Relationship between science knowledge levels and beliefs toward science instruction held by preservice elementary teachers

Aspects of science background knowledge and attitudes toward teaching science were examined among preservice elementary teachers. The results indicated a low level of science knowledge, a negative relationship between science knowledge and attitude toward teaching science, and a marked lack of confidence toward teaching science among the prospective teachers. Some interesting paradoxes were also found. Recommendations concerning preservice preparation, inclusion of academic science coursework, and collaborative efforts between college departments are offered.     

岗位任职教育中理科教员的实践能力培养

本文以岗位任职教育中,理科任课教员的实践能力培养为主题,分析了加强对岗位任职教育教员实践能力培养重要性的认识,以及岗位任职教育教员实践能力培养的主要内容,提出了岗位任职教育教员实践能力培养的主要方法和途径。     

A longitudinal investigation of the science teaching efficacy beliefs and science experiences of a cohort of preservice elementary teachers

ABSTRACT

This paper assesses the relationship between participation in two tertiary science courses and the science teaching efficacy beliefs (STEBs) of one cohort of preservice elementary teachers over a four-year period. Two Type II case studies were conducted within the courses. Data were collected through 26 administrations of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B and semi structured interviews. Results showed that participation in the subjects covaried with increases in the participants’ STEBs. These increases in STEBs remained durable for two years. Implications for these findings are discussed within the paper.     

Teachers in action research: assumptions and potentials

Research literature has long indicated that action research may stimulate practitioners themselves to actively evaluate the quality of their practice. This study is designed to report the use of action research for the development of early years professional practice by analyzing the pre‐project and the post‐project video‐filmed teaching events. The finding was that action research might support knowledge development in the teacher profession. However, the teacher's ability to accommodate outside knowledge might be limited by one's inside knowledge. The study helps to clarify the assumptions and potentials of action research for teachers learning to teach.     

Bridging theory and practice in Norwegian teacher education through action research

Handling the relationship between theory and practice is seemingly an endless challenge in Norwegian teacher education, and bridging theory and practice is highlighted whenever discussions about improvement of teacher education are raised. This article contributes to this discussion by shedding new light on the relationship through an analysis of empirical findings recorded in a subject-oriented action research project. The project was conducted as part of the subject Religion, Philosophies of life and Ethics integrated into teacher education at the University of Stavanger in 2008/09, and its name was ‘Teaching about Religious Diversity in School – Applying and Developing an Interpretive Cultural Approach to Religious Education’. As the name indicates, the project has tried out a particular approach to religious education. The tryout has been done by a community of practice. In this article I am asking whether findings from the project are pointing towards pedagogical approaches possible to categorize on a meta-level, and in which way these detected approaches shed new light upon the relationship between theory and practice in teacher education.     

金工实习创新教育对指导教师的要求

创新教育是时代的要求,培养创新人才需要创新型教师,金工实习创新教育对指导教师的素质提出了新的要求,作为实施金工实习创新教育的最能动因素的指导教师必须能够从认识上、思想上、方法上、能力上和对学生成绩的评价方式上有一个改变和提高.     

Preparing teachers as allies in Indigenous education: benefits of an American Indian content and pedagogy course

The study explores relationship building and improvements in knowledge, skills, and dispositions of pre-service teachers enrolled in an Indigenous education content and pedagogy methods course. The Teaching American Indian Students in the Elementary Classroom course stands alone from other diversity education offerings at the University of Minnesota Duluth and is a required learning experience. Pre-service teachers are provided with essential knowledge and learning opportunities that facilitate success in working with Indigenous students, and helping mainstream students learn about Native history, peoples, and communities. The evaluation study was conducted by an Indigenous faculty member interested in learning how non-Native teacher education students felt they were achieving target knowledge, skills, and dispositional goals. Three separate groups of teacher education students completed both pre and post online surveys as a part of a three-year mixed methods evaluation study. The study shows significant gains made by pre-service teachers in each of the target areas, and affirms that methods coursework in American Indian education can lead to more interculturally competent teacher candidates. Helping teacher education students develop the requisite abilities and dispositions to fulfill Native American education objectives is contributory to developing future teachers as competent professionals and allies in Indigenous and diversity education.     

