One key to the success of the Physics and Chemistry Van programs is the professional development portion. The model we follow is the model commonly adopted in training teachers to use reform-based materials. Teachers are engaged in the same process and activities that they will use with their own students. Teachers therefore become familiar with the activities and the equipment that is used in the activities. Teachers also think about the underlying pedagogy behind the activities as they progress through the inservice class. Because the teachers know their students best, they are asked to think about the issues or difficulties their students will face as they conduct the activities. In addition, teachers begin to think about the specific questions they could ask their students to address these issues. The teachers therefore think about the activities at a much deeper level than their students and usually spend just under two hours on a particular activity.
Inservice training for the Physics Van has been offered four times so far and has involved more than 40 teachers. Because of the timing of funding, the first inservice training occurred over 10 Saturdays during the spring 2003 semester. The second, third, and fourth inservice oppportunities were offered over two-week periods during summer 2004, 2005, and 2006. Courses met between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., with a working lunch, for a total of 60 hours of professional development.
The day typically begins with an Eye Opener Activity led by two experienced teachers in CPS. These are typically 10- to 15-minute activities that can be used to motivate students. After the Eye Opener Activity, the participants take a survey, or pre-test, and then begin working in groups of two on the specific Physics Van activities.
The pre-tests serve as diagnostics as well as instructional tools and precede each activity. These pre-tests indicate where difficulties may exist and therefore aid in addressing particular issues that will most likely come up during the activity. The pre-tests also act as an instructional tool in that they highlight what is to come in the activity and force the participants to think about the relevant ideas on their own, before they engage in group work. The model used attempts to foster conceptual change by eliciting ideas from the participants, helping participants confront inconsistencies between their initial ideas and observations, and then helping them to resolve the inconsistencies through the activity. Many reform efforts in physics instruction follow this approach in the classroom and have been found to be effective in promoting conceptual change.4 Teachers are encouraged to give their own students pre-tests to set the context for the activity.
After the pre-tests, teachers begin working in groups on the van activities. Van activities are worksheets with questions that guide the participant toward developing an understanding for themselves. For teachers unaccustomed to the guided-inquiry approach, the van activities provide a framework of questions as a starting point. Of course, the activities cannot replace the teacher, and the success of the activities ultimately depends on how the teacher implements the activity. Activities and the questions contained in the activities provide a scaffold for the teacher, where the level of scaffolding depends on the particular teacher.
Teachers are encouraged to play an active role in the Physics Van program and aid in the revision and development of activities. Open time during the inservice is provided for the teachers to either (1) work on adapting activities to better serve their students, (2) develop new activities using equipment at their schools or van equipment, (3) work through other activities they would like to do with their classes, or (4) investigate and work on grant proposals so that equipment can be purchased for their own schools.
New activities developed by the project participants are then shared with others in the program and are made available on the Physics Van website (www.csu.edu/ChemistryAndPhysics/csuphysvan/). It is our hope that this will create a community of teachers who share common ideas and goals. Teachers in the program have mentioned time after time that communicating and working with other teachers at different schools is extremely important to them. Almost all the teachers in the program are the only ones at their school who teach physics. Therefore, for the most part, they work in isolation. To further establish a community of teachers, the grant provides funding for academic year meetings so that teachers can continue working with each other.