-19review.org.uk/groups.shtml

Science EducationScience Education

High-Order SkillsHigh-Order Skills Scientific Content

Scientific Content

Inquiry skills

Inquiry skills

Problem-solving skills

Problem-solving skills

Thinking skillsThinking skills

LEARNING SKILLS

LEARNING SKILLS

Learning Skills for Science

InformationRetrieval

Listening& Observing

ScientificWriting

Data Representati

on

Knowledge Presentation

Scientific Reading

Electronic databases

Experts

Library

Demonstration

Video

Lecture

Article Textbook

ScientificText

Graph

Scheme

Table

Abstract

Article

Scientificwork

Poster

Multimedia

Model

Oralpresentation

Learning Skills for Science

InformationRetrieval

Listening& Observing

ScientificWriting

Data Representati

on

Knowledge Presentation

Scientific Reading

Electronic databases

Experts

Library

Demonstration

Video

Lecture

Article Textbook

ScientificText

Graph

Scheme

Table

Abstract

Article

Scientificwork

Poster

Multimedia

Model

Oralpresentation

Input Output

Activity book for Students

Teachers’ Guide

Israel: 1994 - date

UK: 2004 – date

Activity book with worksheets and instructions

Teachers’ Guide with background information

LSS ResourcesWebsite with resources – for teachers

http://sep.org.uk/lss

LSS Resources

Trainer’s Manual

LSS ResourcesWebsite with resources – for trainers

http://sep.org.uk/lsstrainer

Advertising a scientific journal

LSS Skill Areas

KNOWLEDGEPRESENTATIO

N

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

LISTENING&

OBSERVING

SCIENTIFIC READING

DATAREPRESENTATION

SCIENTIFICWRITING

LSS

Taking notes from a presentation

Arranging a scientific

article

‘First glance’ at a scientific article

Making a good presentation

Recognising visual symbols

Information Information RetrievalRetrievalActivity 1.7: Advertising a scientific journal

Skill Area Skill Area 11

Activity 1.7: Advertising a scientific journal

Activity 1.6: Editing a scientific book

Activity 3.1: Deciding quickly if an article is useful – the ‘First glance’

1. What is the title of the article?

2. Who is the author of the article?

3. In what year was the article published?

4. Who is the publisher (or the name of periodical)?

5. What kinds of illustrations appear in the article?

6. Are formulas presented in the article (If yes, what

kind)?

7. Do the following appear in the article?

Abstract

Introduction/Preface

Conclusion/Discussion

8. Is there a list of references?

9. Summarise the main problem/idea that is presented

in the article:

Eukaryotes

StagegoalsTools, Materials

MethodsFindingsconclusions

1

2

3

Activity 3.5; Identifying different types of texts

Following the work habits of the scientist

Activities: non trivial, meaningful, challenging, cool

On the edge between frustration and success

Positive experience follows every frustration

The learner constructs the concepts and insights

Constructing strategies, processes and insights after actual experience

Active learning

Primary resources

Reflection and meta-cognition

The pedagogic approach of LSS

Pear evaluation

Team work

Learning from pears (Jigsaws, presentations…)

Role playing

Hands on activities (creativity)…

Competitive tasks

Whole class product

Games (‘Happy family’, ‘Give a title’…)

Teaching strategies

Explicit instruction

Integration

Variety

Practice

Spiral implementation

Flexibility & Modularity

Resources

The characteristics of the instructional model:

LSS Skill Area

Grade X

Grade X+1

Grade X+2

Content units

Information retrieval

Scientific writing

Knowledge presentation

Scientific reading

Listening & watching

Information representation

Integration of skills Integration of skills and contentsand contents

Accomplished practice of LSSAccomplished practice of LSS

An accomplished teacher is able to:• Classify a given skills into sub-skills.• Identify and analyze the performance of an expert

within a given skill. • Adopt and/or create innovative learning activities.• Adopt a model of efficient instruction. • Plan a scheme of work for LSS integration.• Integrate LSS assessment tasks • Reflect on his/her own LSS practice• Give evidence of good practice

An accomplished teacher is able to:• Classify a given skills into sub-skills.• Identify and analyze the performance of an expert

within a given skill. • Adopt and/or create innovative learning activities.• Adopt a model of efficient instruction. • Plan a scheme of work for LSS integration.• Integrate LSS assessment tasks • Reflect on his/her own LSS practice• Give evidence of good practice

Continuous Professional Development:

The Evolving Model

Teachers have to get meaningful experience

in 3 roles:

Active Learner (self)

Adaptive Innovator (in the system)

Reflective Teacher (in class)

(Rosenfeld, Scherz, Orion, Eylon, 1997)

Developmental stages of a meaningful change:

Confusion

Frustration

Recognition of need to change

Desire to change

Commitment to change

Fulfillment

The Evolving Model

LSS CPD Workshop

Outline of LSS CPD ProgrammeUK 2004-06

Level I: 2 days teachers’ training

Level 0: 2 hours taster

School based INSET LSS teacher

LSS trainerLevel II: 2 days training the trainers

Level III: Co-training with an experienced

trainer

2 days teachers’ training workshop

Characteristics

• Integration into science curriculum contents

• Two trainers in each workshop

• Students’ tasks on teachers’ level

Outline of LSS CPD ProgrammeUK 2004-06

LSS CPD Workshop

2 days teachers’ training workshop

• Diversity of instructional strategies

• Modeling

• Reflection

• Timing: several weeks between day I and day II

• Class implementation + tasks between sessions

Outline of LSS CPD ProgrammeUK 2004-06

Characteristics

• Integration into science curriculum contents

• Two trainers in each workshop

• Students’ tasks on teachers’ level

2-days ‘Training the Trainers’ workshop

Characteristics:

• Participants: after 2-days teachers’ workshop; experienced

trainer; preferably - experience in teaching LSS.

