Secondary science teachers' knowledge base when teaching science courses in and out of their area of certification

This study examined the similarities and differences in experienced secondary science teachers' planning, teaching, and reflecting on their teaching, when teaching in their science area of certification and when teaching in another science area. The study also focused on the influence of these teachers' content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge on their planning, teaching, and reflecting. Experienced teachers were observed and interviewed while teaching classes in their science area of certification, and in another science area they were teaching for the first or second time. Both similarities and differences in teaching were found in the two areas for all three teachers. For example, their planning and postlesson reflections were similar in both areas. In the interactive phase of teaching more differences were observed. Many aspects of their teaching resembled that of expert teachers in other studies. In the unfamiliar science area, the teachers sometimes acted like novice teachers. However, they were able to draw upon their pedagogical knowledge to provide a framework for their teaching in both science areas. Their wealth of pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge for general science topics, seemed to sustain them in whatever content they were teaching. Recommendations for further study and implications for teacher education are discussed.     

Teaching primary science: emotions, identity and the use of practical activities

This paper uses cultural historical activity theory to examine the interactions between the choices primary teachers make in the use of practical activities in their teaching of science and the purposes they attribute to these; their emotions, background and beliefs; and the construction of their identities as teachers of science. It draws on four case studies of science lessons taught over a term by four exemplary teachers of primary science. The data collected includes video recordings of science lessons, interviews with each teacher and some of their students, student work, teachers?? planning documents and observation notes. In this paper, we examine the reflexive relationship between emotion and identity, and the teachers?? objectives for their students?? learning; the purposes (scientific and social) the teachers attributed to practical activities; and the ways in which the teachers incorporated practical activities into their lessons. The findings suggest that it is not enough to address content knowledge, pedagogy and pedagogical content knowledge in teacher education, but that efforts also need to be made to influence prospective primary teachers?? identities as scientific thinkers and their emotional commitment to their students?? learning of science.     

Conceptualizing a teaching experience on the development of the idea of evolution: An epistemological approach to the education of science teachers

This article describes and discusses an epistemological approach to the education of science teachers that emphasizes similarities in knowledge and modes of acquiring it among children, scientists in their historical contexts, and student teachers. Advanced courses in science-teacher education aim to go beyond the attainment of scientific knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge toward the building of a guiding theory of action for teaching. This theory needs to be rooted in a broad understanding of what science is about, what is regarded as scientific knowledge, and how it is generated and evolves. These questions are of an epistemological nature. At the same time, theories of action for teaching science are also connected with questions on individual ways of learning and of acquiring meaning. Such questions are often answered by both cognitive and developmental psychologists. Even here epistemological consideration are essential. Constructivist epistemology, which describes the process of constructing knowledge both in individuals and among scientists, can serve as a basis for generating such a guiding pedagogical theory of teaching. Educating science teachers in the light of radical versions of constructivism can enhance this process. This article describes in detail a course entitled “The Growth of Thinking on Evolution,” which was taught to third-year student teachers and which illustrates the approach and discusses the rationale behind it.     

Science teaching in science education

Reading the interesting article Discerning selective traditions in science education by Per Sund, which is published in this issue of CSSE, allows us to open the discussion on procedures for teaching science today. Clearly there is overlap between the teaching of science and other areas of knowledge. However, we must constantly develop new methods to teach and differentiate between science education and teaching science in response to the changing needs of our students, and we must analyze what role teachers and teacher educators play in both. We must continually examine the methods and concepts involved in developing pedagogical content knowledge in science teachers. Otherwise, the possibility that these routines, based on subjective traditions, prevent emerging processes of educational innovation. Modern science is an enormous field of knowledge in its own right, which is made more expansive when examined within the context of its place in society. We propose the need to design educative interactions around situations that involve science and society. Science education must provide students with all four dimensions of the cognitive process: factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge. We can observe in classrooms at all levels of education that students understand the concepts better when they have the opportunity to apply the scientific knowledge in a personally relevant way. When students find value in practical exercises and they are provided opportunities to reinterpret their experiences, greater learning gains are achieved. In this sense, a key aspect of educational innovation is the change in teaching methodology. We need new tools to respond to new problems. A shift in teacher education is needed to realize the rewards of situating science questions in a societal context and opening classroom doors to active methodologies in science education to promote meaningful learning through meaningful teaching.     

The republic of science education research

Conclusion In this paper I have tried to examine the possibility of a free and independent republic of science education in which all are committed to the pursuit of truth, freedom, quality and equality. The task will undoubtedly be a difficult one, given the constraints and the external forces which are likely to keep us in the wilderness. But the way to the promised land is, I believe, to develop individually and collectively, a commitment to questioning the justice as well as the effectiveness of what we are doing. To count as science education research, the work we do must contribute to the education of teachers. It must help sensitize teachers to the nature of the problems which confront them. It must help them to make professional judgments about what is justifiable, feasible and worth trying, given what we know of the effects of different strategies. And it must contribute to the development and refinement of the common-sense knowledge and pedagogical theories by means of which science educators make sense of the phenomena of science education and which guide their actions.     

