**2. Researching own practice for professional development**

Over the last 100 years, many new ideas have been proposed, but few have made significant impact on the way that science is taught or learned [16]. Science education guidelines have been calling for an increase in inquiry-based instruction that situates the learning within the context of scientific process and the nature of science [17]. These curricular documents are grounded in contemporary theories of learning as an active process centered on students. Accordingly, traditional expository teaching is now regarded as inadequate and less than satisfactory for every lesson, while at the same time, a greater emphasis has been put on the role of inquiry in science teaching [17]. This requires a change of teachers' knowledge, competencies, and attitudes. Although some of these ideas have been embedded in past reform efforts, it has proven difficult for teachers to create and sustain these roles in the classroom. Many reasons have been singled out as why innovation tends to be a difficult task.

Learning to teach effectively requires strategies that haven't usually been used by teachers in their classrooms. Through their own educational experiences, and by observing good and bad teachers, student-teachers have constructed models concerning how to teach, often without reflecting on the quality of teaching, and assuming all to be equally good. Thus, personal experience issues may contribute to the conservative character of their concepts and to the development of mechanisms of resistance to change [18].

In fact, student-teachers enter ITT programs with explicit as well as implicit conceptions about their future role as teachers [19–21]. These conceptions reflect and structure the ways in which they intend to behave and interact with their students, how they assess students' learning, and how they organize and manage classrooms. Student-teachers have varying conceptions of teaching and learning, which have a profound impact on their approaches to teaching and may result in resistance to change during the process of learning to teach in ITT programs. So, in the process of learning to teach science, it is necessary to facilitate the (re)construction of conceptions about teaching and help student-teachers to change their science teaching conceptions. Feeling competent and comfortable with the new strategies will be central to involve teachers (and student-teachers) with the required changes. In addition, teachers (and student-teachers) have to construct new content knowledge and a new understanding about the curricular innovations, which is often not an easy task [22].

As it is now widely accepted in the literature on student-teacher learning, new information and knowledge presented to student-teachers in teacher education programs needs to relate to their existing conceptions in order to enable learning [5, 23]. Student-teachers are encouraged to adopt a critical perspective toward the context of their teaching and to question themselves about their didactic conceptions so as to become open to innovation and change. However, often teacher (and student-teachers) are not familiar with basic methods of research and are reluctant to be researchers. Thus, it is important that ITT training provides situations that allow for reflection about actions and the development of research competences.

Research of their practices can be an opportunity to reflect about practice in a guided and sustained way. Research of their practice can be an opportunity to reflect about practice. The idea of teachers as researchers arose from a long process of contestation; presently, there are several conceptual models [1].

Teachers as researchers of their own practice involve developing a systematic and intentional research focused on their classes and school, with the goal to professionally develop as a teacher. Research of own practice aims to solve professional problems and to increase the professional knowledge concerning those problems; and its main reference is the professional community instead the scientific community [12]. Sagor defines research of own practice as a study conducted by the teachers about their own work or about any aspect that will be a part of their work [24].

context of scientific process and the nature of science [17]. These curricular documents are grounded in contemporary theories of learning as an active process centered on students. Accordingly, traditional expository teaching is now regarded as inadequate and less than satisfactory for every lesson, while at the same time, a greater emphasis has been put on the role of inquiry in science teaching [17]. This requires a change of teachers' knowledge, competencies, and attitudes. Although some of these ideas have been embedded in past reform efforts, it has proven difficult for teachers to create and sustain these roles in the classroom. Many

Learning to teach effectively requires strategies that haven't usually been used by teachers in their classrooms. Through their own educational experiences, and by observing good and bad teachers, student-teachers have constructed models concerning how to teach, often without reflecting on the quality of teaching, and assuming all to be equally good. Thus, personal experience issues may contribute to the conservative character of their concepts and to the