• Providers: 2 LSS leading figures (developers, experienced

trainers)

• Collaborative learning

• Simulations of LSS instruction and training

• Integrating LSS into science scheme of work

• Reflections and discussions

Outline of LSS CPD ProgrammeUK 2004-06

‘Training the Trainers’ Workshop

Consulting a departmental science team

You have been invited to a science department in a school where two teachers have attended the LSS level 1. They have since held an INSET to introduce the rest of the science staff to the programme. You have been asked to conduct a meeting with the whole department to help them to start implementing LSS….

Promoting LSS to a senior manager in school

You want to convince a senior manager in a school to support and to budget LSS implementation…

Training the Trainers

Dissemination (scaling up) UK 2004-06

Phase 1: • July 2004: 2-days level I teachers’

training (16 teachers from 8 schools).• 2004-2005: pilot in 6 schools• External evaluation (Osborne & Manning)

Evaluation Summary 2004-2005 LSS Pilot

External Evaluation by: Jonathan Osborne & Alex Manning King’s College, London

…That evaluation found much enthusiasm and commitment from the

small number of teachers involved.

…Teachers enjoyed their training in LSS.

…Teachers were keen to use the materials more widely in the future.

“One of the criteria on which the piece of work is marked is the extent to

which they have accessed different types of material for their case

studies… I think it was particularly useful because with the previous

year's case studies, I found they didn't understand what I meant by

‘range of material', so they put things in their bibliography like: 'I

accessed Google on fifth of January', things like that. Whereas having

taught them how to – to read and access articles, and look for authors,

and look for – you know – the reliability and validity of this person that

had written the articles, and things like that, then their bibliographies are

much more extensive.”

(Teacher L)

“We’re a pilot school for the twenty-first century science

GCSE, and the coursework skills the students need are

very different from anything we’ve done before, so we

were interested in anything which would help them

develop some of those skills. And it’s (LSS) – it’s much

more focused on research, and- and the ability to – not

just learn facts, but express opinions, analyse data…

there’s so much more emphasis on that.”

(Teacher M)

Recommendations concerning the CPD:

Initiatives such as LSS are in danger of withering on the vine if they rely on a single teacher in any school to sustain them. Working with whole departments is much more likely to lead to sustained use and makes the project less vulnerable to the loss of a critical member of staff.

In any future training the project goals need to be explicitly shared and regularly revisited, in order for the participants to develop a better understanding of the goals and significance of the project. This is essential to developing teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and transcending the view that this course merely offers a set of ‘tips for teachers’.

Some teachers perceived the materials and ideas to be used as a short intensive course of training in specific strategies. Whilst there is some value to this approach, making use of the materials throughout both KS3 and KS4 is much more likely to lead to enhanced student performance.

One way of recording evidence of use, and encouraging teachers to reflect on student learning would be to ask teachers to keep portfolios with lesson plans, any worksheets, samples of student work and the teacher’s reflection on the lesson. Such material would be invaluable for any evaluation and also encourage the teacher to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the activity.

The project should be seeking to develop a community of LSS teachers. This will require regular opportunities for those using the materials to meet and share the work they have been undertaking. If meeting physically is difficult to facilitate, the project should seek to support a virtual community through its web pages. Such a community would enable new teachers to engage with more experienced participants, so that they might learn from one another.

This last point could equally well apply to in-school sustainability as well as that across the nation.

Phase 2: • July 05 - July 06 :

700 2 hours tasters

260 2-days level 1 teachers’ training

30 2-days level 2 ‘training the trainers’ (regional centres staff + consultants)

• 2005-2006: pilot in 60 schools• Internal evaluation

Dissemination (scaling up) UK 2004-06

• 2 courses per year at 9 Regional centres (SLC London, Manchester, Durham, Keele, Southampton, Sheffield are already advertising courses).

• National Strategy, Local Education Authorities

(LEA) consultants working with clusters, INSET

• Implementation in ~1000 schools in England

• Wide-scale external evaluation

Phase 3: 2006-2008

Dissemination (scaling up) UK 2004-06

Further dissemination

• KS3 / Post 16

• Overseas interest

• Back to Israel

Level III

Level II

Level I

Phase 3

Level III

Level II

Level I

Phase 2

LSS CPD scaling up

model

DisseminationCPD programme

Level I: teachersLevel II: trainersLevel III: experienced trainers

Phase 1

Level III

Level II

Level I

Level III

Level II

Level I

Phase 3

Level III

Level II

Level I

Phase 2

CPD scaling up

model

DisseminationCPD programme

Level I: teachersLevel II: trainersLevel III: experienced trainers

Phase 1

Level III

Level II

Level I

Thank you!