Beginning science teacher cognition and its origins in the preservice secondary science teacher program

The objectives of this study were to (a) identify the major tenets of a preservice secondary science education program as expressed by science education faculty, (b) identify knowledge structures that beginning secondary science teachers have constructed about the teaching and learning of science, and (c) identify the correlatives that exist between the first two objectives. The study was grounded in the postulates of teacher cognition in that teachers construct their own schema from their experiences in order to comprehend, plan for, and respond to the dynamics of their classroom. This qualitative study consisted of interviews and observations of beginning science teachers, interviews with science education faculty, and an analysis of the course syllabi of that faculty. Methods of single and cross-case analytic induction were combined to analyze the data. Based on the data, it may be concluded that aspects of the program, such as student-centered learning, cooperative learning, general pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge, were adopted into the schema of the beginning teachers; the degree of adoption appeared to be linked to the individual's most significant learning experiences and the constraints of the school situation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 633–653, 1997.     

Information Communication Technology (ICT) integration in a science education unit for preservice science teachers; students' perceptions of their ICT skills, knowledge and pedagogy

There is an expectation that new science teachers will be able to effectively use a range of information communication technology (ICT) related resources inthe science classroom in order to enhance student learning. All school systems in Australia are in the process of providing teachers with ICT professional development and infrastructure. This paper outlines a range of initiatives designed to integrate ICT in a compulsory science education unit for students enrolled in a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education. An action research model based on constructivist principles was used to evaluate the effectiveness of modelling, open-ended co-operative group activities and authentic assessment in enabling students to enhance their ICT skills, knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in a science education context. Multiple sources of data were generated including a pre and post unit questionnaire that was analysed using Rasch modelling. The questionnaire determined students' perceptions of their preparedness to teach using ICT. The findings of this research suggest that some skills warranted greater attention in the unit, but students' pedagogical knowledge and knowledge and critique of ICT resources were enhanced over the duration of the unit.     

A teacher education program in elementary science that connects content,methods, practicum,and student teaching

Conclusion To educate teachers who have adequate content knowledge, possess the necessary skills to implement effective teaching strategies, and are confident and have positive attitudes toward science and the teaching of science, alternative teaching models are necessary. The University of Wyoming model provides such an alternative. Based on observations and interviews of students and the mentor teachers, it is apparent that it has created a very positive response in prospective teachers who have participated in it. The Wyoming model provided an effective process to train future elementary teachers. Even though it focused on science, the basis is general enough that it could be successfully extended to other disciplines with only minor modifications; however, all of the major components of the Wyoming model are vital to its success. Content courses designed specifically for prospective teachers have been successful in giving the students the content knowledge and providing opportunities for effective modeling. The seminars provide strong mechanisms to connect content to methodology and make the content relevant to teaching and to children. Because of their modeling, peer coaching, and sharing their time and students, the mentor teachers are essential partners in helping the university educate future teachers. Finally, the cooperation of all partners—district administrators, teachers, science content and science education university faculty, and students—is necessary to provide early and continuous experiences to prospective teachers. This material is based upon work supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Grant No. TTE-8851105). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the NSF.     

Enhancing pedagogical content knowledge in elementary science

In this study, five elementary teachers and a university researcher developed and implemented problem‐based learning (PBL) experiences in the context of science teaching and learning. Collaborative inquiry was adopted as a methodology, while a variety of qualitative methods were used to examine the engagement and development of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). A PCK model is used as a framework to examine teachers’ professional knowledge growth in areas such as orientations to teaching science, knowledge of science curriculum, knowledge of students’ understanding of science, knowledge of assessment, and knowledge of instructional strategies. Implications for how teachers may be supported when adopting instructional innovations are discussed.     

Post-primary science teachers' perceptions of primary science education

Post-primary science teachers in Victoria were asked to express views about primary science curriculum design and implementation. They were also asked about the value of continuity between primary and post-primary science education. The post-primary teachers generally had favourable attitudes to primary science education and considered that cooperation would be useful-though it is not common at the moment. However, the data revealed a considerable range of opinion. Post-primary science teachers' views about primary science curriculum are similar to those of primary teachers themselves, but many post-primary teachers would place more emphasis on formal or textbook knowledge. Post-primary teachers see a number of systemic problems in implementing primary science education but their positive perceptions suggest the value of encouraging more structured links. The notion of continuity across the two sectors was well supported. Specializations: science education policy and practice, teacher education, school effectiveness. Specializations: science education, teacher education in science.     