In fact, student-teachers enter ITT programs with explicit as well as implicit conceptions about their future role as teachers [19–21]. These conceptions reflect and structure the ways in which they intend to behave and interact with their students, how they assess students' learning, and how they organize and manage classrooms. Student-teachers have varying conceptions of teaching and learning, which have a profound impact on their approaches to teaching and may result in resistance to change during the process of learning to teach in ITT programs. So, in the process of learning to teach science, it is necessary to facilitate the (re)construction of conceptions about teaching and help student-teachers to change their science teaching conceptions. Feeling competent and comfortable with the new strategies will be central to involve teachers (and student-teachers) with the required changes. In addition, teachers (and student-teachers) have to construct new content knowledge and a new understanding about

As it is now widely accepted in the literature on student-teacher learning, new information and knowledge presented to student-teachers in teacher education programs needs to relate to their existing conceptions in order to enable learning [5, 23]. Student-teachers are encouraged to adopt a critical perspective toward the context of their teaching and to question themselves about their didactic conceptions so as to become open to innovation and change. However, often teacher (and student-teachers) are not familiar with basic methods of research and are reluctant to be researchers. Thus, it is important that ITT training provides situations

that allow for reflection about actions and the development of research competences.

Research of their practices can be an opportunity to reflect about practice in a guided and sustained way. Research of their practice can be an opportunity to reflect about practice. The idea of teachers as researchers arose from a long process of contestation; presently, there are

Teachers as researchers of their own practice involve developing a systematic and intentional research focused on their classes and school, with the goal to professionally develop as a teacher.

reasons have been singled out as why innovation tends to be a difficult task.

development of mechanisms of resistance to change [18].

42 Science Education - Research and New Technologies

the curricular innovations, which is often not an easy task [22].

several conceptual models [1].

Zeichner and Nofke propose a four stage process for conduct a research of own practice. The first stage consists of the formulation of a research problem. The problem arises for any situation of the teacher's practice. The problem has to be clear and has to make an authentic contribution to the practice. During the second stage, the teacher as a researcher collects data. This requires a previous phase of planning the research, considering the research questions, available instruments and other resources. The third stage involves interpretation of the results and reaching conclusions. Finally, teacher as a researcher has to communicate his/her results and conclusions. This can be made formally or informally; nevertheless, this is a very important stage of the research as it allows sharing ideas, discussion different perspectives and evaluation of the research [1].

According to Sagor, there is no unique method to do this kind of research, but several. And he proposes a process consisting of four phases. The first one consists of clarifying goals of the research; at this point, the teacher as a researcher also defines validity criteria. The second phase involves theoretical articulation. At this moment, teacher develops a plan of a lesson (or a sequence of lessons), identifying key factors. Also he/she also plans the research, in order to assure that the research goals will be achieved. During the third phase, teacher implements the intervention and collects data. Finally, the fourth phase involves communication and reflection about the results of the research and also about the research itself [24].

Sagor proposes two types of researches: quasi-experimental research and descriptive research. Teachers are often involved in quasi-experimental research. Daily teachers use diverse teaching strategies. However, seldom students can achieve all defined learning goals. So teachers have to reflect on students' difficulties, raising questions such as: "What would happen if I change my teaching practice or strategy? Would students' difficulties be overcome?" These questions can be researched by means of a quasi-experimental research [24].

Descriptive research starts differently. Sometimes teachers feel that something have happened in their classes with their students or at their school, and they know that they need to do something to solve the problem. However, they do not understand the problem in the context of the school, and so they face difficulties with outlining possible strategies to solve it. Descriptive research aims at providing teacher with a rich description of the context, using operative theories for understanding it. So while in quasi-experimental research, the teacher as a researcher focuses on the efficacy of a new teaching strategy and its impact on students' learning, in a descriptive research, the teacher uses a theory to make sense of the context or a specific situation.

No matter the type of research developed, one important point is that research of own practice has always to follow quality criteria [12], such as the following ones:

