Assessing Professional Development on Experimentation as a Method of Inquiry‐Based Science Teaching Framework and Principal Results

ABSTRACT The article introduces a design‐and‐effects‐framework comprising five key features of effective professional development: (1) extended Duration, (2) Content Focus of input, (3) Coherence of input with practice, (4) Collegial Participation, and (5) Active Learning. The framework's general feasibility is investigated in a proof‐of‐concept study. Additionally, the influence of a single key feature is addressed in a quasi‐experimental effectiveness study. Object of study is a professional development programme on experimentation as a method of inquiry‐based science teaching. Change variables to indicate effectiveness are (a) teachers' PCK, (b) their beliefs, and (c) their classroom practice. Two experimental conditions in the professional development programme differed in addressing Active Learning: one set of teachers used peer coaching, the other set of teachers was mentor‐coached. All teachers ( N = 36) visited three school‐internal workshops; they were visited twice in their lessons and coached on their classroom practice regarding experimentation. All teachers completed performance tests and questionnaires; a subset of teachers was videotaped in two lessons containing an experiment. Analyses show that teachers benefitted in both formats regarding content knowledge, while pedagogical content knowledge on experimentation remains constant. Teachers' beliefs on experimentation as a method of inquiry‐based science teaching improved without favouring either of the conditions. Regarding classroom practice changes surface concerning opening experimentation as well as allocation of time on phases of experimentation. Overall, classroom practice appears to be robust towards change. While peer coaching teachers develop somewhat more advantageous, the gain appears disproportionate to the added administerial effort of actualising this format.