Teachers’ research literacy for science teaching

Project TRELIS aims to prepare research literate science teachers who are able to integrate research-based knowledge with classroom experience to develop rich science learning opportunities for pupils.
Teacher education environments at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences collaborate in TRELIS with Lillestrøm Municipality (through schools and a STEM centre) and other partners including VilVite science centre, University College Copenhagen and the Universities of Oslo, Durham and Nord. Practitioner groups (i.e. pre- and in-service teachers, teacher educators and educational authorities) will be involved in developing the project.

TRELIS will use case studies and design-based research approaches to study the conditions for and implementation of research-rich science education in teacher education departments and schools. It will look at the structure and content of teacher education programmes and how student teachers encounter science education research at different stages of their education. Specifically, students’ and teacher educators’ viewpoints on the role of research assignments (notably the master’s thesis) will be investigated. Furthermore, the new school science curriculum will be a starting point for research-based development of teaching and learning activities within two focus areas: inquiry-based learning and programming and modelling. This development will take place in the teacher education institutions, in practice schools and local collaborative learning communities based in Lillestrøm and VilVite.

TRELIS is uniquely positioned to document and develop teacher education and science education in Norway when a new, 5-year teacher education programme and new school science curricula are implemented. TRELIS will strengthen the research groups involved, provide new PhD-qualified scholars and contribute to the discussion about quality teacher education and science education.

TRELIS is organised in six work packages:

WP 1: Project management

WP 2: Mapping and developing the conditions for Research-Based Science Teacher Education (RBSTE)

WP 3: Students’ research assignments

WP 4: Inquiry-based learning in science teacher education

WP 5: Programming and modelling in science teacher education

WP 6: RBSTE through collaborating learning networks

TRELIS project description submitted to the Research Council of Norway