Nurturing Confidence in Preservice Elementary Science Teachers

This study examined 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 could not 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 there may be important connections between the 2 for preservice teachers that would be fruitful areas for future research.     

Preservice Science Teachers' Perceptions of Their Practicum Classrooms

Practicum experiences in schools are highly valued in science teacher education programs. Yet, there are few studies examining secondary preservice science teachers' practicum classrooms. This mixed-methods study explored secondary preservice science teachers' perceptions of their practicum classroom learning environments, interpreted from an open-ended survey questionnaire, as well as from an adapted version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES; Taylor, Fraser, & Fisher, 1997). Twenty-two preservice teachers within secondary science methods courses volunteered to complete the survey. Qualitative survey findings were corroborated by quantitative results from the CLES survey. Overall, the preservice teachers perceived their practicum classrooms to incorporate some constructivist learning environment factors, but the critical constructivist perspective underpinning the survey was not found. Additionally, innovative practices cogent with these practices were not supported by most of their co-operating teachers. Implications of how preservice education programs can better support prospective science teachers' views and practices during practicum are discussed.     

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.

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.     

Toward Identifying Pedagogical Knowledge for Mentoring in Primary Science Teaching

Final year preservice teachers' perceptions of their mentoring in primary science teaching were gathered through surveys from three separate studies. The three studies (n = 59, n = 331, n = 60) provided an indication of the degree of mentoring preservice teachers perceived they received with mentoring practices linked to Pedagogical Knowledge. This research argues that mentors require pedagogical knowledge of primary science for guiding mentees with planning, timetabling, preparation, implementation, classroom management strategies, teaching strategies, science teaching knowledge, questioning skills, problem-solving strategies, assessment techniques, and developing viewpoints on science pedagogy. The key study findings (n = 331, from nine Australian universities involved in primary teacher education) indicated that 55% or more mentees had not received Pedagogical Knowledge for primary science teaching in each of the associated mentoring practices (mean score range: 2.60–2.91, standard deviation range: 1.10–1.32). The study concludes that mentors require further professional development to ensure that preservice teachers (mentees) receive adequate pedagogical knowledge for teaching primary science, which will involve significant collaboration between universities and schools.     

Measuring Primary Teachers' Attitudes Toward Teaching Science: Development of the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS) Instrument

In this article, we present a valid and reliable instrument which measures the attitude of in-service and pre-service primary teachers toward teaching science, called the Dimensions of Attitude Toward Science (DAS) Instrument. Attention to the attitudes of primary teachers toward teaching science is of fundamental importance to the professionalization of these teachers in the field of primary science education. With the development of this instrument, we sought to fulfill the need for a statistically and theoretically valid and reliable instrument to measure pre-service and in-service teachers' attitudes. The DAS Instrument is based on a comprehensive theoretical framework for attitude toward (teaching) science. After pilot testing, the DAS was revised and subsequently validated using a large group of respondents (pre-service and in-service primary teachers) (N = 556). The theoretical underpinning of the DAS combined with the statistical data indicate that the DAS possesses good construct validity and that it proves to be a promising instrument that can be utilized for research purposes, and also as a teacher training and coaching tool. This instrument can therefore make a valuable contribution to progress within the field of science education.     

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.

Preservice Teachers' Development and Implementation of Science Performance Assessment Tasks

Preservice teachers in a science methods course were provided instruction on performance assessment, then guided through a design and implementation process of performance assessment tasks. We assessed the effect of designing and implementing a performance assessment task on preservice teachers' understanding of standards-based assessment. The findings show that these preservice teachers improved in their understanding of assessment as a formative process as well as their science content understanding of the topic addressed in their designed task. We found that preservice teachers need to experiment with performance assessment tasks in an authentic context in order to understand the full potential and value of the task.     

Conceptions of Science Teacher Mentoring and Mentoring Practice in an Alternative Certification Program

Conceptions of mentoring held by six mentors and six beginning science teachers in an alternative certification program were explored qualitatively by means of case studies and phenomenography. Interviews with the six mentors and six beginning teachers produced 379 statements that were grouped into six conceptual categories. The categories of apprenticeship, personal support, and colearning revealed the variation in how mentors and beginning teachers conceptualized school-based mentoring. The conceptions functioned as referents for their mentoring practice. Mentoring as apprenticeship was the dominant conception among both the beginning teachers and mentors. The findings of this study imply that conceptions of mentoring held by mentors and beginning science teachers should be considered when organizing the school-based component of alternative certification programs.     

小学科学“生活化”教学实践

小学科学教育是以培养学生综合科学素养的一门课程,要求小学科学地教学这目的能够使学生运用科学知识去解决实际问题。这为小学科学的教学方式设立了相关的准绳,即科学与现实生活是不可割裂的整体,在教学中要将两者紧密结合,注重培养学生解决实际问题的能力。     

Elementary Preservice Teachers' Struggles to Define Inquiry-Based Science Teaching

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

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.     

Prospective Elementary Teachers' Science Teaching Orientations and Experiences that Impacted their Development

A large body of literature illustrates that many elementary teachers are reluctant to teach science and confess a lack of confidence to teach it. Nevertheless, a review of the literature indicates a few cases of elementary teachers who do well in science and offers rare examples of enthusiast elementary teachers. The question then becomes how those cases came to be? The purpose of this study is to document two such cases of prospective elementary teachers, illustrate their unique characteristics and shed light on how those came to be. The study was designed upon a narrative inquiry approach focusing on the collection of personal stories. Multiple sources of data were used in order to examine the participants’ science teaching orientations and the kinds of experiences that influenced their development: drawings, interviews, reflective assignments, and others. The analysis of the data was grounded within the Three-Dimensional Space Narrative Structure. The findings of the analysis illustrated that the participants perceived certain experiences they had during their university coursework as critical to shaping their orientations to science and science teaching: inquiry-based investigations, contemporary theoretical discussions, outdoors field study, friendly classroom environment and the characteristics of their instructors. These findings have implications for the design of teacher education courses that aim to engage prospective elementary teachers, especially females, in meaningful learning experiences and support them in developing science teaching orientations that are in line with reform recommendations.     

