Conference Proceedings Detail Page
Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers
written by
Smadar Levy, Zehorit Kapach, Esther Magen, and Edit Yerushalmi
We present a study of a first step in a large-scale intervention designed to shift lab instruction away from tightly prescribed lab norms. The intervention was implemented in a national network of Professional Learning Communities of high school physics teachers (N=250) operating in a high-stakes exam setting with limited resources, and catering to diverse groups of students. A pre-intervention survey examined learning goals that the teachers value as well as practices taking place in their lab lessons. The findings revealed a gap between the importance that teachers attributed to scientific practices such as experimental design and the manifestation of these goals in the national lab exam. In addition, the survey revealed disparities between the scientific practices that teachers believe that their students engage in during the instructional lab and the practices they identify in physicists' work in research labs. The intervention consisted of a series of Restricted Inquiry Labs (RILs) designed to address the teachers' interest in change as well as the constraints imposed by the setting in which they work by modest restructuring of traditional labs such as encouraging students to reflect on the considerations underlying the experimental design. The intervention proved successful in that half of the teachers reported that they introduced the RILs. They described students' engagement when granted more autonomy in designing an experiment, as well as students' difficulties in coping with a more open-ended task. Implementation of the RILs also created challenges in class management. Despite these challenges, most teachers reported that they intended to keep using RILs. Teachers asked to re-design assessment policies to emphasize scientific inquiry. The RILs proved to be a feasible way to introduce change towards inquiry-oriented labs via professional development programs, while pointing out aspects that need to be addressed to respond to teachers' concerns.
Physics Education Research Conference 2020
Part of the PER Conference series Virtual Conference: July 22-23, 2020 Pages 278-283
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Record Link
<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=15496">Levy, S, Z. Kapach, E. Magen, and E. Yerushalmi. "Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020.</a>
AIP Format
S. Levy, Z. Kapach, E. Magen, and E. Yerushalmi, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15496&DocID=5344).
AJP/PRST-PER
S. Levy, Z. Kapach, E. Magen, and E. Yerushalmi, Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, 2020, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15496&DocID=5344>.
APA Format
Levy, S., Kapach, Z., Magen, E., & Yerushalmi, E. (2020, July 22-23). Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference. Retrieved December 10, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15496&DocID=5344
Chicago Format
Levy, S, Z. Kapach, E. Magen, and E. Yerushalmi. "Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference, July 22-23, 2020. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15496&DocID=5344 (accessed 10 December 2024).
MLA Format
Levy, Smadar, Zehorit Kapach, Esther Magen, and Edit Yerushalmi. "Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers." Physics Education Research Conference 2020. Virtual Conference: 2020. 278-283 of PER Conference. 10 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15496&DocID=5344>.
BibTeX Export Format
@inproceedings{
Author = "Smadar Levy and Zehorit Kapach and Esther Magen and Edit Yerushalmi",
Title = {Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2020},
Pages = {278-283},
Address = {Virtual Conference},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {July 22-23},
Year = {2020}
}
Refer Export Format
%A Smadar Levy %A Zehorit Kapach %A Esther Magen %A Edit Yerushalmi %T Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers %S PER Conference %D July 22-23 2020 %P 278-283 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15496&DocID=5344 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %O July 22-23 %O application/pdf
EndNote Export Format
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Levy, Smadar %A Kapach, Zehorit %A Magen, Esther %A Yerushalmi, Edit %D July 22-23 2020 %T Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers %B Physics Education Research Conference 2020 %C Virtual Conference %P 278-283 %S PER Conference %8 July 22-23 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15496&DocID=5344 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
Citation Source Information
The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual. The AJP/PRST-PER presented is based on the AIP Style with the addition of journal article titles and conference proceeding article titles. The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References. The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation. The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ. Re-defining lab norms via professional learning communities of physics teachers:Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
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