Papers by Joyce Parker
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 2004
We developed web‐based modules addressing fundamental concepts of introductory biology delivered ... more We developed web‐based modules addressing fundamental concepts of introductory biology delivered through the LON‐CAPA course management system. These modules were designed and used to supplement large, lecture‐based introductory biology classes. Incorporating educational principles and the strength of web‐based instructional technology, choices were made about knowledge presentation, representation, and construction (W. A. Nelson, D. B. Palumbo (1992) J. Educ. Media Hypermedia 1, 287–299). Knowledge presentation focused on big and connecting ideas. Knowledge representation provided students the opportunity to interact with concepts in several ways using multiple representations. For knowledge construction, we facilitated students' active and meaningful interactions with content using interwoven high‐level questions. Students' extended responses to a questionnaire indicated that these modules influenced the students learning in meaningful ways. (For access to demonstration mo...
(in press) Conference Proceedings of the International Academic Conference of Preparing Quality S... more (in press) Conference Proceedings of the International Academic Conference of Preparing Quality Science Teachers for Elementary and Secondary Schools, sponsored by the National Science Council (Taiwan), May 31st through June 2nd, 2007 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 2018
for additional information. This is an Open Access journal. This means that it uses a funding mod... more for additional information. This is an Open Access journal. This means that it uses a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. Readers may freely read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles. This journal is covered under the CC BY-NC-ND license.
Global Journal of Transformative Education, 2019
Educational reform should include teacher professional development (PD) to help educators learn h... more Educational reform should include teacher professional development (PD) to help educators learn how to implement new programs. This article shares a research-tested model of PD that uses the analytic framework of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) to support professional learning. Evidence suggests that PBL is effective in changing content knowledge and pedagogical practice. To teach content, facilitators engage teachers in learning activities designed using common PBL structures. Stories about authentic phenomena present problems associated with specific concepts. Learners work in groups to analyze problems, seek additional information, and construct plausible solutions. This same approach can support Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to help teachers examine and revise their own teaching. In this model, teachers collaborate to identify “problems of teaching.” The group uses PBL to analyze information and solutions. Teachers research teaching strategies, test a proposed strategy, ...
Cell Biology Education, 2012
We present a diagnostic question cluster (DQC) that assesses undergraduates' thinking about p... more We present a diagnostic question cluster (DQC) that assesses undergraduates' thinking about photosynthesis. This assessment tool is not designed to identify individual misconceptions. Rather, it is focused on students' abilities to apply basic concepts about photosynthesis by reasoning with a coordinated set of practices based on a few scientific principles: conservation of matter, conservation of energy, and the hierarchical nature of biological systems. Data on students' responses to the cluster items and uses of some of the questions in multiple-choice, multiple-true/false, and essay formats are compared. A cross-over study indicates that the multiple-true/false format shows promise as a machine-gradable format that identifies students who have a mixture of accurate and inaccurate ideas. In addition, interviews with students about their choices on three multiple-choice questions reveal the fragility of students' understanding. Collectively, the data show that many...
Research suggests that professional development that engages teachers in instructional inquiry ov... more Research suggests that professional development that engages teachers in instructional inquiry over an extended time through collaborative professional learning communities (PLCs) is effective in improving instruction and student achievement. Still, most professional development is offered as short-duration workshops that are not effective in changing practice. Barriers to the implementation of PLCs include lack of shared meeting time and a shortage of teachers who share the same subject areas or common goals and interests. Convening teachers from multiple districts can alleviate this problem, but teachers are reluctant to travel for meetings due to time and cost restraints. Video-conferencing software offers a solution to these barriers while serving to foster the sense of community needed for PLCs to be effective. The researchers describe the use of Virtual PLCs in which two groups of teachers met monthly for one school year to collaboratively analyze evidence collected as part of their teacher inquiry plans. With help from a facilitator, these groups developed a relationship similar to other groups meeting face-to-face as part of the same professional development program. Analysis of the reflections of teacher-participants and facilitators revealed that teachers prefer face-to-face meetings, but that the virtual and face-to-face meetings provided teachers with similar social interactions in the PLC experience. The findings suggest that teachers perceive videoconferencing as an effective tool for facilitating PLCs when distance and time are practical barriers to face-to-face meetings. Practical considerations for developing and facilitating virtual PLCs are also discussed.
