Effective Practices

Introduction: Based on information collected over the last two years, QuarkNet evaluators have compiled sets of effective practices for preparing and conducting associate teacher institutes and providing laboratory experiences for lead teachers. The following lists include practices we have seen to be effective at the various QuarkNet centers we have visited. As QuarkNet progresses, we expect to update these lists. For now, we hope the following will be helpful.

Teacher Research Experiences

Suggestions for Mentors
(based on information from nine QuarkNet centers)

Overview: According to the stated program goals, effective practice at the local centers is expected to include: sufficient preparation and orientation for teachers, active involvement of teachers in a research team with specific job tasks suited to their skills, in a context where they are both able to increase their knowledge of physics and technology and are supported in bringing their experience into the classroom.

Effective Practices:

  1. Goals and responsibilities
    • Be aware of and clearly articulate the QuarkNet goals. With familiarity and commitment to their QuarkNet roles and responsibilities, mentors are better able to provide and supervise a successful research experience for teachers (http://quarknet.fnal.gov/mtor_respons.shtml).
  2. Orientation and preparation
    • Adequately prepare space, resources, and other supports for teachers in anticipation of their arrival.
    • Quickly integrate arriving teachers into the workings of the center, introduce them to work colleagues and bring them up to speed on their research projects.
    • Provide access to all the information, research papers, data, and tools teacher-researchers need to get oriented and "on board" with the research ahead of time.
  3. Meeting the needs of teachers while meeting the needs of mentors and the research project.
    • Both teachers and mentors share in the negotiations for work responsibilities and research project outcomes.
    • Teachers meet with their mentors to determine the scope of their work and to choose which component of research they would like to work on
    • Teachers and mentors meet regularly (weekly or more) to discuss progress on the research.
    • Mentors provide other researchers, graduate students, or personnel to whom teachers can go for guidance if the mentor is not available.
  4. Teachers as researchers
    • mentors make sure that the teachers are authentically involved in the research, even if the teachers' physics skills are not as advanced as expected.
    • Sometimes teachers have other skills necessary to the success of the project. Encourage their participation in these areas of strength, i.e., computing, outreach to school districts.

In sum: The most successful teacher-researchers felt like an integral member of the research team, understood how their work fit into the whole, and had the supports and resources necessary to carry out their work.

Associate Teacher Institutes

Suggestions for Mentors and Lead Teachers
(based on information from three QuarkNet centers)

Overview: According to the QuarkNet proposal, after the initial summer institute and research experience, "each team of lead teachers and their mentors will establish a partnership center at their home university or research institution . . . Each center will lead a local research program for up to ten or more teachers who will join the group during the second summer . . . each receiving a three-week research experience and opportunities for ongoing communication via e-mail and discussions" (page 1). Four other components emphasized are:

  1. A program of instruction in physics content.
  2. Use of the Internet.
  3. Integrating research-based resources into the classroom.
  4. Coaching teachers in developing a more student-centered pedagogy.

Effective Practices:

  1. Using QuarkNet resources
    • At the Fermilab Summer Institute, lead teachers receive a binder that provides a great deal of information about conducting the associate teacher institutes, how to recruit teachers, and other valuable information.
    • Read through and use the resources in the lead teacher binder while planning the institute.
    • Check the QuarkNet and other center Web sites for projects, suggestions, and examples of institutes held in past years.
  2. Managing recruitment
    • In recruiting lead teachers, consider their experience and/or desire to design and run workshops for other teachers. Lead teachers need two qualities to have a successful QuarkNet experience: their potential contributions during the research phase of the QuarkNet project, and their ability to design and facilitate an institute for their peers.
    • At some centers, lead teachers visited local schools. One center found that participants in other NSF-funded teacher programs were good resources for contacts in the local region. Other good resources included local AAPT and other professional teacher organizations.
    • Plan and start recruitment as early in the school year as possible, but no later than January of the year you want to hold an Institute. Many teachers make plans for the summer during that time.
  3. Planning the Institutes
    • Planning an Institute requires significant lead time and many collaborative meetings with lead teachers worked closely with their mentors.
    • Plan to meet at least three-five times over the course of the school year prior to implementing an institute.
    • Some lead teachers and mentors divide responsibilities so that mentors are responsible for the "content" (lectures, building equipment for data collection), and teachers for "pedagogy and curriculum."
    • The strategy of dividing responsibilities works best when mentors and lead teachers actively discuss and review each others's plans before conducting the Institute.
    • Use the Web to publicize and update your plans-in-progress. Invite feedback from potential associate teachers wherever possible.
  4. Meeting diverse needs of participants
    • Knowing the associate teachers' backgrounds enables lead teachers and mentors to better target institute activities to meet the needs of the participants. Centers with effective institutes used many or all of the following strategies:
    • Gather information from associate teachers during recruitment and institute planning to identify their grade levels, personal content knowledge, and interests in HEP.
    • Elicit ongoing participant feedback during the workshop (daily) and make decisions on whether to add, change, or cut material in subsequent days.
    • Design physics content lectures to be at or just above the associate teachers' current knowledge levels.
    • Balance lectures and presentations with hands-on investigations and activities to help participants build and deepen their understanding of concepts.
    • Identify and leverage supports (food, lodging, mileage reimbursement) for participants who have to travel long distances to the institute.
    • Give participants the option of working alone or collaboratively during the institute, depending on their needs and interests.
  5. Supporting classroom transfer
    • Several centers had some good ideas about how to have participants discuss and share ideas for transfer to the classroom.
    • Give participants the opportunity to develop and review their own lessons incorporating HEP concepts while at the Institute. This is effective in a collaborative and collegial environment supported by the philosophy and the leadership skills of the lead teachers.
    • Lead teachers lead informal discussions with participants on how materials would fit into various classrooms, ranging from AP to lower level physical science.
    • Lead teachers conduct whole-group discussions of where the HEP topics would fit into the curriculum and how these mesh with the traditional AP or state-mandated curricula for physics.
    • Build or adapt a device, such as a portable detector or a software tool, that teachers can use with students to collect and analyze original data. Have at least one device (prototype or one similar to a device they will adapt or build) pre-assembled and pre-tested so that teachers can spend some time in the institute working with data.
    • Provide simple materials and tools for teachers to build their own device once they are comfortable working with the prototype.
    • Provide a support structure for teachers to collaboratively share the one device (or few devices) among many schools.
  6. Evaluating the institute and providing feedback to the project.
    • Centers, lead teachers, and associate teachers are the most important sources of information about what is working in QuarkNet and what could be improved. Send your feedback to us in whatever way is easiest to you, and use the following resources:
    • During the institute, collect daily informal feedback from participants about what's working, what questions they have, and what could be changed or improved.
    • At the end of the institute, ask participants to complete and return the evaluation instrument provided by the QuarkNet project located in the binder.
    • Provide all of your institute feedback to the central QuarkNet support staff to help us identify and disseminate good ideas for next year's institutes.