Project I.D. Project Instrument Development

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Project I.D.Project Instrument Development

• Empowerment in Career Science Teachers
• Instrument Development for Exploring the
  Professional Growth Continuum
• Funded by the National Science Foundation
• Presented by
• Dr. Mary Hobbs, P.I. and Amy Moreland, M.S.
• The University of Texas at Austin

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Purpose of the Study

• This study focuses on experienced teachers in an
  attempt to identify factors that may have
  contributed to their professional growth and
  retention.
• The purpose of this research is to identify
  those pivotal experiences of career science
  teachers that have promoted their advancement
  along the teacher professional continuum and have
  helped them to persist in their careers.

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Challenges

• Much of the recent education research has focused
  on new teachers and why large numbers of teachers
  are leaving the profession.
• Few studies have focused on experienced teachers
  in an attempt to identify factors that may have
  contributed to their professional growth and
  retention.

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Research Questions

• What are those impacting events that contribute
  to teachers overall sense of empowerment?
• What professional growth experiences do teachers
  recall as having a positive and pivotal impact on
  their empowerment?
• Is there a pattern to the experiences that is
  common to all empowered career science teachers?

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Research Questions

• What, if any, is the relationship between the
  Empowerment Cycle as proposed by Hobbs (2004) and
  those pivotal professional development
  experiences?
• What are some implications for professional
  development for pre-service teachers? For new
  teachers? For mid-career teachers? For master
  teachers?
• Assuming that teachers reach a critical point in
  their careers around their ninth year, what
  professional development opportunities should be
  afforded them so that they can find the personal
  and professional fulfillment that they need to
  stay in the classroom?

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Timeline

• Year One Fifty career science teachers were
  interviewed using Behavior over Time (BOT)
  graphing techniques.
• Year Two Conduct regional focus group meetings
  with the teachers who were interviewed in Year 1.
  Survey instrument is developed and piloted.
• Year Three Online instrument is administered
  to 250 teachers.

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Methodology

• The teachers begin by telling their stories and
  drawing a behavior over time (BOT) graph which
  chronicles their experiences of empowerment
• Subsequently each constructs an overlay graph
  showing his/her perceptions of experiences with
  the dimensions of empowerment

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Sample Empowerment Graph
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Definition of Empowerment
The opportunity and confidence to act upon ones
ideas and to influence the way one performs in
ones profession.
- Melenyzer (1990)
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Six Dimensions of Teacher Empowerment -
Short (1992)

• Autonomy
• Decision Making
• Impact
• Professional Growth
• Self-efficacy
• Status

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Analyses

• Changes and patterns on the graphs are identified
  and associated with key events in the teachers
  lives
• The techniques of Narrative Inquiry and Systems
  Dynamics are employed to show connections and
  interactions

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Empowerment Model 1
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Empowerment Model 2
Arena of Personal Empowerment
Professional Development Fueling Process Personal
Maturity
Maturing Feelings of Autonomy Naive Feelings of
Freedom Opportunities for Decision-making
Impact
Arena of Organizational Empowerment
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Qualitative Analyses
Transcript
Codes
Code Frequency
Visual Coding Display

• Atlas TI Qualitative Analysis Software
• Imported and Coded 50 transcripts
• Compared Transcripts

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Results Phases of Empowerment

• Phase 1 Initiating Empowerment
• Phase 2 Increasing Empowerment
• Phase 3 Sustaining Empowerment

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Results

• During the Initiating Phase (Years 1-3) teachers
  recalled struggling with their lack of
  preparation yet growing in confidence as they
  practiced their craft in their classrooms.
• During the Increasing Phase (Years 4-8) teachers
  recalled becoming more aware of professional
  development opportunities.
• During the Sustaining Phase (Years 9) these
  teachers saw learning as a lifelong process.
• By Year 9 the teachers graphs all showed a
  leveling of empowerment, indicating different
  professional development needs for the most
  mature teachers.

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Online Empowerment Survey Example
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Online Empowerment Survey Example
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Online Empowerment Survey Example
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Online Empowerment Survey Example
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Contribution to Science Education

• The study advances understanding of what kinds
  of PD experiences are most empowering for
  teachers at various stages of their careers.

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Implication of the Study

• The most effective professional development
  offerings would target teacher needs and
  interests as influenced by the three phases of
  empowerment.

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Researcher Contact Information

• Mary E. Hobbs, Ph.D.
• Coordinator for Science Initiatives
• Texas Regional Collaboratives
• University of Texas at Austin
• maryhobbs_at_mail.utexas.edu

James P. Barufaldi, Ph.D. Principal
Investigator Texas Regional Collaboratives Univers
ity of Texas at Austin jamesb_at_mail.utexas.edu
Amy L. Moreland, M.S. Graduate Research
Assistant University of Texas at
Austin amy_moreland_at_mail.utexas.edu