Impacts of contextual and explicit instruction on preservice elementary teachers' understandings of the nature of science

This mixed‐methods investigation compared the relative impacts of instructional approach and context of nature of science instruction on preservice elementary teachers' understandings. The sample consisted of 75 preservice teachers enrolled in four sections of an elementary science methods course. Independent variables included instructional approach to teaching nature of science (implicit vs. explicit) and the context of nature of science instruction (as a stand‐alone topic vs. situated within instruction about global climate change and global warming). These treatments were randomly applied to the four class sections along a 2 × 2 matrix, permitting the comparison of outcomes for each independent variable separately and in combination to those of a control group. Data collection spanned the semester‐long course and included written responses to pre‐ and post‐treatment administrations of the VNOS‐B, semi‐structured interviews, and a variety of classroom artifacts. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the data with the goal of constructing profiles of participants' understandings of the nature of science and of global climate change /global warming (GCC/GW). These profiles were compared across treatments using non‐parametric statistics to assess the relative effectiveness of the four instructional approaches. Results indicated that preservice teachers who experienced explicit instruction about the nature of science made statistically significant gains in their views of nature of science regardless of whether the nature of science instruction was situated within the context of GCC/GW or as a stand‐alone topic. Further, the participants who experienced explicit nature of science instruction as a stand‐alone topic were able to apply their understandings of nature of science appropriately to novel situations and issues. We address the implications of these results for teaching the nature of science in teacher preparation courses. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 414–436, 2011     

Arab prospective science teachers’ world view: presuppositions towards nature

This study investigated the nature of Arab prospective science teachers’ world view presuppositions towards nature. An instrument was developed and administered to 117 prospective science teachers. The instrument covers four world view presuppositions in a bipolar form. They are safety and fear, order and chaos, aesthetic and materialistic, special and mundane. The results showed that the prospective teachers mostly felt safe towards nature. They considered nature orderly, beautiful and special. More importantly, their presuppositions were mostly religious. Although many of them would be science teachers within a few months they lacked the usual scientific presuppositions. The study concludes that science education programmes in the Arab culture should be culturally sensitive.     

Teaching global climate change to pre-service middle school teachers through inquiry activities

Background Global climate change (GCC) has become one of the most debated socio-scientific issues after an increase in media attention. Recently, there have also been several studies describing students’ and teachers’ alternative conceptions about GCC. Therefore, designing learning environments at the college level that focus on accurate conceptions of GCC has become important in order for pre-service teachers to correct their alternative conceptions. There are, however, a limited number of studies that aim to both increase pre-service teachers’ knowledge about these issues and explore their perceptions of teaching this subject.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of inquiry-based activities on pre-service teachers’ knowledge about GCC and their perceptions of teaching this subject.

Sample The participants were 102 pre-service middle school mathematics and science teachers who were enrolled in an environmental education course.

Design and methods A one group pre-test–post-test design was employed to identify changes after pre-service teachers engaged in a learning unit on GCC. The inquiry-based GCC unit was implemented during the spring semester at a public university in northeastern Turkey. The unit was implemented over seven sessions. Data were collected through two questionnaires: the ‘GCC content questionnaire’ and the ‘perceptions of teaching GCC questionnaire’. Each questionnaire was administered both before and after implementation of the unit. Content questionnaire responses were analyzed using a paired-samples t-test. Responses to the perceptions of teaching questionnaire were analyzed using inductive open coding.

Results Results indicated that after the implementation the pre-service teachers significantly improved their understanding of GCC across all items in the content questionnaire, saw several benefits of and challenges about teaching GCC, and perceived themselves as better prepared to teach about GCC in their future classrooms.

Conclusions Teacher education programs should integrate inquiry-based GCC instruction to increase pre-service teachers’ knowledge as well as their preparedness to teach about this important planetary issue.     