The development of elementary teacher identities as teachers of science

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the contributions of pre-service teachers’ memories of science and science education, combined with their experiences in a STEM-focused teacher preparation programme, to their developing identities as elementary school teachers of science. Data collected over three years include a series of interviews and observations of science teaching during elementary teacher preparation and the first year of teaching. Grounded within a theoretical framework of identity and using a case-study research design, we examined experiences that contributed to the participants’ identity development, focusing on key themes from teacher interviews: memories of science and science instruction, STEM-focused teacher preparation programme, field experiences, first year of teaching, and views of effective science instruction. Findings indicate the importance of exposure to reform strategies during teacher preparation and are summarised in main assertions and discussed along with implications for teacher preparation and research.     

Making formative assessment discernable to pre‐service teachers of science

The purpose of this pragmatic action research study was to explore our re‐conceptualization efforts in preparing pre‐service teachers to guide the inquiry process with formative assessment and subsequently use the understandings to improve our teacher preparation program. The process was guided by two questions: to what extent did course re‐conceptualization efforts lead to a more informed understanding of formative assessment by pre‐service teachers and did strategies enacted in the re‐conceptualized methods course foster or hinder pre‐service teachers' understanding of formative assessment? Data from this study support the following findings: (1) a substantial pre‐ to post‐methods course difference was realized in the pre‐service teachers' understanding of formative assessment; (2) explicit and contextualized approaches to formative assessment in the methods course led to increased understandings by pre‐service teachers; (3) an implicit approach led to improvements in course structure but did not foster pre‐service teachers' understanding of the reflexive nature of formative assessment; and (4) a field‐based case study on elementary science teaching both hindered and fostered our efforts with formative assessment. This study yields implications for pre‐service teacher education on formative assessment. To foster pre‐service teachers' knowledge and skills, we suggest explicit instruction on formative assessment combined with case studies, field experiences, and ongoing reflection. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 402–421, 2010     

对师范院校学生教育实习的探索与思考

我国教育实习伴生于我国师范教育的成立。虽然研究者对教育实习的界定不尽相同,但都认同教育实习是师范院校的重要课程,是教师教育的重要组成部分。随着师范教育的发展,我国教育实习模式经历了仿日、仿美、仿苏、应用型等数次变革。与基地式、游击式、委托式、分散式教育实习模式相比,顶岗实习模式更能体现教育实习的特性,具有较高的价值取向。     

How teachers become action researchers in Pakistan: emerging patterns from a qualitative metasynthesis

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how teachers become action researchers in the context of Pakistan in view of the attempts by the Ministry of Education to reconceptualize teachers as researchers. A metasynthesis of 20 action research theses by MEd students of a private university as part of their program requirements illustrates that teachers found action research to be both complex and messy. The dual role of the teacher and researcher was difficult to balance, and teachers carried the double burden of bringing about change and creating valid knowledge in schools where the prime concerns were syllabus completion and the passing of examinations. Supervision support to enhance skills of reflection and observation is required. The study shows that teachers can learn to undertake action research provided they are offered strong support. The way forward for these reform efforts is to educate the relatively small number of teacher educators in action research to enable them to offer support to pre‐service and in‐service teachers. An additional means to bring about this change is to encourage the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to enforce the curriculum guidelines that include action research in the teacher education curriculum.     

Lesson study for accessible science: Building expertise to improve practice in inclusive science classrooms

The Lesson Study for Accessible Science (LSAS) project created middle school teams comprised of both science and special education teachers who engaged in collaborative work to improve instruction in inclusive classrooms. The intervention is based on Lesson Study, a professional development approach that originated in Japan, which supports the systematic examination of practice and student understanding. Using an experimental design, teams of teachers were randomly assigned to the LSAS intervention or to a wait‐list comparison group. The results of this study suggest that science and special educators in the LSAS intervention were able to generate more accommodations for students with learning disabilities, and they increased their ability to set an instructional context and adapt an instructional plan to meet science learning goals for all students in an inclusive classroom. They did not, however, show significant increases in their knowledge of science content or learning disabilities. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1012–1034, 2012     

