Learning to teach science as inquiry in the rough and tumble of practice

This study examined the knowledge, beliefs and efforts of five prospective teachers to enact teaching science as inquiry, over the course of a one‐year high school fieldwork experience. Data sources included interviews, field notes, and artifacts, as these prospective teachers engaged in learning how to teach science. Research questions included 1) What were these prospective teachers' beliefs of teaching science? 2) To what extent did these prospective teachers articulate understandings of teaching science as inquiry? 3) In what ways, if any, did these prospective teachers endeavor to teach science as inquiry in their classrooms? 4) In what ways did the mentor teachers' views of teaching science appear to support or constrain these prospective teachers' intentions and abilities to teach science as inquiry? Despite support from a professional development school setting, the Interns' teaching strategies represented an entire spectrum of practice—from traditional, lecture‐driven lessons, to innovative, open, full‐inquiry projects. Evidence suggests one of the critical factors influencing a prospective teacher's intentions and abilities to teach science as inquiry, is the teacher's complex set of personal beliefs about teaching and of science. This paper explores the methodological issues in examining teachers' beliefs and knowledge in actual classroom practice. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 613–642, 2007.     

Primary school students' metacognitive beliefs about religious education

So far scholars have researched beliefs about knowledge, knowing, and learning mainly in the areas of science and mathematics and among secondary school students. In this article, we explore primary school students' metacognitive beliefs about religious education. The article reports on a study involving 656 fifth- and sixth-grade students. We investigated their metacognitive beliefs, how these beliefs interrelate, and which students agree with which beliefs. In the minds of young students 7 categories are discernible: realistic learning, the transformative power of religion, social learning, intrinsic task value motivation, learning satisfaction motivation, the teacher's empathic orientation to learning, and the teacher's respect for students' contributions. These categories and their interrelationships open up new perspectives for the construction of a metacognitive beliefs system and for an interconnected network of beliefs across domains. We also outline implications for religious education in schools.     

Less direct than you thought: Do teachers transmit math value to students through their cognitive support for understanding?

Students' valuing of subject domains is an important contributor to students' educational success. As one avenue to foster students' valuing, social-cognitive motivational theories suggest that teachers might transmit their value beliefs to students through their instructional strategies. Accordingly, the current study examined the transmission of teacher's math value to students' math value via the content-related instructional strategy of cognitive support as reported by teachers and students. Using a longitudinal dataset of 1429 students (51% males, 68% Hispanic) and their 26 teachers (48% female), manifest-latent multilevel regression analyses showed some indication that teacher's endorsement of math valuing for their students, but not their personal value beliefs, might be associated indirectly with class average students' interest value through teacher's provision of cognitive support. Furthermore, teacher's reported cognitive support was related to the class average of students' value beliefs through class average students' perceptions of cognitive support, highlighting the importance of students' perceptions.     

Student Teachers’ Beliefs and a Changing Teacher Role

This article discusses the encounters between the changing expectations on the teacher role, teacher education and Swedish student teachers’ beliefs about their role as teachers, with special emphasis on the socialisation process of the pupils and the teacher's possible influence on it. The discussion is based on two empirical studies among Swedish compulsory school student teachers (M. von Wright, (1996) Propedeusis? Om motet mellan lärarstuderande och lärarutbildningen, in: Grundskollärarutbüdningen 1995. En utvärdering. Högskoleverkets rapportserie 1996:1 R.; M. von Wright (1997) Socialisationsprocessen. Metaforer och synsätt hos blivande lärare. Licentiatuppsats. Lärarhögskolan i Stockholm). The results show that student teachers when they enter their education on the one hand tend to carry with them explicit expectations which strongly reflect the values of what is considered pedagogically correct. At the same time students express implicit beliefs and underlying conceptions of human development, which in many cases are incoherent. During teacher education the pedagogically correct beliefs might become replaced, but implicit beliefs as affinity to certain pedagogical discourses are not changed or brought to awareness unless they are seriously challenged and problematised. Yet these beliefs direct the students’ attention. Changing demands on the teacher role bring about expectations on a shift in thinking about teaching and learning. Teacher education and educators can play important roles in making the students aware of their everyday beliefs and eventually change them.     