Awakening the Scientist Inside: Global Climate Change and the Nature of Science in an Elementary Science Methods Course

This investigation assessed the impact of situating explicit nature of science (NOS) instruction within the issues surrounding global climate change and global warming (GCC/GW). Participants in the study were 15 preservice elementary teachers enrolled in a science methods course. The instructional intervention included explicit NOS instruction combined with explicit GCC/GW instruction situated within the normal elementary science methods curriculum. Participants’ conceptions of NOS and GCC/GW were assessed with pre- and postadministrations of open-ended questionnaires and interviews. Results indicated that participants’ conceptions of NOS and GCC/GW improved over the course of the semester. Furthermore, participants were able to apply their conceptions to decision making about socioscientific issues. The results provide support for context-based NOS instruction in an elementary science methods course.     

Developing an instrument for assessing students’ concepts of the nature of technology

Background: In Bangladesh, a common science curriculum caters for all students at the junior secondary level. Since this curriculum is for all students, its aims are both to build a strong foundation in science while still providing students with the opportunities to use science in everyday life – an aim consistent with the notion of scientific literacy.

Purpose: This paper reports Bangladeshi science teachers’ perspectives and practices in regard to the promotion of scientific literacy.

Sample: Six science teachers representing a range of geographical locations, school types with different class sizes, lengths of teaching experience and educational qualifications.

Design and method: This study employed a case study approach. The six teachers and their associated science classes (including students) were considered as six cases. Data were gathered through observing the teachers’ science lessons, interviewing them twice – once before and once after the lesson observation, and interviewing their students in focus groups.

Results: This study reveals that participating teachers held a range of perspectives on scientific literacy, including some naïve perspectives. In addition, their perspectives were often not seen to be realised in the classroom as for teachers the emphasis of learning science was more traditional in nature. Many of their teaching practices promoted a culture of academic science that resulted in students’ difficulty in finding connections between the science they study in school and their everyday lives. This research also identified the tension which teachers encountered between their religious values and science values while they were teaching science in a culture with a religious tradition.

Conclusions: The professional development practice for science teachers in Bangladesh with its emphasis on developing science content knowledge may limit the scope for promoting the concepts of scientific literacy. Opportunities for developing pedagogic knowledge is also limited and consequently impacts on teachers’ ability to develop the concepts of scientific literacy and learn how to teach for its promotion.     

BRIDGING THE DIFFERENCES TO UNCOVER THE SIMILARITIES: DISCIPLINES WORKING TOGETHER IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SPECIAL EDUCATION

Abstract

The study examined the integration of science and mathematics methods courses and preservice teachers’ understanding of constructivism. The participants were 50 preservice teachers who were enrolled in early childhood education mathematics and science methods courses, and an early childhood practicum. The two methods courses were integrated and the instructors adopted a collaborative approach, including common syllabi, texts, assignments, and teaching strategies. The preservice teachers completed e‐journal reflection that were subsequently coded and analyzed. The findings suggested that the instructional approach enabled students to develop and refine their understanding of constructivism. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.     

A survey of the use of newspapers in science instruction by secondary teachers in Northern Ireland

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent and nature of teachers' use of newspapers in the secondary science classroom. A survey was conducted in 50 schools. Through semi-structured interviews with the heads of their science departments, three broad issues were investigated: the prevalence, pattern and purpose of use, classroom practice and curricular priorities. It was found that a great many teachers use newspapers, in some way, to support science instruction. The majority, however, used the resource incidentally rather than systematically. By far their most common intention was to highlight the link between school science and everyday life. Only a few reported that they used newspapers to develop among their students an aptitude and ability to read and respond critically to science in the media. It is suggested that such findings are significant in the context of current discussion of the school curriculum and 'scientific literacy'.     

Teaching about theories of light in year 12 physics: An historical approach

This paper examines an approach to the teaching of a year 12 Physics topic from within an historical setting. The Victorian Physics course requires teachers to cover each topic within some particular prescribed context, so that the everyday relevance of physics or its interrelationships with other fields of endeavour can be demonstrated. The Light and Matter topic specifies only one context: Landmark Developments. Rather than adopting a ‘names, dates and events’ approach which, for many understandable reasons, most teachers seem to follow, the author has attempted to cover the history in greater detail and more holistically. Specializations: history of physics, nature of science, construction of knowledge, social responsibility in science.     