The American Biology Teacher, 2015
This study examines the influence of literature research and discussion with peers on the develop... more This study examines the influence of literature research and discussion with peers on the development of science PCK in elementary teachers engaged in problem-based learning as a professional development activity. The participants included 18 teachers from grades K-6 who had enrolled in an extended PD program focusing on science content, unit development and collaborative analysis of teaching practice. Data included
The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 2013
The Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Project for Teachers included three days of professional develop... more The Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Project for Teachers included three days of professional development using PBL to deepen teachers’ content knowledge. Teachers identified the content area in which they wished to work from a list of choices. They worked in facilitated groups of from five to nine participants to solve rich, ill-structured problems. Content knowledge was assessed based on teachers’ written responses to at least one general question and one application question in which they explained some everyday phenomena. Teachers responded to these questions two months before and at the end of the professional development; 80.5 percent of the 41 middle and high school teachers who participated showed improved content knowledge. We also examined the patterns in teachers’ incoming content knowledge and changes in content knowledge. The data indicate that the PBL approach used here was effective in improving the content knowledge of teachers independent of demographic factors and type and degree of incoming content knowledge.a
Journal of Science Education and Technology, 2013
Research suggests that professional development that engages teachers in instructional inquiry ov... more Research suggests that professional development that engages teachers in instructional inquiry over an extended time through collaborative professional learning communities (PLCs) is effective in improving instruction and student achievement. Still, most professional development is offered as short-duration workshops that are not effective in changing practice. Barriers to the implementation of PLCs include lack of shared meeting time and a shortage of teachers who share the same subject areas or common goals and interests. Convening teachers from multiple districts can alleviate this problem, but teachers are reluctant to travel for meetings due to time and cost restraints. Video-conferencing software offers a solution to these barriers while serving to foster the sense of community needed for PLCs to be effective. The researchers describe the use of Virtual PLCs in which two groups of teachers met monthly for one school year to collaboratively analyze evidence collected as part of their teacher inquiry plans. With help from a facilitator, these groups developed a relationship similar to other groups meeting face-to-face as part of the same professional development program. Analysis of the reflections of teacher-participants and facilitators revealed that teachers prefer face-to-face meetings, but that the virtual and face-to-face meetings provided teachers with similar social interactions in the PLC experience. The findings suggest that teachers perceive videoconferencing as an effective tool for facilitating PLCs when distance and time are practical barriers to faceto-face meetings. Practical considerations for developing and facilitating virtual PLCs are also discussed.
Cell Biology Education, 2010
Recent science education reform has been marked by a shift away from a focus on facts toward deep... more Recent science education reform has been marked by a shift away from a focus on facts toward deep, rich, conceptual understanding. This requires assessment that also focuses on conceptual understanding rather than recall of facts. This study outlines our development of a new assessment framework and tool-a taxonomy-which, unlike existing frameworks and tools, is grounded firmly in a framework that considers the critical role that models play in science. It also provides instructors a resource for assessing students' ability to reason about models that are central to the organization of key scientific concepts. We describe preliminary data arising from the application of our tool to exam questions used by instructors of a large-enrollment cell and molecular biology course over a 5-yr period during which time our framework and the assessment tool were increasingly used. Students were increasingly able to describe and manipulate models of the processes and systems being studied in this course as measured by assessment items. However, their ability to apply these models in new contexts did not improve. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results and the future directions for our research.
Cell Biology Education, 2006
College-level biology courses contain many complex processes that are often taught and learned as... more College-level biology courses contain many complex processes that are often taught and learned as detailed narratives. These processes can be better understood by perceiving them as dynamic systems that are governed by common fundamental principles. Conservation of matter is such a principle, and thus tracing matter is an essential step in learning to reason about biological processes. We present here multiple-choice questions that measure students' ability and inclination to trace matter through photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Data associated with each question come from students in a large undergraduate biology course that was undergoing a shift in instructional strategy toward making fundamental principles (such as tracing matter) a central theme. We also present findings from interviews with students in the course. Our data indicate that 1) many students are not using tracing matter as a tool to reason about biological processes, 2) students have particular difficulties tracing matter between systems and have a persistent tendency to interconvert matter and energy, and 3) instructional changes seem to be effective in promoting application of the tracing matter principle. Using these items as diagnostic tools allows instructors to be proactive in addressing students' misconceptions and ineffective reasoning.
