Supporting teachers to enact science talk in early elementary classrooms: The role of professional learning and curriculum

• In the current study, we engaged in design-based research focused on supporting teachers to enact high-quality science talk in kindergarten through grade two (K-2) classrooms. • In Cohort One, teachers participated in professional learning (PL) opportunities but continued to use their business-as-usual (BAU) curriculum materials. • The PL alone, when paired with BAU curricula, as helpful for teachers to learn about science talk, but did not create a facilitative context for teachers to enact ideas from the PL in their classrooms. • After data analysis and iterative changes based on these findings, in Cohort Two, teachers used the Name curriculum while they engaged in the same PL opportunities that were used in Cohort One. • Overall, our findings indicate that when teachers used a curriculum with aligned PL (Cohort Two), there was higher quality science talk than when teachers engaged with the PL alone (Cohort One). • These findings add to those from other research that suggest that teachers may need both curriculum materials and PL to help them enact new and complex instructional practices in their classrooms. Current science standards suggest that, starting in kindergarten, science instruction should focus on providing opportunities for students to make sense of the world around them. In early elementary classrooms, this type of sensemaking necessitates the use of talk to allow children to explain what they are figuring out. Facilitating high-quality science talk is new and challenging for elementary teachers. In this study, we engaged in design-based research to explore the role of professional learning and educative curriculum materials in supporting teachers to enact high-quality science talk. We found that having aligned curriculum and professional learning focused on science talk better supported teachers than professional learning alone. This work has implications for designing systems of support to shift instructional practices.