Improving the quality of primary science teaching through a pre-service course

This paper describes a study involving second and third year primary Diploma of Teaching students. It considers their discipline competence, their confidence in teaching particular topic areas and their views of the nature of science teaching in the classes in which they were placed during teaching rounds. It then describes attempts made within the science curriculum course to overcome particular problems. Specializations: Science teacher education, the practicum.     

Principled Improvement in Science: Forces and proportional relations in early secondary-school teaching

In response to continuing concerns about student attainment and participation in science and mathematics, the epiSTEMe project took a novel approach to pedagogy in these two disciplines. Using principles identified as effective in the research literature (and combining these in a fashion not previously attempted), the project developed topic modules for early secondary-school teaching in the UK, arranged for their implementation in classrooms, and evaluated the results. This paper reports the development, implementation, and evaluation of one of the epiSTEMe science modules. Entitled Forces and Proportional Relations, the module covers standard curricular material in the domain of forces, while paying particular attention to the proportional nature of many key constructs. It was developed in collaboration with a small group of teachers; implemented subsequently in 16 classrooms, in all cases involving students from the first year of secondary school; and evaluated through comparison with first-year students in 13 control classrooms who were studying the topic using established methods. Evaluation addressed topic mastery and opinions about the topic and the manner in which it was taught. While further research is required before definite conclusions are warranted, results relating to topic mastery provide grounds for optimism about the epiSTEMe approach. Furthermore, student opinions about the module were positive.     

‘Analysis of the Evolution of a Science Concept: Macromolecules'‐‐a Case Study to Introduce New Trends in German Teacher‐Training

Summaries

English

This paper describes the philosophy as well as the actual and possible utilization of a model curriculum recently developed in FR Germany. The curriculum contains two parts: one of which deals with teacher training. Here teachers are provided with information, guidelines and procedures, which are to enable them to construct an integrated curriculum—setting out from a special subject within a special discipline. The other part contains a model curriculum for use in schools. It centres around the evolution of the macromolecule concept. Both parts are determined by a philosophy which stresses the importance of the unification of aesthetic and rationalistic elements in science and science education. Generally, it reconsiders the separation between the examining subject, on one side, and nature as the object of examination, on the other side.

The actual process of dissemination and implementation is discussed along with future strategies. It is claimed that the model is confined neither to the specific German situation nor to the topic of the evolution of the specific macromolecule concept.     

“I Have a Hippopotamus!”: Preparing Effective Early Childhood Environmental Educators

ABSTRACT

This article describes an early childhood teacher-preparation program that infuses environmental education and nature experiences into courses, practicum, and student-teaching experiences. Program philosophy, pedagogy, materials, and methods are described and linked to the Early Childhood Environmental Education Programs: Guidelines for Excellence, the Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators, and state-level early learning guidelines that focus on connecting young children with nature. Preservice teachers build knowledge, skills, and dispositions for effective environmental education beginning from an awareness level and progressing to application and refinement. The value of nature is communicated explicitly and implicitly throughout the program. Preliminary analysis of student outcomes indicated that, over the course of the program, students’ ratings of the importance of nature and science experiences and outcomes increased, along with their confidence implementing environmental-education activities.     

Reinterpreting and reconstructing science: Teachers’ view changes toward the nature of science by courses of science education

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of science education courses on a group of Taiwanese inservice and preservice teachers’ views toward the nature of science. There were two science education courses in the study; one was for 36 inservice teachers, while the other one was for 32 preservice teachers. Both of the courses included the philosophy of science, the instruction about student alternative conceptions and theories of conceptual change, and some classroom activities for science education. The data sources were based upon these teachers’ questionnaires, written responses to open-ended questions and interviews. The findings derived from this study revealed that both inservice and preservice teachers, to a certain extent, changed their views toward the nature of science when completing the courses. Many of them might reinterpret and reconstruct their views about science during the courses, and their views had progressed toward more constructivist-oriented. This study also suggested that the instruction about student alternative conceptions and conceptual change theories was more helpful than direct instruction about the philosophy of science in changing teachers’ views about science.     

