Nurturing Confidence in Preservice Elementary Science Teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in personal science teaching self-efficacy (PSTE), outcome expectancy (STOE), and science conceptual understanding and relationships among these in preservice teachers. Seventy preservice teachers enrolled in science teaching methods courses participated in this study. PSTE, STOE, and science conceptual understanding increased significantly during participation in the course. The study established that novice learners with minimal prior knowledge couldn't be expected to understand and employ core concepts in their learning schema without extensive guidance. The relationship between science learning confidence and science teaching confidence has not been theoretically delineated in the area of science teacher education. Findings suggest that there may be important connections between the two for preservice teachers that would be fruitful areas for future research.     

Making the Hidden Explicit: Learning About Equity in K-8 Preservice Science Education

Preservice teachers in a K–8 science methods course used guided video reflection to examine their interactions with children during science teaching. This inquiry approach helped preservice teachers identify and respond to gaps between their beliefs and intentions about teaching all children and their enactment of those beliefs. The experience of teaching a science lesson and then viewing it multiple times through a critical framework provided an opportunity for preservice teachers to recognize hidden assumptions, unexamined behaviors, and the unintentional meanings they may have conveyed to children. This encouraged them to think more critically about their roles as teachers in creating spaces where all children have access to quality science learning experiences.

Using Historical Nonfiction and Literature Circles to Develop Elementary Teachers’ Nature of Science Understandings

Explicit instruction of the nature of science (NOS) may be problematic if the NOS is portrayed as either a solely a cognitive or discursive endeavor, overlooking other aspects of epistemology, such as aesthetic ways of knowing. Here the aesthetic stance refers to individual’s responses during reading as they create links between the text and their own lives, prompting personal and emotional connections. From an aesthetic orientation, exploring historical nonfiction science texts via literature circles allows alternative possibilities for participants to create personal connections to the NOS. This article presents practical techniques and theoretical rationales for teaching the NOS using literature circles and concluding thoughts regarding narrative pedagogy and research possibilities associated with this instructional approach in elementary science teacher education.     

Pre-Service Elementary Teachers'' Perceptions of Factors in an Holistic Methods Course Influencing their Confidence in Teaching Science

Lack of confidence towards science is a major factor in the avoidance of teaching science at elementary school. This paper reports the results of a survey that asked 28 pre-service elementary teachers what they believed contributed to their confidence towards science and the teaching of science during a second year science unit where an holistic teaching/learning approach was taken. The holistic nature of the unit was based on a model that considered six major factors to be important influences on the confidence of the pre-service teacher. Using median values, and ranking from the most to least important factor influencing their confidence, the pre-service teachers identified practicum, teacher educator, pedagogical content knowledge, learning environment, assessment and reflection. Factors within pedagogical content knowledge, ranked from most to least important, were science pedagogy, science activities, children's views of science, science content knowledge and investigating scientifically. The wide variability in responses highlighted that no single factor was perceived to be a major contributor to the pre-service teachers' confidence, but rather a balanced mix was necessary. Implications for pre-service elementary science education units are discussed.     

Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Biotechnology of Elementary Education Preservice Teachers: The first Spanish experience

Due to the important impact that biotechnology has on current Western societies, well-informed critical citizens are needed. People prepared to make conscious decisions about aspects of biotechnology that relate to their own lives. Teachers play a central role in all education systems. Thus, the biotechnological literacy of preservice teachers is an important consideration as they will become an influential collective as future teachers of the next generation of children. The attitudes toward science (and biotechnology) that teachers have affect their behavior and influence the way they implement their daily practice of science teaching in school. This study analyzes the attitudes and knowledge of Spanish preservice teachers toward biotechnology. We designed a new survey instrument that was completed by 407 university students who were taking official degree programs in preschool and primary education. Our results point out that although they are aware of biotechnology applications, topics concerning the structure of DNA, management of genetic information inside the cell, genetically modified organism technology and the use of microorganisms as biotechnological tools were not correctly answered. According to our attitude analysis, Spanish preservice teachers could be defined as opponents of genetically modified product acquisition, supporters of biotechnology for medical purposes and highly interested in increasing their knowledge about biotechnology and other scientific advances. Our results show a positive correlation between better knowledge and more positive attitudes toward biotechnology. A Spanish preservice teacher with positive attitudes toward biotechnology tends to be a student with a strong biology background who scored good marks in our knowledge test.     

Jordanian Preservice Primary Teachers' Perceptions of Mentoring in Science Teaching

Quality mentoring is fundamental to preservice teacher education because of its potential to help student and novice teachers develop the academic and pedagogical knowledge and skills germane to successful induction into the profession. This study focused on Jordanian preservice primary teachers' perceptions of their mentoring experiences as these pertain to science teaching. The Mentoring for Effective Primary Science Teaching instrument was administered to 147 senior preservice primary teachers in a university in Jordan. The results indicated that the greater majority of participants did not experience effective mentoring toward creating a supportive and reflexive environment that would bolster their confidence in teaching science; further their understanding of primary science curriculum, and associated aims and school policies; help with developing their pedagogical knowledge; and/or furnish them with specific and targeted feedback and guidance to help improve their science teaching. Substantially more participants indicated that their mentors modeled what they perceived to be effective science teaching. The study argues for the need for science-specific mentoring for preservice primary teachers, and suggests a possible pathway for achieving such a model starting with those in-service primary teachers—much like those identified by participants in the present study—who are already effective in their science teaching.     