Beginning secondary science teacher induction: A two‐year mixed methods study

Those who study secondary science teachers are often concerned with preservice or in‐service teacher development. Science teacher educators have acknowledged that this focus is limited, as the induction years of beginning teachers are an important component of teacher development. This mixed methods study focuses on the induction years of beginning content specialists, with the intention of adding to the literature in this underexamined area. The secondary science teachers in this study were followed during their first and second year of teaching in order to understand the changes in their beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and practices as a group, and as they participated in different induction programs. Analysis by induction program revealed that first year teachers who participated in science specific induction programs strengthened their beliefs, PCK, and practices. By the end of the second year, regardless of program, most of the teachers shared similar beliefs and PCK. However, the teachers in the science specific induction programs continued to enact more interactive learning environments that had more investigations and laboratories than did their peers in the other induction programs. For those who work with beginning science teachers, this study suggests that the induction of science specialists is an important area of work. It also explores the complex process of induction, and calls for more research into how beginning secondary science teachers learn and what types of induction experiences can best support beginning science teachers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 1199–1224, 2011     

Probing the amalgam: the relationship between science teachers’ content,pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge

ABSTRACT

This Special Issue aims to present evidence about the relationships between content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK); the development of these types of knowledge in novice and experienced secondary science teachers; and how CK, PK and/or PCK impact students’ learning. Since Shulman’s introduction of PCK as the feature that distinguishes the teacher from the content expert, researchers have attempted to understand, delineate, assess and/or develop the construct in pre- and in-service teachers. Accordingly, empirical findings are presented that permit further discussion. Outcomes permit post-hoc examination of a recent, collectively described, ‘consensus’ model of PCK, identifying strengths and potential issues. As we will illustrate, the relationship between CK, PK and PCK is central to this; that is, probing the hypothesis of pedagogical content knowledge as an ‘amalgam’ of content and pedagogical knowledge.     

Elementary student teachers' science content representations

This purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which three prospective teachers who had early opportunities to teach science would approach representing science content within the context of their student teaching experiences. The study is framed in the literature on pedagogical content knowledge and learning to teach. A situated perspective on cognition is applied to better understand the influence of context and the role of the cooperating teacher. The three participants were enrolled in an experimental teacher preparation program designed to enhance the teaching of science at the elementary level. Qualitative case study design guided the collection, organization, and analysis of data. Multiple forms of data associated with student teachers' content representations were collected, including audiotaped planning and reflection interviews, written lesson plans and reflections, and videotaped teaching experiences. Broad analysis categories were developed and refined around the subconstructs of content representation (i.e., knowledge of instructional strategies that promote learning and knowledge of students and their requirements for meaningful science learning). Findings suggest that when prospective teachers are provided with opportunities to apply and reflect substantively on their developing considerations for supporting children's science learning, they are able to maintain a subject matter emphasis. However, in the absence of such opportunities, student teachers abandon their subject matter emphasis, even when they have had extensive background and experiences addressing subject‐specific considerations for teaching and learning. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 443–463, 2002     

The use of the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth for understanding the development of science teachers’ knowledge on models and modelling

Models play an important role in science education. However, previous research has revealed that science teachers’ content knowledge, curricular knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge on models and modelling are often incomplete or inadequate. From this perspective, a research project was designed which aimed at the development of beginning science teachers’ knowledge in this domain. In this project, the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth [Clarke, D., & Hollingsworth, H. (2002). Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(8), 947–967] was used as the basic framework for the establishment of the relationships between the different data gathered in characterising teachers’ knowledge on models and modelling. In this paper, the whole framework of the research is presented, as is some evidence of how powerful this framework was in helping us to understand the development of the teachers’ knowledge.     

Inquiry-based science education: towards a pedagogical framework for primary school teachers

Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) has been promoted as an inspiring way of learning science by engaging pupils in designing and conducting their own scientific investigations. For primary school teachers, the open nature of IBSE poses challenges as they often lack experience in supporting their pupils during the different phases of an open IBSE project, such as formulating a research question and designing and conducting an investigation. The current study aims to meet these challenges by presenting a pedagogical framework in which four domains of scientific knowledge are addressed in seven phases of inquiry. The framework is based on video analyses of pedagogical interventions by primary school teachers participating in open IBSE projects. Our results show that teachers can guide their pupils successfully through the process of open inquiry by explicitly addressing the conceptual, epistemic, social and/or procedural domain of scientific knowledge in the subsequent phases of inquiry. The paper concludes by suggesting further research to validate our framework and to develop a pedagogy for primary school teachers to guide their pupils through the different phases of open inquiry.     

