Interaction between teachers and teaching materials : on the implementation of context-based chemistry education

Problem definition and research question The research in this dissertation focuses on the implementation of innovative context-based teaching materials in classroom practice by chemistry teachers who are not familiar with context-based education. This implementation is studied with two perspectives: that of the designers, who want to see their intentions with the teaching materials reflected in classroom practice, and that of the teachers who want to implement these innovative materials in their daily lessons. The interaction of teachers with the innovative teaching materials is a central issue. The main research question is: What are the characteristics of the interaction between innovative context-based materials and teachers that hinder or facilitate classroom implementation as intended by the designers? Design and implementation of context-based chemistry education Secondary chemistry education in western industrialised countries faces a transition from a content-oriented curriculum towards a context-based curriculum. Within context-based curricula, contexts are used as the starting-point and anchor for learning new concepts, thereby giving meaning to the content. This requires that the context provides ‘a coherent structural meaning for something new that is set within a broader perspective’ (Gilbert, 2006, p. 960). This contrasts with more traditional approaches that cover scientific ideas first, before looking at applications. It largely depends on teachers how innovative teaching materials will be implemented in classroom practice. Context-based education innovation brings new requirements for teachers in order to be able to implement the new teaching materials as intended. They have to get acquainted with a new vision, pedagogy and content according to the context-based approach. Although many teachers are already actively involved as co-designers of new teaching materials, via a so-called symbiotic implementation strategy, the majority of teachers is still not involved in designing activities, which implies that they have limited or no experience with context-based teaching materials. This means that teachers are implementing materials which are not familiar to them and for which they were offered no or very limited professionalisation activities. When using the new context-based teaching materials, their teaching activities, routines and beliefs about teaching, are still based on experiences with the current curriculum, are no longer adequate and they should adapt these for teaching according to a new pedagogy. What these teachers know about and do with the materials is mostly based on their interpretations of the materials and is influenced by the specific requirements of the situation in which they are using those materials. Aims of the research The research described in this dissertation has several aims centred on a better understanding of the implementation process of context-based materials and enhancing the design and the implementation process. First, it seeks to deepen insight into the characteristics of context-based teaching materials that facilitate or hinder their implementation by teachers. Second, it focuses on the requirements for teachers that facilitate or hinder the adequate implementation of innovative teaching materials. The insights into the interaction between teachers and teaching materials should contribute to the design process of new teaching materials and to pre- and in-service teacher development. Development and testing of a framework for case analysis Investigating the implementation process of context-based teaching materials from the perspective of both the designer and the teacher places a number of demands on the method for conducting this research. The literature, however, did not provide ready-made instruments. Analysis of the implementation process should allow the following: 1. describing the coherence of the design of the teaching materials with its specific context-based features, 2. investigating the characteristics of teachers who are implementing the materials, taking into account their knowledge, beliefs, skills and the development of those, 3. evaluating the actual implementation in classroom practice, in order to compare this with the designers’ intentions for the materials. In chapter 2 a framework for analysis is developed and tested. It comprises two dimensions. The first dimension describes the translation of the envisioned context-based curriculum into actual classroom practice in terms of Goodlad’s concept ‘levels of curriculum representations’ (Goodlad, 1979; Van den Akker, 1998). The framework focuses on the intended curriculum (made concrete in teaching materials), the perceived curriculum, the operational curriculum, and the relations between these. The second dimension describes aims, strategy and teaching activities on Van Hiele’s three ‘levels of thinking and acting’ (Van Hiele, 1986; Korthagen & Kessels, 1999). On the ground level, activities are based on intuitive, unconscious routines linked to experiences with concrete situations previously encountered. On the descriptive level, teachers describe their teaching activities and are conscious of these. They organize their activities in such a way that they serve operational goals. In the framework, the teaching-learning strategy is described using instructional functions derived from Vermunt and Verloop (1999) and Shuell (1996). On the theoretical level, teachers reflect in a process of theory formation and application. In the framework, Roberts’ concept of curriculum emphasis is applied to characterise these theory-based conceptions on chemistry education (Roberts, 1982, 1988). Each so-called emphasis consists of a coordinate set of viewpoints and messages which involves the view on chemistry itself, its place in society, the student and the teacher.A procedure for data collection and subsequent analysis is structured according to the framework. It comprises four steps, each of which focuses on one row of the framework, i.e. on one curriculum representation. Analysis of the teaching materials (step 1) is used to study the designers’ intentions and to check coherence in design, a prerequisite factor for adequate implementation. On basis of this analysis critical episodes are selected which are used as foci to structure the data analysis in step 2 and 3. Step 2 focuses on the operational curriculum: how the materials are implemented in classroom practice and the extent to which there is alignment with the intended curriculum. Step 3 