CONCERNS-BASED ADOPTION MODEL DIMENSIONS IN SCIENCE INSERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHER CHANGE AND STUDENT ATTITUDES
Abstract
This investigation applied the concerns, use, and configuration dimensions of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to the design and implementation of science inservice training for 31 kindergarten through ninth grade teachers. In this study, teachers' pretraining Stages of Concern (SoC), Level of Use (LoU), and Innovation Configurations (IC) data were placed on the Best Fit Matrix to determine teachers' most common training needs. Matrix use identified training interventions matched to teachers' diagnosed needs. These actions were then written into a training script and implemented during six, two and one-half hour, training sessions conducted over a seven week period of time for a total of 15 hours. In addition to the structured activities, teachers completed and logged 14 hours of personalized tasks related to their perceived unique science needs and personal priorities. An additional component of this training study yielded the Our Science Test and determined the science attitudes of students whose teachers were being trained. The statistical techniques employed to test the hypotheses of this investigation included the Chi-square Test for Independence and the McNemar Test for the Significance of Changes. Significant at the .05 level were the following findings: (1) A significant difference was found between pretraining and posttraining concerns among subjects. (2) A significant directional change in teachers' SoC from early developing to later developing concerns was determined. (3) Among teachers assigned to teach science, a significant difference toward increased use of innovation components during training was identified. In summary, this study applied diagnostic data obtained from CBAM measures to individualize science inservice training for pre high school teachers. During training, teachers completed personalized activities to meet their unique science needs. These teachers modified and applied the Our Science Test and determined students' science attitudes. The findings of this research supported continued use of SoC and IC dimensions to design training. Further, the Best Fit Matrix and the Our Science Test were shown to have been useful tools in the management of data-based training.
Subject Area
Teacher education
Recommended Citation
MERRICK, JAMES DALE, "CONCERNS-BASED ADOPTION MODEL DIMENSIONS IN SCIENCE INSERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHER CHANGE AND STUDENT ATTITUDES" (1986). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8624495.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8624495