Stimulated recall — An effective methodology for examining successful teaching in science

Previous research by the authors (Meade, McMeniman, Wilson, Kanes and Davey, 1991) indicated the effectiveness of the stimulated recall (SR) methodology for examining the knowledge bases underlying the classroom actions of effective teachers in secondary mathematics and science. This study investigates more fully the robustness of the SR technique with special reference to: (i) making explicit the implicit theories of teaching; and (ii) the ways in which teachers construe effective teaching and learning. It probes the teaching practices of one effective high school science teacher, and compares the findings to another such teacher from the 1991 study. The conclusions made are that despite its labour intensive and time consuming nature, SR is a useful methodology for gaining profound insight into the implicit theories and beliefs of teachers, and the relationship between beliefs and actions. In particular, these theories and beliefs mainly concentrate on general pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.     

Identifying Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK)

The application of information and communication technology in instruction is highly emphasized in the contemporary education of science teachers. This paper hence aims to explore science teachers’ perceptions of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) addressing teachers’ perceptions of the affordances of technology application in instruction. A total of 222 pre- and in-service science teachers in Singapore were surveyed. Structural equation models analysis was utilized to examine the model of TPACK involving the seven factors of technological knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK), technological content knowledge (TCK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), as well as synthesized knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content (TPC). The results confirm the seven-factor model and indicate that the science teachers’ perceived TPC significantly and positively correlated with all the other TPACK factors. This paper further reveals the relationships between the science teachers’ perceptions of TPACK and their demographic characteristics such as teaching experience, gender, and age. The findings indicate that female science teachers perceive higher self-confidence in pedagogical knowledge but lower self-confidence in technological knowledge than males. Further, female in-service science teachers’ perceptions of TK, TPK, TCK, and TPC significantly and negatively correlate with their age.     

A comparative study of attitudes to the aims of practical work in science education in Egypt,Korea and the UK

This paper reports a comparative study of attitudes to the aims of practical work given by science teachers from Egypt, Korea and the UK. The ratings of aims given by specific groups of teachers can be used to characterize those groups. The characterizations can be interpreted from knowledge of the conditions in which teachers work. The choice of aims reflects pedagogic practice. The UK teachers have attitudes to aims for practical that reflect current concerns in the UK for investigations. The Korean teachers show a positivistic attitude to science and aims for practical which can be traced back to the emphasis on factual recall and illustrative practicals. The Egyptian teachers show concerns in their choice of aims for practical work which can be traced back to the lack of practical work in current Egyptian science education. All three groups express a common attitude to the aims of practical work that reflect an acknowledgement of the methods by which scientists make new knowledge. It is conjectured that the differences between the groups of teachers might be best understood using an evolutionary approach to the fit of teachers' ideas to their conditions of work.     

The ambiguous influence of high-stakes testing on science teaching in Sweden

ABSTRACT

Tests convey messages about what to teach and how to assess. Both of these dimensions may either broaden or become more uniform and narrow as a consequence of high-stakes testing. This study aimed to investigate how Swedish science teachers were influenced by national, high-stakes testing in science, specifically focusing on instances where teachers’ pedagogical practices were broadened and/or narrowed. The research design is qualitative thematic analysis of focus group data, from group discussions with Swedish science teachers. The total sample consists of six teachers, who participated in 12 focus group discussion during three consecutive years. Findings suggest that the national tests influence teachers' pedagogical practice by being used as a substitute for the national curriculum. Since the teachers do not want their students to fail the tests, they implement new content that is introduced by the tests and thereby broaden their existing practice. However, when this new content is not seen as a legitimate part of teachers' established teaching traditions, the interpretation and implementation of this content may replicate the operationalisations made by the test developers, even though these operationalisations are restricted by demands for standardisation and reliable scoring. Consequently, the tests simultaneously broaden and narrow teachers’ pedagogical practices.     

Not a stale metaphor: the continued relevance of pedagogical content knowledge for science research and education

Recently, theorists have raised concerns that pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has become “a stale metaphor” that disregards diversity and equity, offers little to help teachers address students’ misconceptions, and portrays knowledge as “in the head” versus in practice. We refute these notions using grounded theory to specify ways one 7th-grade science teacher enacted PCK to advance student learning. With the definition of PCK as knowledge at the intersection of content and teaching, we utilised a framework for science PCK to explore instructional decision-making. Interviews conducted over three years revealed specific ways the teacher enacted PCK by designing and delivering instruction built on each of the seven conceptual science PCK components. The teacher enacted PCK to plan and deliver instruction that was responsive, adaptive, and considerate of changing needs of students and the changing classroom landscape. She infused PCK into instructional decision-making, instructional interactions, and mentoring of a student teacher, modelling the translation of educational theory into practice and habits of mind necessary for expert teaching. This enactment actively refutes Settlage’s critiques, and depicts PCK as a vibrant and effective stance for teaching that enhances learning.