focuses on the perceptions of the teachers regarding the teaching materials and their use in practice. Finally, a bird's eye view is taken of all nine cells to assess the orrespondence between the cells. This provides indications whether implementation was adequate and which factors were hindering or facilitating this. The case studies (chapter 3-5) Using the framework, the classroom implementation of teaching materials from two context-based chemistry curricula is studied. The first involves the ‘concept-context-approach’ for upper secondary chemistry education in the Netherlands (Chapters 3 and 5). The second involves the ‘Chemie im Kontext’ project (CHiK) in Germany (Chapter 4). The materials from these curricula are selected on the basis of being representative for the ‘ideal designs’ of current developments in context-based chemistry education.Implementation by teachers without previous experience of context-based education In chapter 3 three parallel case studies are described on the classroom implementation of a context-based chemistry unit on inquiry learning by three senior chemistry teachers. Analysis of the teaching materials confirms the expected coherent design, although some episodes are found to be critical for implementation. In all the cases it appears an important facilitating factor for implementation that instructions are embedded in the design of the materials, with a focal event as context that is well understood by the teachers and that is unambiguously present in the design from the very beginning of the unit. All three teachers implemented the unit as intended from the moment the inquiry projects (the focal event) started. It was found that support to teachers was effective on ground level, in such a way that teachers intuitively knew what was expected of them.Implementation by teachers with different degrees of experience of context-based education In chapter 4 four cases are described on the classroom implementation of ‘Chemie im Kontext’ teaching materials by four senior teachers with different degrees of experiences in context-based chemistry education. The CHiK teaching materials are based on a four-phase design model, which is closely related to the three key features of ‘Chemie im Kontext’; context-based learning, the development of basic concepts and student-oriented learning activities. It was found that a crucial aspect of CHiK, taking students’ questions and using these as an orientation for the following lessons, was difficult to implement. Therefore, extensive teacher professional development is required on this aspect to show teachers its value and to increase their repertoire of teaching activities. Implementation by teachers with previous experience of the context-based unit in use. In chapter 5 two cases are investigated to understand how senior teachers with some experience of context-based education implement teaching materials in their classroom practices. It is examined to what extent the context-based unit (similar to the unit in chapter 3) is implemented adequately by the teachers who used this particular unit also in previous year(s). This study shows how the factors ‘competence in understanding’ and ‘value congruence’ influence the implementation process. In light of their experience, the teachers in this study tend to adapt the materials to their own preferences with different degrees of success. Findings and conclusions In chapter 6 a reflection is given on the methodological aspects of this research. The adequacy of the procedure for data collection and data analysis is evaluated, together with the theoretical basis of the analytical framework. This is followed by a reflection on the meaning and relevance of the findings. The nine case studies resulted in the identification of four factors, each influencing implementation in a specific way. Factor 1: Coherent design of the teaching materials A prerequisite factor for adequate implementation is a coherent design of the materials. This means that rationale and emphasis, teaching guidelines regarding the teaching-learning strategy and presumed teacher activities all are in alignment. Incoherence in the design and an ambiguous presentation of the intentions will cause confusion for teachers and students and hence will hinder adequate implementation. \Factor 2: Support and skills on a concrete level Implementation as intended will be hindered if instructions do not adequately support teachers in the implementation of concrete teaching activities and if teachers do not have a repertoire of routine-based teaching activities available that are adequate for context-based teaching. Without an adequate implementation of concrete teaching activities, the intended teaching-learning strategy cannot be deployed and the intended emphasis cannot be realised. Factor 3: Competence in understanding the materials Teachers must have the competence to understand the rationale and strategy to be able to implement and to adapt the materials as intended. This is defined as the ability to recognise the intended emphasis, the intended teaching-learning strategy and its implications for classroom practice. Even though teachers might have succeeded the first time in implementing the materials adequately, this does not guarantee that this remains the case during the following cycles of application if the competence to understand the materials is lacking. Whereas in the first cycle teachers tend to follow ground-level instructions, in the second cycle they will be more inclined to follow their own directions instead of the instructions. Factor 4: Value congruence Value congruence is defined as coherence between teachers’ and designers’ values in aspects regarding teachers’ role, students’ learning, content, and how this content should be taught. A teacher might understand the intentions underlying the materials, but if these intentions conflict with his/her conceptions of chemistry education, implementation might result in a classroom practice more closely linked to personal conceptions than to designers’ intentions. In classroom practice, teachers often have to interpret the characteristics of the situation and to decide, within a split second, how to act. In this situation their values concerning chemistry education will guide their decisions and is it especially important that value congruence exists between those of the teacher and those represented in the materials. Recommendations The chapter also gives recommendations for five groups of stakeholders to whom the research in this dissertation is relevant: teachers, teacher educators, curriculum designers, educational researchers, and policymakers.