Cell Biology Education, 2012
We present a diagnostic question cluster (DQC) that assesses undergraduates' thinking about photo... more We present a diagnostic question cluster (DQC) that assesses undergraduates' thinking about photosynthesis. This assessment tool is not designed to identify individual misconceptions. Rather, it is focused on students' abilities to apply basic concepts about photosynthesis by reasoning with a coordinated set of practices based on a few scientific principles: conservation of matter, conservation of energy, and the hierarchical nature of biological systems. Data on students' responses to the cluster items and uses of some of the questions in multiple-choice, multiple-true/false, and essay formats are compared. A cross-over study indicates that the multiple-true/false format shows promise as a machine-gradable format that identifies students who have a mixture of accurate and inaccurate ideas. In addition, interviews with students about their choices on three multiple-choice questions reveal the fragility of students' understanding. Collectively, the data show that many undergraduates lack both a basic understanding of the role of photosynthesis in plant metabolism and the ability to reason with scientific principles when learning new content. Implications for instruction are discussed.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 2004
We developed web-based modules addressing fundamental concepts of introductory biology delivered ... more We developed web-based modules addressing fundamental concepts of introductory biology delivered through the LON-CAPA course management system. These modules were designed and used to supplement large, lecture-based introductory biology classes. Incorporating educational principles and the strength of web-based instructional technology, choices were made about knowledge presentation, representation, and construction (W. A. Nelson, D. B. Palumbo (1992) J. . Knowledge presentation focused on big and connecting ideas. Knowledge representation provided students the opportunity to interact with concepts in several ways using multiple representations. For knowledge construction, we facilitated students' active and meaningful interactions with content using interwoven high-level questions. Students' extended responses to a questionnaire indicated that these modules influenced the students learning in meaningful ways. (For access to demonstration modules, go to demo.lon-capa.org/cgi-bin/signon.pl?hhmi.)
One of the characteristics of effective science teachers is a deep understanding of science conce... more One of the characteristics of effective science teachers is a deep understanding of science concepts. The ability to identify, explain and apply concepts is critical in designing, delivering and assessing instruction. Because some teachers have not completed extensive courses in some areas of science, especially in middle and elementary grades, many professional development programs attempt to strengthen teachers’ content knowledge. Assessing this content knowledge is challenging. Concept inventories are reliable and efficient, but do not reveal depth of knowledge. Interviews and observations are time-consuming. The Problem Based Learning Project for Teachers implemented a strategy that includes pre-post instruments in eight content strands that permits blind coding of responses and comparison across teachers and groups of teachers. The instruments include two types of open-ended questions that assess both general knowledge and the ability to apply Big Ideas related to specific science topics. The coding scheme is useful in revealing patterns in prior knowledge and learning, and identifying ideas that are challenging or not addressed by learning activities. The strengths and limitations of the scoring scheme are identified through comparison of the findings to case studies of four participating teachers from middle and elementary schools. The cases include examples of coded pre- and post-test responses to illustrate some of the themes seen in teacher learning. The findings raise questions for future investigation that can be conducted using analyses of the coded responses.
International Conference on Computers in Education, 2005
ABSTRACT How can large undergraduate classes be made more interactive? How can students be engage... more ABSTRACT How can large undergraduate classes be made more interactive? How can students be engaged to think deeply and to gain conceptual understanding of course content? This paper describes a Peer Instruction and Model-based Reasoning approach to address these questions. We describe an instructional design and present empirical data to show how two learning technologies: an online teaching and research tool (www.lon-capa) and a self-response system (clickers) were used in an introductory undergraduate biology course (N=448). Implication for how to adopt this type of technology for teaching and research purposes are also provided.
Page 1. McConnell, et al, 2008 1 Impact of Video-Based Teacher Reflections VIDEO-BASED TEACHER RE... more Page 1. McConnell, et al, 2008 1 Impact of Video-Based Teacher Reflections VIDEO-BASED TEACHER REFLECTION WHAT IS THE REAL EFFECT ON REFLECTIONS OF INSERVICE TEACHERS? Tom J. McConnell Mary ...
Lots of Papers by Joyce Parker
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Papers by Joyce Parker
Lots of Papers by Joyce Parker