Pupils recognize the physics as one of the most boring, not understandable, irrelevant and therefore one of the most “hated” subjects across Europe. On the other hand, the physics is the fundament for further studies of science and technology that enrol lower number of students than needs of the society are. The inquiry based learning (IBL) practice, where pupils are actively involved in experimentation and become responsible for construction of own knowledge, improves pupils attitudes and motivation for physics. Therefore, the main goal of 3DIPhE with a long-term effect is an improvement of IBL approach in physics by training the teachers-practitioners in practitioner inquiry (PI). PI is the approach that allows for verification of personal practice teachers believe in as successful, or to find reasons for the lack of success in a different situation. Teachers are trained in collecting evidence, the analysis of this evidence and in drawing conclusions based on material data. Through this process, the physics teacher acquires evidence for the quality of her/his IBL approach in the teaching and learning process in the physics classroom. Such evidence substantiate reasons for application of IBL and offer a moral support to additional work required for this approach. Evidence can be used to persuade authorities at the school and other stakeholders for the benefits of IBL and sometimes to the IBL related expenses. Nevertheless, the teacher that has deeply inquired her/his own practice is more competent than the teacher who does not do any inquiries on her/his actions. The teacher that regularly inquires her/his practice is also more motivated to correct or improve her/his actions. Consequently, we expect that after the 3DIPhE experience, the teacher will use the IBL more frequent, resulting in improved pupils’ attitude toward physics and pupils’ learning outcomes. Several activities in the project lead to this goal. Teachers join professional learning groups (PLG) established in each country. PLGs are under supervision of coaches that help teachers to frame the inquiry problems, decide on modes of collecting evidence, the collected data analysis and in drawing conclusions. The coaches are focused on education and training of teachers to become independent inquirers of their own practice and to use the PI as a regular practice in self-evaluation. The coaches of PLGs are during the transnational training by sharing expertise among partners and in local training transfers of expertise in each partner institution. They are also trained in educational design research (EDR) that provides strategies and procedures for collecting evidence for PI problems, in various approaches to PI and in modes of coaching PLGs, where PI results are planned and discussed through entire life if the project. The outcomes of the projects are manifold. At the beginning of the project the expertise needed for successful implementation of PI by teachers and the consequent continuous improvement of their approaches in teaching physics is dispersed among partners. Some partners are experts in IBL, some in PI, some in coaching PLGs and some in EDR. At the end of this project all partners’ institutions will have experts in all dimensions of inquiry and this expertise is later used to train and coach the teachers in PI of IBL in physics classroom. Besides, “The Training of Coaches” and “The PI Training” including e-books openly available, will be developed and prepared by the end of the project. The shared expertise and the materials allows partners to implement the training courses for active teachers as well as to offer Erasmus+ KA1 courses beyond 3DIPhE. Partners will consciously include the new expertise to trainings of pre-service and in-service teachers providing the long-term sustainability of 3DIPhE results and their application in school practice. The projects results are comprised in four intellectual outputs: a) “The EDR Framework” of design principles for three dimensions of inquiry: the IBL practice in physics, the PI and the inquiry of coaching PLGs process, in a form of a PDF document. b) “The Training for Coaches” that includes: strategies for coaching PLGs based on the overarching framework provided by EDR. c) “The PI Training” for physics teachers using IBL with “The PI Guide” as an e-book on strategies for collecting evidence-based on the EDR as well. d) The set of IBL materials for teaching and learning physics called “Classroom Examples” as a source for a start of PI and reporting good practices examples as an e-book. Intellectual outputs of 3DIPhE project are the basis for sustainable use of 3DIPhE results after the end of the project. Trainings and the modes of support for teachers and other stakeholders improve the pupils’ attitude toward and learning of physics and are transferable to other STEM disciplines at all levels of pre-university education on the long-term scale.
In this report the following vocabulary and shortages are used: 3DIPhE - Three Dimensions of Inquiry in Physics Education - project’s title and acronym IBL -Inquiry based learning PI - Practitioner inquiry PLC - Professional learning community PLCT - PLC of teachers EDR - Education design research Partners – institutions, members of 3DIPhE consortium Teachers – active in-service teachers not employed at partners’ institutions Pupils – learners in elementary, lower and upper secondary classes taught by teachers Students – learners in higher education, that were not the target audience in this project TPM - Transnational partner meeting VTPM Virtual TPM Evidence for all activities in the project are found in the robust archive: http://archive3diphe.splet.arnes.si/ password (3diphepartners). The link leads to the page with links to all documents organized in similar bundles as project activities. The page is best accessible by Edge or Explorer, Firefox sometimes complains regarding its protection. Whenever an evidence that support claims is mentioned, we simply add information “archive” to the report. The main objective of this project was to empower the teachers for IBL through inquiring their own practice as a part of continuous work in PLCTs and to develop courses for training other teachers. How was it done? - PLCTs were organized by partners and during the meetings of PLCTs the teachers were trained in carrying out and supervising activities of students during IBL units - the first dimension of inquiry focused on pupils. - Next, they were trained in PI, which enabled the teachers to inquire their own practice and the quality of IBL lessons - the second dimension of the project focused on the teacher. - Finally, partners while working with teachers in PLCTs, designed and supervised activities that supported the training of teachers, learned and trained to become effective coaches/facilitators of such groups - the third dimension of inquiry focused on partners. The project evolved in two cycles. In the Cycle 1 each partner formed one or more PLCTs with 3 to 10 teacher. Teachers met for workshops, they were trained and at the same time they tested materials developed by partners. Results of teachers’ work were presented at small local multiplier events in each country. At the end of the Cycle 1, partners analysed the collected data and reflected their learnings. The plan for workshops in the Cycle 2 was developed on the basis of experience from the 1st cycle. New PLCTs, called novice PLCTs, were formed and to them many of participants of small local multiplier events joined. Most of the partners continued to meet with the PLCTs from the first cycle, called expert PLCTs for convenience. The training in the Cycle 2 was more efficient and structured due to the experience from the first cycle. The learnings of partners during both cycles resulted in three training courses planned to subtle details and supported by materials. Unfortunately, COVID 19 prevented the pilot implementation of the courses, except the not initially planned IBL course. Instead, four Volumes in an eBook form, publicly available, comprise our learnings. Volume 1: Inquiry Based Learning to Enhance Teaching. Volume 2: Practitioner Inquiry in Context of Inquiry Based Learning Volume 3: Facilitate Reflect Learn: Building Professional Learning Communities Volume 4: Inquire Share Learn: Educational Design Research for Teacher Professional Learning The Volume 1 focuses on IBL, the Volume 2 on PI, the Volume 3 on coaching PLCTs. All books contain the theoretical background, detailed schedule for the training course, the guide for its implementation, and materials for the training adapted or developed in the project. Besides, each Volume contains also specifics for its content, for example, Volume 1 contains IBL units contributed by teachers. Finally, Volume 4 focuses on EDR, which developed criteria for project’s goals, and case studies of work in PLCs. As courses are prepared to subtle details, their implementation is planned for the spring/summer/fall 2021, if the end of pandemic relaxes travelling limitations. Components of courses will partners include also in their work with pre-service teachers. More than 100 teachers of physics, math, and elementary school teachers were trained in IBL and PI, which is the most direct impact of the project. Indirectly, these teachers implemented the new knowledge in one or two generations of their learners. As most of the teachers are subject teachers, they are in contact with 100 – 150 different students each. Opinions of students were collected in presentations at local multiplier events and at the Final conference and were highly positive. Finally, each partner has now, after the project a team of coaches, proficient in all three levels of inquiry, able to implement all developed trainings and apply methods of EDR to future project.