An Exploratory Study of the Effect a Self-Regulated Learning Environment Has on Pre-Service Primary Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Science and Technology

The effects of a Self Regulated Learning (SRL) environment on pre-service primary teachers of Science and Technology were investigated in this exploratory study. A representative sample of teachers was interviewed about their experience and how it impacted on them pedagogically, affectively, conceptually and metacognitively. The preliminary results suggest that students' understanding of how to implement activity-based learning was enhanced by the SRL environment. Additionally they claimed to be more confident about their ability to teach. However, conceptual understanding did not appear to improve. These findings will inform a larger study involving SRL that will also address the issue of subject content knowledge and attempt to develop overall teaching competence in primary Science and Technology.     

Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Environmental Issues Within the Science Curriculum: A Hong Kong Perspective

The present study was an exploratory study of Hong Kong secondary school Integrated Science teachers' perceptions of environmental education. Both questionnaire survey and interviews were used. Teachers were classified according to their scores of attitudes, perceived barriers, and current emphasis on teaching environmental education. This study found that Integrated Science teachers' attitudes toward environmental education, skills of teaching environmental education, beliefs in the relevance of Integrated Science to environmental education, and intentions of teaching environmental education in Integrated Science classes were associated with their actual ways of teaching of environmental education. Teachers tended to teach more environmental education if they held more favorable attitudes toward environmental education, had more skills of teaching environmental education, believed more in the relevance of Integrated Science to environmental education, and would actually want to teach more environmental education in Integrated Science classes if there were fewer constraints. Moreover, variations in the teaching of environmental education were reflected by teachers' emphasis on teaching environmental education, and their use of a variety of teaching methods and their regular practices of extracurricular activities on environmental education.     

Scaffolding Preservice Science Teachers' Evidence-Based Arguments During an Investigation of Natural Selection

In this qualitative case study, preservice science teachers (PSTs) enrolled in their advanced methods course participated in a complex, data-rich investigation based on an adapted version of the Struggle for Survival curriculum. Fundamental to the investigation was the use of the Galapagos Finches software and an emphasis on giving priority to evidence and constructing evidence-based arguments. The questions that guided the research were: (1) What is the nature of the scientific arguments developed by PSTs? (2) How do PSTs go about constructing scientific arguments (emphasis on processes and strategies)? (3) In what ways do the scaffolds embedded in the Galapagos Finches software influence the development of PSTs arguments? Two pairs of PSTs were selected for in-depth examination. The primary sources of data were the electronic artifacts generated in the Galapagos Finches software environment and the videotaped interactions of both pairs as they investigated the data set, constructed and revised their arguments, engaged in peer review sessions, and presented their arguments to the class at the end of the unit. Four major patterns emerged through analysis of the data. First, using the software, PSTs consistently constructed claims that were linked to evidence from the investigation. Second, although PSTs consistently grounded their arguments in evidence, they still exhibited a number of limitations reported in the literature. Third, the software served as a powerful vehicle for revealing PSTs knowledge of evolution and natural selection. Finally, the PSTs approach to the task had a strong influence on the way they used the software.     

小学科学教学中学生创造力的培养

在小学科学教学中,开发学生的创造力途径有:介绍科学发明史、让学生动手实践、培养学生提问的习惯、培养学生的想象力和培养学生的发散思维。     

论理科教师科学本质教学行为的发展性评价

培养学生适当理解科学本质是科学教育的目标之一。实现这一目标的关键是理科教师具有相应的科学本质教学行为。理科教师科学本质教学行为可以从显性教学目标、具有认识论水平的教学主题、显性区别观察和推论、注重知识产生方式、反思性评价活动、评价性作业等六个方面进行发展性评价。发展性评价的实施主要在理科教师科学本质教学行为自我监控系统指导下进行。     

Science Activities That Work: Perceptions of Primary School Teachers

Many primary school teachers in Australia tend to be reluctant to teach science, partly because they are not confident in science and have limited science background knowledge. However, quite a number of primary school teachers still manage to teach some science. When they plan to teach science, many of them use the term science activities that work. Such activities seem to be related to science pedagogical content knowledge for some primary teachers. In order to better understand what the term activities that work means, twenty teachers from several schools were interviewed and asked what they understood by this expression. Themes that emerged suggest that activities that work are hands on, are interesting and motivating for the children, have a clear outcome or result, are manageable in the classroom, use equipment that is readily available, and are preferably used in a context where science is integrated into themes. Implications for curriculum and for preservice teacher education are considered.     

Teachers' Perceptions of Discipline Problems in a Jordanian Secondary School

Teachers in a large, all-male urban school in Jordan were interviewed about their perceptions of the most frequently occurring student misbehaviour. It was hoped to be able to identify the causes of such 'disruption' to teaching and learning in the school. Teachers spontaneously identified eight forms of student misbehaviour, which reflected clearly different kinds of interference with the teacher's authority. Teachers showed great awareness of the constraints which operate in the school context, which in turn affect their means of managing discipline in the classroom. Though this study was undertaken in a context which is significantly different from England, it is interesting that the issues these teachers saw themselves confronted with were not significantly different from those reported in this country. The conclusions that the researchers draw from their data have relevance beyond the specific context in which this study was undertaken.