Discovering Plate Boundaries in Data-integrated Environments: Preservice Teachers' Conceptualization and Implementation of Scientific Practices

Drawn from the norms and rules of their fields, scientists use variety of practices, such as asking questions and arguing based on evidence, to engage in research that will contribute to our understanding of Earth and beyond. In this study, we explore how preservice teachers' learn to teach scientific practices while teaching plate tectonic theory. In particular, our aim is to observe which scientific practices preservice teachers use while teaching an earth science unit, how do they integrate these practices into their lessons, and what challenges do they face during their first time teaching of an earth science content area integrated with scientific practices. The study is designed as a qualitative, exploratory case study of seven preservice teachers while they were learning to teach plate tectonic theory to a group of middle school students. The data were driven from the video records and artifacts of the preservice teachers' learning and teaching processes as well as written reflections on the teaching. Intertextual discourse analysis was used to understand what scientific practices preservice teachers choose to integrate into their teaching experience. Our results showed that preservice teachers chose to focus on four aspects of scientific practices: (1) employing historical understanding of how the theory emerged, (2) encouraging the use of evidence to build up a theory, (3) observation and interpretation of data maps, and (4) collaborative practices in making up the theory. For each of these practices, we also looked at the common challenges faced by preservice teachers by using constant comparative analysis. We observed the practices that preservice teachers decided to use and the challenges they faced, which were determined by what might have come as in their personal history as learners. Therefore, in order to strengthen preservice teachers' background, college courses should be arranged to teach important scientific ideas through scientific practices. In addition, such practices should also reflect the authentic practices of earth scientists such as use of historical record and differentiating observation versus interpretation.     

Developing Science Pedagogical Content Knowledge Through Mentoring Elementary Teachers

Elementary teachers are typically hesitant to teach science. While a limited knowledge of science content is a reason for this, limited science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has emerged as another reason in recent research. This study constitutes two case studies of a professional development program for elementary teachers involving mentoring by a university professor. The mentor took the role of a critical friend in joint planning and teaching of science. The study examines the nature of the mentoring relationship and reports the type of teacher learning that occurred, with a particular focus on the teachers’ development of science PCK.

Team Experiences for Science and Social Studies Preservice Teachers

Becoming an effective literacy learner requires a bit of slowing down and appreciating the reflective nature of reading and writing. Literature circles support this instructional direction because they provide opportunities for immersing students in discussions that encourage their personal responses. When students feel their personal responses are nurtured and respected, they develop confidence to grow beyond status-quo thinking and to engage in critical perspectives on meaning making. These reflective practices from personal to critical are important ingredients for effective literacy learning.     

Collaborative Effort to Develop Middle School Preservice Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge

Abstract

This article describes reflections of two mathematicians and a mathematics teacher educator who collaborated on the development and implementation of courses (probability and statistics connections, number concept connections, and middle school mathematics methods) for middle school mathematics preservice teachers. The instructors of the courses, two in mathematics and one in mathematics education, worked together to more explicitly link course materials, assignments, and the pedagogical approaches. Collectively, the courses were designed to address the five components of preservice teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching (PT-MKT), and to model effective teaching practices. Using their collective experiences co-planning and implementing these course adjustments were made in the subsequent year. The instructors were pleased by their implementation and student outcomes in all three courses.

We describe how each component of the PT-MKT framework was approached in these courses and discuss challenges experienced by the instructors, who were part of a larger effort to develop and implement a middle school teacher preparation program. The information shared is based on data collected as part of a program evaluation effort, and is bolstered by the instructors’ recollection of events. Overall, the instructors enhanced the curricula and their instructional practices and found that the attention placed on developing PT-MKT support the mathematical development of middle school mathematics preservice teachers.     

Elementary preservice teachers’ opinions about parental involvement in elementary children's education

Although parent–teacher interaction is a key factor for children's education, little attention has been paid to this issue in teacher education programs. This study explores and examines the opinions of elementary preservice teachers about parental involvement in elementary children's education. While a total of 223 preservice teachers from a large research university in the southeast of United States participated in the quantitative part, twelve preservice teachers within the same sample who were at the end of their student teaching participated in the qualitative part of the study. Study results suggested that teacher education programmes where parental involvement instruction and activities are integrated into the courses help preservice teachers become better prepared and carry positive opinions toward parental involvement.     

