PROFILES - Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science
The PROFILES project aimed at disseminating Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE). To achieve this, the PROFILES partners used and conducted innovative learning environments and long-term teacher trainings.
PROFILES is short for: "Professional Reflection-Oriented Focus on Inquiry-based Learning and Education through Science" and is supported by the EU.
PROFILES promoted IBSE through raising the self-efficacy of science teachers to take ownership of more effective ways of teaching students, supported by stakeholders. The proposal innovation is through working with teacher partnerships to implement existing, exemplary context-led, IBSE focused, science teaching materials enhanced by inspired, teacher relevant, training and intervention programmes. This was undertaken by reflection, interactions and seeked to meaningfully raise teacher skills in developing creative, scientific problem-solving and socio-scientific decision-making abilities in students. The
measures of success are through (a) determining the self-efficacy of science teachers in developing self-satisfying science teaching methods and (b) in the attitudes of students toward this more student-involved approach. Dissemination
of approaches, reactions, and reflections formed a further key project target, making much use of the internet and other formats useful for sharing science teacher profiles in an interactive forum.
The project focused on open inquiry approaches as a major teaching target and payed much attention to both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of students in the learning of science. The intended outcome was school science teaching becoming more meaningful, related to 21st century science and incorporating interdisciplinary socio-scientific issues and IBSE-related teaching, taking particular note of gender factors.
PROFILES involved 22 partners from 21 different countries.
As part of the project several TEACHING/LEARNING MODULES has been developed.
Newsletters on the progress of the project are available here.
Other materials related to the project see below:
- Input from the Danish team to the international newsletter, May 2014
- Poster presentation for the Berlin conference August 2014
The International website for the project is available at http://www.profiles-project.eu
Participants:
Jan Alexis Nielsen, DSE
Claus Jessen, Klavs Frisdahl, Lærke Bang Jacobsen