Developing and implementing an Einsteinian science curriculum from Years 3 to 10: Part B Teacher upskilling: response to training and teacher's classroom experience

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that short professional development programs can effectively train teachers from diverse backgrounds to deliver Einsteinian physics, thereby modernizing science curricula and enhancing teacher confidence and knowledge.

Contribution

It provides evidence that targeted teacher upskilling programs successfully improve pedagogical content knowledge and attitudes towards modern physics curricula.

Findings

Teachers effectively delivered Einsteinian physics lessons.

Teacher knowledge and confidence increased after training.

Positive attitudes towards curriculum modernization were observed.

Abstract

Recent years have seen a growing interest in modernizing physics and science curricula around the world. While many science educators and curriculum developers design instructional resources to successfully introduce topics of Einsteinian physics to young learners, it is clear that successful curriculum development needs to rest on successful teacher professional development.Teachers with or without science backgrounds were trained in short professional learning workshops or completed micro-credential courses. The courses enabled teachers to gain knowledge and confidence to deliver the Einstein-First program. Detailed lesson plans and instructional videos for teachers define the lessons. Questionnaires were used to collect data, and teacher interviews were conducted following the various teacher training programs. The research results show that teachers effectively deliver the Einsteinian physics programs and that their subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge increased. In addition, teacher attitudes were favorable towards modernizing the physics curriculum. We conclude that it is feasible to upskill teachers from diverse backgrounds in Einsteinian physics and break the cycle that has inhibited the modernization of school curricula.