Date of Award

Spring 4-2021

Type

Dissertation

Major

Doctor of Education

Degree Type

EdD

Department

Counseling, Foundations & Leadership

First Advisor

Gober, Deborah

Second Advisor

Lovelace, Jennifer

Third Advisor

Tyo, Brian

Abstract

Changes made to science education on the national level caused many changes for state education systems. In the state of Georgia, science education instructional leaders also saw the need for a change in the way science needed to be taught to students. Due to the need to improve science teaching and learning and to increase interest in the STEM fields, Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science were released in 2016. Science teachers were required to shift their instructional practices to teach science as a practice by engaging students in specific tasks aligned to science and engineering practices. This study focused on the perceptions of middle and high school science teachers about the implementation of the 5E Instructional Model in science education. Perceptions conceptual frameworks were used in a cohesive approach to understand the experiences middle and high school science teachers had toward the implementation process of a new instructional strategy. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted to capture teachers’ perceptions of the 5E Instructional Model and its impact during their instruction. To obtain descriptive data, virtual semi-structured interviews were conducted. Purposive sampling was used to recruit eight middle and high school science teachers. Interviews were transcribed and coded, then findings were organized into themes. Three major themes derived from the descriptive data were: (1) Provided Structure to the Teaching and Learning Process; (2) Required More Time to Develop and Implement Lessons; (3) Provided Student Centered and Hands-On Instruction. The researcher discussed the implications of the study, disseminated the findings, and provided recommendations for future studies.

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