Examining Forms and Frames for Science Teacher Learning Related to Large-Scale Reforms: A Multi-Manuscript Dissertation

Abstract

This multi-manuscript dissertation is situated in the context of the large-scale, nationwide, top-down, curriculum and examination reform of the Advanced Placement (AP) science program. Teacher-level data was gathered through web-based surveys sent to all AP science teachers in the United States and corresponding student-, school-, and district-level data was provided by the College Board for all students taking redesigned AP science examinations in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Furthermore, social media discourses on Twitter were collected with automated scripts. The analyses apply a multitude of methodological techniques including hierarchical linear modeling, structural equation modeling, educational data mining, and social network analysis. The first study suggests that proactive educational policies that increase school funding, lengthen instructional time, enhance teacher quality, and encourage teachers to participate in selected PD activities can help narrow income achievement gaps and foster educational equity for students in schools that are economically disadvantaged. The second study illustrates that while PD participation can help teachers change their classroom teaching, such instructional enactments might not always relate to increases in student achievement, emphasizing the importance of better understanding the impact of school context and effective teaching practices. The third study indicates that teacher participation in collaborative online microblogging environments has the potential to adhere to design characteristics of high-quality PD and to complement more hierarchically-structured traditional PD activities. Across these three studies, this dissertation provides recommendations for changes in the educational landscape to guide transformations of teacher professional development activities, with the ultimate aim of improving student learning and narrowing achievement and opportunity gaps.