Professional Development in science summer schools: How science motivation and technology interest link in with innovative educational pathways

Abstract

Our empirical study monitored science teachers‟ motivation and technology interest within a Professional Development (PD) module in a science summer school. The first empirical measurement consisted of the Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) and the second of the Technology Questionnaire (TQ). A pre-/post-measurement recorded very high motivation and interest scores even before participation, which in a kind of ceiling effect might have caused the monitored stagnation in motivation and interest. However, science motivation and technology interest showed a close relationship, while no gender difference appeared in both scales. The inquiry-based science education (IBSE) strategy is regarded one brick to enrich teachers‟ daily classroom life, as 65.8% of the participating teachers had used IBSE already before, while after participation 60.5 % of them intended to even further increase its application in their classrooms. Within that context, motivation is regarded as one of the major positive features of IBSE to bring new life into classrooms.