This paper will feature case study research that describes the implementation difficulties that four high school chemistry teacher face while applying Modeling Instruction techniques in their classrooms. Modeling Instruction is characterized by the development of understanding through cooperative inquiry and collective discourse on a path from concrete to abstract (Wells et al., 1995).Modeling Instruction was developed at the University of Arizona and has a strong research base for the potential benefit of the curriculum when implemented with fidelity (Hestenes, 2000). The difficulties in transforming a classroom from traditional methods to one which focuses on the use of Modeling in instruction will be thoroughly investigated through the stories of each of the participants. The study follows them through the initiation of the project in the spring into the professional development in the summer, initial use in the fall term, a follow-up work shop, and finally back into the classrooms.  The participants were investigated through the use of interviews and observations. The enlightening findings highlight the difficulties teachers had in aligning the standards, developing a scope and sequence, and their beliefs about student ability.

High School chemistry teachers' implementation of modeling instruction � a case study

248th National Meeting (2014)

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