Learning in the practicum: engaging pre-service teachers in reflective practice in the online space

It is argued that online discussion is a useful tool for creating opportunities for learning in teacher education. In a project designed to improve the practicum in rural areas, researchers placed pre-service teachers (PSTs) in two different moderated online discussion forums: an unstructured personal blog space and a structured threaded discussion forum where discussion topics guided them to reflect on their practicum experiences in relation to theoretical components of their studies. Findings indicated a marked difference in the contributions made to each form of online discussion with significantly greater participation in the unstructured blog format. Using Kreber and Cranton’s hierarchy of reflection, analyses of both forums found that PSTs rarely engaged in high-level reflection. Examination of lecturer involvement in the forums suggests that their contributions did not sufficiently encourage PSTs towards optimum critical reflection. These results leave the researchers considering ways in which the practicum experience can better promote reflective practice in this crucial, component of teacher education.     

Closing the gap between the theory and practice of teaching: implications for teacher education programmes in Hong Kong

The gap between the theory and practice of teaching is an issue of concern in teacher education. Although researching this gap is not new, few studies have been conducted in Hong Kong. It is worth investigating the contemporary Asian models of teacher education that can provide reference to the international literature. This paper examines this theory–practice gap by reporting a study that researched the inconsistencies between student teachers' best teaching strategies and their most commonly employed ones. Specifically, we investigated: (1) the considerations that contribute to the inconsistencies in the student teachers' conceptions of teaching; and (2) the enhancing factors of the teacher education programme which help to close the gap between the theory and practice of teaching. Through examining the interview data, the findings revealed three main dimensions of consideration attributing to the inconsistencies in the conceptions of teaching: pre‐training experience, teaching context and student needs. These considerations lead to expansive or constraining impacts on the student teachers' selections of teaching strategies. Influences from the teacher education programme that might close this gap are identified. Implications for improving teacher education programmes are also discussed.     

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.     

Analysis of design and delivery of critical incident workshops for elementary school English as a foreign language teachers in community of practice

Language teachers can uncover new understanding of the teaching and learning process through reflecting on critical incidents [Richard, J.C., and T.S.C. Farrell. 2005. Professional Development for Language Teachers. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press]. Based on the data analysis of workshop handouts, observation notes, and interviews, this study analyses three critical incident workshops designed and delivered to 19 elementary school English teachers in Taiwan in terms of design, participants’ learning, strengths, and suggestions. The study has the following findings. First, the participants moved from knowing nothing about critical incidents or mazes to writing up, discussing, and analysing critical incidents in collaborative reflective practice. Most importantly, the workshop facilitator fostered a safe and trusting environment for participating teachers to discuss critical incidents freely and combat their isolation. Five elements are recommended to be integrated into the design and delivery of critical incident workshops.     

Student-teachers as researchers: towards a professional development orientation in teacher education. Possibilities and limitations in the Greek university

In this paper we present and discuss the action research we conducted with the main purpose to investigate the proper ways to introduce action research to our student-teachers in the university so as to empower them in a lifelong professional development perspective. Although the obstacles we faced were many, it seemed possible and beneficial for our students to get involved in real action research projects in the framework of an undergraduate course. They had the chance to appreciate the theory and practice link, to investigate their implicit theory, to construct collective knowledge and to participate in reflective practices.     

The effect of problem-based learning on the metacognitive awareness of pre-service science teachers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) on the metacognitive awareness of pre-service science teachers. In the study, an experimental design with pre-test/post-test control group was used. A total of 51 junior pre-service science teachers participated in the study. The study was carried out over 10 weeks and within the scope of an environmental science course. During the study, lessons in the experimental group were processed using a PBL approach while lessons in the control group were processed using a traditional teaching approach. Data were collected through a personal information form and Metacognitive Awareness Inventory. Data were then analysed using PASW Statistics 18 (SPSS Inc.). The findings of the study revealed that PBL could be an effective intervention to promote metacognitive awareness towards procedural knowledge, planning and debugging. The results are discussed based on the findings of the study.