Manipulatives Work!

This essay invites reflection on the phenomena of time as it impacts the day-to-day life of teachers. It also explores assumptions about time and teaching in three areas: first, beliefs about the force of time and the teacher's struggle to control it; second, beliefs about the potential of time and the benefits of its passing for teachers and students; and finally, beliefs about significant moments in time and the teacher's courage to be appropriately responsive to them.     

Teacher behavior as a mediator of the relationship between teacher judgment and students' motivation and emotion

The study examines whether teacher behavior is a mediator of the relationship between teacher judgment and students' motivation and emotion. Two hundred forty-six sixth grade students completed a standardized English test and answered a questionnaire on motivation, emotion, and perception of differential teacher behavior. Thirteen English teachers assessed students' test performance. Students underestimated in test performance showed lower motivation and emotion than students overestimated in test performance. The two student groups perceived differential teacher behavior. Teacher behavior mediated the relationship between performance judgments and students' motivation and emotion. A rethinking of teacher's behavior towards students might counter these undesirable tendencies.     

Classroom management as method and manner

We describe two case studies of experienced teachers whose classroom-management approaches, whilst quite different, appear seamless and in agreement with classroom manner and with the goals and desires they have for their students. We examine classroom management, manner, beliefs about classroom life and moral and intellectual goals for students, and classroom behaviour that directly informs students of expectations for virtuous conduct. The data include classroom observation and videotapes, and interviews with teachers. In developing these case studies, we join with the recent trend toward a more holistic view of the teacher and his or her conduct. The case studies focus on who a teacher is, what a teacher believes and how these beliefs are manifest in the teacher's conduct.     

Telling and Retelling Our Stories on the Professional Knowledge Landscape

Drawing on a 3-year study focusing on the shaping influences of the professional knowledge landscape on the personal practical knowledge of experienced teachers, we first explore how stories are shaped as they are told and responded to in different places and, second, explore whether or not this sharing leads to imagining new possibilities for retelling and reliving stories. By sharing and exploring a story of a disagreement between a parent and a teacher, we focus on what we do when we tell stories in schools and what we do when we tell stories off the school landscape. In making meaning from this story, we show that both in the teacher's living of the story with the parent and in her numerous recountings of the story to others on the school landscape, she did not have opportunities to figure out new ways to relive the story. In our research group, she shared her story again. In this telling, we asked her to focus on who she, the mother, and the principal are in the story, and we inquire into what plotlines each were living. We ask questions about how they were positioned as characters in relation to one another. Re-searching the story in this way enabled us to understand the embodied nature of the teacher's knowing and how this knowledge shaped the events of the story as they were lived out, particularly how the teacher's living of a relational story countered the story of teacher and principal as positioned above parent. By drawing on Nelson's work on 'found' and 'chosen' communities, we imagine ways in which schools could become chosen communities where the story of school might be one of fostering the living out of multiple stories. We imagine the stories emerging from such communities might significantly shape the landscape of schools by opening up new possibilities for living in relation with others.     

Teacher interpersonal competence for Dutch secondary multicultural classrooms

In the Netherlands, as in many European countries, classrooms display a growing cultural diversity. There are only very limited empirically supported data on the interpersonal competence teachers need in Dutch classrooms and studies from other countries cannot be generalized because of differences in the composition of the student population. This paper reports on an exploratory study in two schools on teachers' experiences in multicultural classes followed by an in‐depth case study of one expert teacher. We use this study to answer the question to what degree this teacher displays interpersonal competence (teaching behaviours, knowledge and attitudes) specific for teaching in multicultural classrooms by comparing this teacher's competence with generic interpersonal teaching competence. The teacher studied seems to be aware of special needs of students from different cultures and to use this knowledge to apply specific teaching strategies and interpersonal cues to create a positive classroom atmosphere and to cater for needs of diverse students. Further, the results indicate that many elements of this teacher's interpersonal competence in teaching a multicultural class can be considered aspects of generic teaching competence. It seems that the multicultural classroom puts heavier demands on this competence than a less diverse classroom.     