Science Curriculum Components Favored by Taiwanese Biology Teachers

The new 1–9 curriculum framework in Taiwan provides a remarkable change from previous frameworks in terms of the coverage of content and the powers of teachers. This study employs a modified repertory grid technique to investigate biology teachers' preferences with regard to six curriculum components. One hundred and eighty-five in-service and pre-service biology teachers were asked to determine which science curriculum components they liked and disliked most of all to include in their biology classes. The data show that the rank order of these science curriculum components, from top to bottom, was as follows: application of science, manipulation skills, scientific concepts, social/ethical issues, problem-solving skills, and the history of science. They also showed that pre-service biology teachers, as compared with in-service biology teachers, favored problem-solving skills significantly more than manipulative skills, while in-service biology teachers, as compared with pre-service biology teachers, favored manipulative skills significantly more than problem-solving skills. Some recommendations for ensuring the successful implementation of the Taiwanese 1–9 curriculum framework are also proposed.     

From cohort to community in a preservice teacher education program

It is often suggested that student teachers be placed in cohorts during their preservice program. In this paper we describe how we implemented a cohort model and examine the effects on our student teachers. We found there were many positive effects, such as a high level of participation in whole class and small group activities, greater awareness of the value of collaboration, and greater willingness to take risks in collegial relationships and in the practicum. However, the approach proved to be quite demanding for the faculty; strong institutional support will be needed if the model is to be widely implemented.     

Helping Preservice Teachers Learn to Teach for Understanding in this Era of High-stakes Early Education Reform

As early childhood education becomes more regulated through a range of education reforms and mandates, early childhood teacher educators are seeking ways to prepare their preservice teachers to address these policy constraints through appropriate teaching practices that foster learning with understanding. Using the National Research Council’s conception of learning as a framework for analysis, this article considers strategies to achieve this goal by first presenting findings from a case study that examined the training of a sample of preservice teachers who were both educated in high-stakes learning classrooms as well as taught to be early educators in these same environments. This article then uses these findings to the make case for practical and political approaches to teaching that can assist teacher educators in preparing their students for this regulated field of early education.     

The Design of Inclusive Education Courses and the Self‐efficacy of Preservice Teacher Education Students

This study examines whether participation in a 13‐week undergraduate inclusive education course covaried with an improvement in the self‐efficacy of preservice elementary education teachers. We sought to determine whether self‐efficacy was influenced differentially by the type of field‐based placement experienced by students in the course. The results showed that an improvement in student self‐efficacy co‐varied with participation in the inclusive education course, although the field‐based placement did not differentially affect self‐efficacy at a statistically significant level.     

Factors Affecting Science Teaching Efficacy of Preservice Elementary Teachers

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Using a Field Trip Inventory to Determine If Listening to Elementary School Students' Conversations,While on a Zoo Field Trip,Enhances Preservice Teachers' Abilities to Plan Zoo Field Trips

This study investigated whether listening to spontaneous conversations of elementary students and their teachers/chaperones, while they were visiting a zoo, affected preservice elementary teachers' conceptions about planning a field trip to the zoo. One hundred five preservice elementary teachers designed field trips prior to and after listening to students' conversations during a field trip to the zoo. In order to analyze the preservice teachers' field trip designs, we conducted a review of the literature on field trips to develop the field trip inventory (FTI). The FTI focussed on three major components of field trips: cognitive, procedural, and social. Cognitive components were subdivided into pre-visit, during-visit, and post-visit activities and problem-solving. Procedural components included information about the informal science education facility (the zoo) and the zoo staff and included advanced organizers. Social components on student groups, fun, control during the zoo visit, and control of student learning. The results of the investigation showed that (a) the dominant topic in conversations among elementary school groups at the zoo was management, (b) procedural components were mentioned least often, (c) preservice teachers described during-visit activities more often than any other characteristic central to field trip design, (d) seven of the nine characteristics listed in the FTI were noted more frequently in the preservice teachers' field trip designs after they listened to students' conversations at the zoo, and (e) preservice teachers thought that students were not learning and that planning was important.     

Preparing More Confident Preservice Elementary Science Teachers: One Elementary Science Methods Teacher's Self-Study

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Science Education in Early Childhood Teacher Education: Putting Forward a Case to Enhance Student Teachers' Confidence and Competence

New Zealand is moving towards increased qualification requirements for early childhood educators. There is an underlying assumption that there is a correlation between quality early childhood education, teacher qualifications and quality practices in teaching and learning. Two fields of literature, early childhood pedagogy and science specific pedagogy, are reviewed briefly to provide a framework with which to consider why student teachers' attitudes, misunderstandings and misconceptions in science can limit their ability and willingness to create quality teaching and learning opportunities. The study reported in this paper highlights, in general, that early childhood student teachers' subject knowledge in science was poor. It also emerged that the student teachers were unaware of how little they knew and how this might affect their ability to provide appropriate science experiences for young children.     

人文素质教育对理工科教师提出的新课题

随着大学生的人文素质的不断提高，对高校教师的人文素质提出一晚高要求。理工科教师人文底子相对较薄，为适应大学生人文素质教育的深化，必须做理论上的明白人，做实践中的创新者，做一个高品位的人师。