| To improve and sustain science teaching and learning in the elementary grades, experts recommended school districts afford time in the day for science instruction, secure the necessary resources for an investigative classroom, and provide teachers with increased professional development opportunities that target content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and confidence in teaching science (e.g. Buczynski & Hansen, 2010; Brand & Moore, 2011; NSB, 2010). In particular, researchers recommended teachers receive quality professional development that is sustained over time and embedded in the real world of the classroom (e.g. Buczynski & Hansen, 2010; Cotabish & Robinson, 2012).;The purpose of this dissertation was to examine changes in elementary teachers' science teaching perceptions, concerns, and science process skills during and after participation in a STEM-focused professional development intervention involving embedded support using peer coaching. The positive effects of sustained, embedded professional development programs on science instruction have been documented by multiple research studies (e.g. Buczynski & Hansen, 2010; Cotabish, Dailey, Hughes, & Robinson, 2011; Duran & Duran, 2005; Levitt, 2011); however, few studies have investigated the effects after removal of the professional development support (Johnson, Kahle, & Fargo, 2007; Shymansky, Yore, & Anderson, 2004). By examining the changes across three years (including one year after the conclusion of the professional development intervention), the researcher in the present study considered the dosage of intervention needed to bring about and preserve significant changes in the participant teachers.;To measure the impact of the intervention on teachers, the researcher used quantitative data supported by qualitative interviews. Results indicated that changes in science teaching perceptions were realized after one year or 60 hours of intervention; however, it took two years or 120 hours of intervention to see significant changes in teachers' science process skills. Of particular significance, the changes in teachers' science teaching perceptions, concerns, and science process skills held constant one year after removal of the professional development support. |