Collaborating to enhance student reasoning: Frances' account of her reflections while teaching chemical equilibrium

Many researchers report that teachers' pedagogies often reflect non-constructivist referents, however less research reports on means of assisting teachers to become more constructivistly oriented. This paper reports on a teacher's changing perceptions during collaborative, two-year interpretive research involving two researchers, herself, and her students. The researchers collaborated with the teacher to promote students' theory-evidence coordination and use of word explanations, with an emphasis on developing and critiquing chemical equilibrium theory using experimental data. As the collaboration proceeded the teacher's beliefs and practice became increasingly focussed on students' reasoning and their discussion of ideas related to experimental data. The teacher reported benefits for herself and for her students as a consequence of this change. Key factors in relation to this change included researchers' modelling of target practices, and changes in the teacher's (a) perception of her students' abilities, (b) beliefs in relation to constructivism, and (c) understanding of chemistry concepts.     

Thinking about Art: Could Elementary Textbooks Serve as Models of Practice to Help New Teachers and Non‐Specialists Support Reasoning in Art?

Some primary school teachers may neglect reasoning about art. Models of practice can exemplify classroom teaching and, to some extent, a textbook for children can be seen as a model of practice. Can those in art serve as models of practice and help teachers foster reasoning? This study examined 19 art textbooks intended for use by Key Stage 2 children (7–11 years old) to see to what extent they might direct a teacher's attention to reasoning in art. Some gave no attention to reasoning but some were found to have the potential to do that, at least in connection with evaluating the art of others. In this respect, they might serve as models of practice. Nevertheless, the teachers most likely to benefit from such models may not recognise a good one, be proficient in using it productively, be able to develop thinking about the art of others further or extrapolate thinking to the child's own art. Consequently, knowing what counts in art education and using models of practice to good effect could be an important part of training courses.     

Becoming a history teacher: observations on the beliefs and growth of student teachers

This article reports on history student teachers’ development and their beliefs about teaching and good teachers. The data consist of several essays of 18 respondents written during their education, and interviews with five students. Most respondents had become interested in the subject very early, and independently of formal school education. Models adopted during early school years, however, did influence their attitudes towards teaching and teacher's role. Typically the student teachers’ concentration was self-centred or focused on their own classroom behaviour. They tended to overestimate lesson content and resorted to content expertise and minute lesson plans as a reaction to teaching problems.     

It takes two to tango: In dynamic inquiry,the self-directed student acts in association with the facilitating teacher

The current research presents a qualitative view of a teacher–student association within the context of dynamic inquiry, as encouraged by a new biology curriculum, “Biomind”. This curriculum enables open inquiry learning through teacher guidance. We characterized the various aspects of the student's functioning as a self-directed student during the open inquiry learning process. The student's functioning corresponds closely to the teacher's efforts to facilitate the student's scientific literacy, initiative, responsibility, and motivation. Dynamic inquiry does not separate teaching from learning, but creates a learning community of teachers and students that is crucial to the success of the inquiry process.     

Seniority and experience of college teachers as related to evaluations they receive from students

A review of relevant research shows that many studies have found the academic rank, age, and extent of instructional experience of college teachers to be unrelated to their students' global evaluation of them. Yet many other studies have found these indicators of the teacher's seniority and instructional experience to be related to the overall evaluation of teachers, and with a consistent pattern. In this latter group of studies, the teacher's academic rank is positively associated with the overall evaluation of the teacher, whereas both the teacher's age and extent of instructional experience are inversely associated with overall evaluation. Although these associations are generally weak in strength, they are robust enough to hold under a variety of controls (including the size of course enrollment and the gender of the teacher). Also, at least for extent of instructional experience, the number and strength of the associations may be underestimated by considering the relationship in question as linear when in fact it may be curvilinear. Just as the teachers' age and extent of instructional experience in general have been either not related or inversely related to the global evaluation of teachers, so they have been for more specific evaluations of teachers. When academic rank has been found to be related to specific evaluations, the relationships tend to be positive for only certain specific rating dimensions while being inverse for others. This being so, it is puzzling that the associations that have been found between academic rank and global evaluations have generally been positive only. A possible explanation for this is offered and supportive evidence marshaled. Finally, several reasons why associations between any of the indicators of seniority or instructional experience and either specific or overall evaluations may be inverse, positive, or curvilinear in the first place are advanced. These hinge on such factors as the teacher's motivation and career circumstances, the pedagogical training and abilities of different cohorts of teachers, as well as the criteria and practices of colleges in their recruitment of teachers, the extent of an age (or generation) gap between students and teachers, and students' expectations and perceptions of teachers and pedagogical characteristics attributed to them. Those reasons having the greater support empirically as well as those that seem the most plausible are noted.     

