TRELIS aims to prepare research literate science teachers who are able to integrate research-based knowledge with classroom experience to develop rich science learning opportunities for pupils.
TRELIS aims to improve science teacher education by…
- … producing research contributing to the international knowledge base
- … building competence in the science teacher education community in Norwegian HE institutions
- … developing the content, structure and work forms in the science teacher education offered at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
TRELIS’ approach to research-based science teacher education (RBSTE) is based on Aspfors and Eklund’s (2017) distinction between explicit and implicit RBSTE and on Tatto and Furlong’s (2015) four aspects of research-based teacher education:
Two reforms in the Norwegian educational system are starting points for TRELIS. The first is the transition to a five-year education including master’s degree for primary and lower secondary school teachers and an emphasis on developing research and development capacity in the educational system through collaboration between schools and teacher education institutions (National strategy: Teacher Education 2025). The other reform is the renewal of all curricula from primary throughout secondary school, where the science curriculum particularly emphasises inquiry-based science education and programming and modelling.
TRELIS is implemented through six work packages (WP), where WPs 2 and 3 concern the implicit and explicit components of research-based science teacher education and WPs 4 and 5 look at how research-based science teacher education may be implemented in practice within the two focus areas inquiry-based science education and programming and modelling. WP 6 concerns the collaboration between schools and teacher education and looks at how collaborative learning networks of practicing teachers may implement results from educational research.
Teacher education environments at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences collaborate in TRELIS with Lillestrøm Municipality (through schools and a STEM centre) and other partners including VilVite science centre, University College Copenhagen, University of Oslo and University of Leeds.
TRELIS uses case studies and design-based research approaches to study the conditions for and implementation of research-rich science education in teacher education departments and schools. It looks at the structure and content of teacher education programmes and how student teachers encounter science education research at different stages of their education. Specifically, students’ and teacher educators’ viewpoints on the role of research assignments (notably the master’s thesis) are investigated.
The six work packages in TRELIS:
WP 1: Project management
WP 2: Mapping and developing the conditions for Research-Based Science Teacher Education (RBSTE)
WP 3: Students’ research assignments
WP 4: Inquiry-based learning in science teacher education
WP 5: Programming and modelling in science teacher education
WP 6: RBSTE through collaborating learning networks
Collaborative partners in TRELIS:
TRELIS project description submitted to the Research Council of Norway