Preliminary Results of Professional Development Program for School Science Research

Abstract

Teachers need to design their courses to be as similar to real-life situations as possible as genuine learning emerges in real life as opposed to studying in class. Research-based learning is an innovative approach exploring many critical strategies for success in the twenty-first century. In it, students drive their own learning through inquiry, research, and projects that reflect their knowledge. This study aimed to compare research skills resulting from self-evaluations and from tests before and after a training program. The participants included 71 science teachers from the lower north-eastern part of Thailand who attended the Professional Development Program for School Science Research. The results from the self-evaluations indicated that the knowledge levels of research skills were highly relevant to the knowledge levels of research skills shown in the completion of the tests.