Teaching controversial issues in the secondary school science classroom

A sample of fourteen secondary school biology teachers chosen from twelve schools were interviewed. The purpose was to determine their views on how controversial issues in science might be handled in the secondary school science classroom and whether the issues of surrogacy and human embryo experimentation were suitable controversial issues for discussion in schools. In general, teachers indicated that controversial issues deserve a more prominent place in the science curriculum because they have the potential to foster thinking, learning, and interest in science. The issues of surrogacy and human embryo experimentation were seen as appropriate contexts for learning, provided that teachers were well informed and sensitive to both the students and to the school environment. Specializations: controversial issues in human reproductive biology, teacher education.     

Making biodiversity meaningful through environmental education

Biodiversity is an emerging theme in science, society and, more recently, education. There is no one single definition of biodiversity that is adequate in all situations. Both the knowledge base and the value base of biodiversity are variable and questionable. Because of these characteristics, biodiversity makes for an interesting vehicle for linking science and society, and the investigation of the normative underpinnings of 'science-in-the making'. Based on a 3-year study, this paper explores the crossroads between science education and environmental education and presents a framework for tapping the environmental education potential of biodiversity. Outlined are a number stepping stones for making biodiversity meaningful to learners. It is argued that, from the perspective of environmental education, the illdefined nature of biodiversity is a useful feature. Biodiversity is renewing the discourse on nature conservation issues by bringing together different groups in society that are searching for a common language to discuss nature conservation issues in relation to sustainability issues. The resulting debate allows the socio-scientific dispute character of 'science-in-the-making' to surface. Participation in such a dispute is an excellent opportunity to learn about a highly relevant, controversial, emotionally charged and debatable topic at the crossroads of science, technology and society     

When the black box springs open: practical work in schools and the nature of science

The aim of this paper is not to bury practical work in school science but to (once again) reconsider it. We draw on three main areas of discussion: accounts of science and ‘school science work'; teachers and others’ views of the nature of science; and our own data on teachers’ reactions to ‘critical incidents’ and practicals which go wrong. We use this as a basis for re‐thinking the role of practicals. An account of practical work is suggested which has as its main feature diversity rather than a single model or template. Within this diversity we believe that teachers should be open and honest with pupils about which type of practical work they are doing and why. We advocate that students should be made aware of the different kinds of practical work they do and the purposes of this practical work. In short, teachers should explain to students what type of practical work they are doing and why. Our second message is that teachers’ views about the nature of science both inform and are informed by their classroom practices and experiences‐‐especially during lab‐work. To encourage, promote and support critical reflection of these classroom practices and experiences is therefore a vital part of teacher professional development; this in time will promote science curriculum development.     

Classroom Transactions of Student‐Teachers of Science

Summaries

English

The report describes a study of the teaching behaviour of student‐teachers of science disciplines during the one‐term teaching practice of the English ‘Post‐Graduate Certificate in Education’ course, using the Science Teaching Observation Schedule by Eggleston et al.

The results suggest that in several behavioural dimensions, students and teachers achieve a close match. These dimensions, it is suggested, could represent the ‘stable’ elements in the students’ perception of science teacher behaviour learnt during their time as pupils, or they might represent ‘safe’ transactions which do not involve students extensively in problems of classroom management and control.

For other behaviour categories, it was found that students tended to behave less like experienced teachers as the training practice proceeded, but this was to some extent determined by the subject taught. Physics student‐teachers substantially maintained their similarity to experienced teachers, whilst chemistry and biology students drifted away. The nature of these drifts is discussed.     

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.