AIM

There is a broad consensus that content knowledge, although essential for effective teaching, it is not sufficient. Effective science teaching requires what Shulman (1986) called pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). PCK includes such things as knowing common conceptions students bring with them to the classroom, what ideas students will struggle with, and topic-specific instructional strategies for fostering understanding.

However, by their own report, most elementary teachers do not have extensive preparation in science, and do not feel well prepared to teach the physical sciences (Banilower, Smith, Weiss, Malzahn, Campbell, & Weis, 2013). PD can have an impact on teaching (and ultimately student learning), especially if it includes a focus on helping teachers translate what they are learning to the classroom. One way to facilitate this transfer is to base the professional development on instructional materials, particularly if those materials are of high quality (i.e., content correct, based on learning theory, and provide educative supports) (Davis & Krajcik, 2005).

For these reasons, the AIM force and motion PD program was developed with three primary goals:

1. Deepen teachers’ understanding of the content, both the content their students should be expected to learn and more advanced content that they need to teach the student content well;
2. Deepen teachers’ understanding of how students learn science; and
3. Deepen teachers’ understanding of and familiarity with high-quality, easy to use, and reliable instructional materials that they could use to facilitate instruction in their own classrooms.