TPE DOMAIN F: LIT.

REVIEW

Teaching Performance Expectations

Domain F: Literature Review
Lorand Irinyi
National University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

TED690 - Capstone
Instructor: Professor Clifton Johnson
June 11, 2016

TPE DOMAIN F: LIT. REVIEW

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review the article by Anil Banerjee
titled Teaching Science Using Guided Inquiry as the Central Theme: A Professional
Development Model for High School Science Teachers, published in SCIENCE
EDUCATOR. This article describes a professional development model for high school
science teachers focused on inquiry and science standards. This model requires intensive
multi-year involvement of teachers and all other personnel involved in it. This
professional development improves teachers understanding of inquiry and how to use it
in teaching science by organizing more guided inquiry labs and post-lab discussion.

TPE DOMAIN F: LIT. REVIEW

Inquiry has been incorporated into the National Science Education Standards (NSES)
because it was found to be one of the most optimal pedagogical methods that models
scientific practice, which encourages and helps students to gain deeper content
knowledge. This highlights an aspect of introducing and practicing inquiry based science
teaching that is often overlooked. Namely, that, the overwhelming majority of science
teachers, themselves, did not get a chance to learn science through inquiry when they
were students. But their students are to learn science content using inquiry, as required by
the NSES professional development standards. This demands that teachers develop their
skills related to inquiry through direct experience and practice of the process and
techniques of inquiry on a continuous basis. This in turn will help them to employ
successfully these techniques for their students in their classrooms. Banerjee, (2010)
states that Teachers need to be well versed in inquiry, but unfortunately many of them do
not get the opportunity to learn science through inquiry during their grade school and
college education (p.2). Students must be given the opportunity to learn basic science
content through the process of inquiry, as required by professional development
standards. To achieve this teachers must possess not only a solid content knowledge base
but also a sound understanding of the nature of inquiry, the central role inquiry plays in
science, as well as the processes and skills of inquiry. In order to accomplish this,
teachers must have a sound content knowledge base that includes an understanding of the
nature of inquiry, its central role in science, and the skills and processes of inquiry. As
Banerjee (2010) states The standards emphasize inquiry into teaching and learning, and
they place a reduced emphasis on lecture. These standards reinforce the expectation that
science is to be learned through investigation and inquiry rather than lecture and reading

TPE DOMAIN F: LIT. REVIEW

(p.2). This can be achieved only through dedicated, long-term professional development
for science teachers. There are numerous professional development models that have
been examined and offered in the literature, but each program, independent of the model
it follows, must not teach inquiry knowledge, but it also must assess and address
teachers core teaching conceptions and philosophies. Banerjee examined the Learn
TeachAssessInquiry(LTAI) teacher professional development model, which is a

developed and field-tested one. The central focus of this professional development model
is guided inquiry labs, and builds on these labs to elucidate and reinforce concepts and to
help understand inquiry and engage in it in the framework of various science standards.
This professional development program demands long-term commitment and intensive
involvement from teachers and everyone involved in it. The cycle to complete this
professional development program is three years. The reasons for this seeming very long
timeframe is that this model uses a form of apprenticeship through which skills are
imparted and developed. The long timeframe is for giving teachers sufficient time to
learn at their own pace and allow them to reflect on what they learned and allow them to
internalize the methods and process of inquiry and become confident and comfortable
using it in their classrooms. The major objectives of this professional development
program are based on cooperation among participants as well as developing and fieldtesting guided inquiry labs, modifying them and iteration of these steps till mastery is
achieved. In essence, participants of this professional development model learn and
practice the process of inquiry in developing their skills to teach the process of inquiry.

TPE DOMAIN F: LIT. REVIEW

References
Banerjee, Anil (2010). Teaching Science Using Guided Inquiry as the Central Theme:
A Professional Development Model for High School Science Teachers. Science
Educator, Vol.19(2), p.1-9