Mutual Practical Assistance

Two exercises are described. The first one is intended to incite awareness and provoke discussion concerning such essential topics in teaching as motivation, the teacher's attitudes towards pupils, and the responsibility and influence of the teacher. The second exercise gives cause for awareness of and discussion about the norms and rules of conduct that the (student)‐teachers impose on their pupils.     

The ethical claim of partiality: practical reasoning,the discipline,and teacher education

Practical reasoning refers to a teacher's capacity to discern particulars and make wise judgements about how to act in pedagogical situations. But how do teachers know what is right? How are teachers' preferences to be grounded and their choices justified? I explore the disciplines as one source of moral perception. Assuming that narrative unities underscore the coherence and continuity of an individual's experience, I generated data in the context of a 2‐year teacher education programme. The case study of an aspiring teacher of secondary school language arts illustrates how the intellectual virtues of a discipline can influence a student teacher's practical reasoning. I conclude that teacher educators must attend to the complex ways in which a prospective teacher's prior discipline may influence aspiring teachers' orientations to experience, their consideration of educational ends, and, finally, their characters.     

Classroom factors related to changes in students' conceptions of the nature of science

Scientific literacy implies an adequate understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge. However, little is known about classroom factors that can influence students' conceptions of the nature of science. In the present study, classroom variables that were related to changes in students' conceptions of science were identified. Particular attention was directed toward students' overall conceptions of scientific knowledge and their views of its tentative nature. Twenty-five classroom variables were found to be significantly related to both overall and tentative conceptions, while 12 variables were found to be scale-specific. A comparison between teacher and student conceptions of science did not support the prevalent assumption that a teacher's conception of science is significantly related to changes in students' conceptions of science. “Successful” classes were defined as those exhibiting the greatest student conceptual changes toward the viewpoint held by the teacher, irrespective of the “adequacy” of the teacher's viewpoint. In general, these classes were typified by frequent inquiry-oriented questioning with little emphasis on rote memory. Implicit references to the nature of science were commonly observed. Furthermore, where greatest changes in student conceptions of science were observed, the teachers were pleasant, supportive, and frequently used anecdotes to promote instruction and establish rapport. Emphasis on the depth, breadth, and accuracy of content statistically differentiated between “successful” and “unsuccessful” classes with respect to students' overall conceptions. However, this emphasis on content presentation did not differentiate classes with respect to students' conceptions of the tentative nature of science.     

‘Shoot for the moon!’ Students' identities as writers in the context of the classroom

A study of students' identities as writers was carried out in the classroom of a New Zealand primary teacher who had been formally identified by a national body of teachers as having excellent practice in supporting literacy acquisition. The researchers, Professor Janice Wearmouth, from the University of Bedfordshire, Mere Berryman, from the University of Waikato, New Zealand, and Lisa Whittle, from the Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand, aimed to compare high and low literacy achievers' identities as writers within the context of this teacher's pedagogy and the learning environment of her classroom. The researchers concluded that all students, both high and low achievers, were developing very positive writing identities in a context where the teacher's method of supporting her students' writing was very well planned through a process‐writing approach. This teacher had a very high degree of subject and pedagogical content knowledge and an acute awareness of her students' literacy learning needs. Her approach had an immediacy of responsiveness in relation to every student's learning and, above all, had recognition of the overwhelming importance of positive relationships in the classroom, teacher to student and peer to peer.