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Asia-Pacific Forum
on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 13, Issue 1, Article 3 (Jun., 2012) |
Influence of professional learning community (PLC) on learning a constructivist teaching approach (POE): A case of secondary science teachers in Bangladesh
S M HAFIZUR RAHMAN
Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, BANGLADESH
E-mail: smhrahman9@yahoo.com; smhrahman12@gmail.com
Received 2 May, 2012
Revised 30 Jun., 2012
Contents
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Problem of the Study
- Purpose and Research Questions
- Theoretical Framework
- Constructivist Views of Science Teaching and Learning
- Prediction-Observation-Explanation (POE)
- Attributes that Characterise Professional Learning Communities
- Research Method
- Strategy of Inquiry
- Research Design
- Selection of Science Topics for the Intervention
- Participants
- Research Instruments
- Data Analysis
- Results
- Teaching With an Observer Colleague
- Attending the Discussion Session
- Attending Professional Workshop
- Influences on New Teaching Approach (POE)
- Problems in using POE
- Discussions
- Implications
- Conclusion
- References
No major change has occurred up until now with regard to the teaching-learning methods of science used in Bangladesh. Teachers, in most cases, tend to teach the same things in the same ways they were taught when they were students. This study will, therefore, investigate how science teachers’ learning in a professional learning community (PLC) influences the ways in which participant teachers learn about a constructivist teaching approach (POE). In so doing, teachers also work towards forming a professional learning community within and across schools. This article presents participant science teachers' understanding after they attending an intervention. Data have been drawn from 14 voluntary participant science teachers who were formed into seven peer pairs, from seven schools in Bangladesh. Each pair of teachers was located at the same school. The findings of this research show that the use of a constructivist teaching approach (POE) encouraged participant teachers to change their teaching perceptions which had been based on a traditional (didactic) approach. The findings of this study ultimately carry implications for science teachers’ practice in using the POE and the collaborative activities empowered them to share, which expanded their capacity to develop a personal vision for their own teaching practice.
Keywords: Professional Learning; Professional Learning Community (PLC); Constructivist views of Teaching; Secondary Science Teachers; Bangladesh
