Examination of Pre-Service Science Teachers' Activities Using Problem Based Learning Method

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Ekici, Didem Inel

2016-01-01

In this study, both the activities prepared by pre-service science teachers regarding the Problem Based Learning method and the pre-service science teachers' views regarding the method were examined before and after applying their activities in a real class environment. 69 pre-service science teachers studying in the 4th grade of the science…

Preservice Science Teachers' Attitudes towards Chemistry and Misconceptions about Chemical Kinetics

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Çam, Aylin; Topçu, Mustafa Sami; Sülün, Yusuf

2015-01-01

The present study investigates preservice science teachers' attitudes towards chemistry; their misconceptions about chemical kinetics; and relationships between pre-service science teachers' attitudes toward chemistry and misconceptions about chemical kinetics were examined. The sample of this study consisted of 81 freshman pre-service science…

Profile of Pre-Service Science Teachers Based on STEM Career Interest Survey

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Winarno, N.; Widodo, A.; Rusdiana, D.; Rochintaniawati, D.; Afifah, R. M. A.

2017-09-01

This study aims to investigate the profile of pre-service science teachers based on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Career Interest Survey. The study uses descriptive survey method as the research design. Samples collected from 66 preservice science teachers in a university located in Bandung, Indonesia. The results of the study are the profile of pre-service science teachers based on STEM Career Interest Survey shows that the average number of career interest in the field of technology is 4.08, in science 3.80, mathematics 3.39 and engineering 3.30. Pre-service science teachers are found to have interests in the STEM career fields. This research is necessary as there are many instances of people choosing majors or studies that are not in accordance with their interests and talents. The recommendation of this study is to develop learning in pre-service science teachers by using STEM approach.

Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs about Knowledge, Mathematics, and Science

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Cady, Jo Ann; Rearden, Kristin

2007-01-01

This study examines the beliefs of K-8 preservice teachers during a content methods course. The goals of this course included exposing the preservice teachers to student-centered instructional methods for math and science and encouraging the development of lessons that would integrate mathematics and science. Prior research suggested that one must…

Jordanian Preservice Primary Teachers' Perceptions of Mentoring in Science Teaching

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Abed, Osama H.; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad

2015-03-01

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.

Preservice Teachers' Memories of Their Secondary Science Education Experiences

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Hudson, Peter; Usak, Muhammet; Fancovicova, Jana; Erdogan, Mehmet; Prokop, Pavol

2010-01-01

Understanding preservice teachers' memories of their education may aid towards articulating high-impact teaching practices. This study describes 246 preservice teachers' perceptions of their secondary science education experiences through a questionnaire and 28-item survey. ANOVA was statistically significant about participants' memories of…

Science Teaching Experiences in Informal Settings: One Way to Enrich the Preparation Program for Preservice Science Teachers

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Hsu, Pei-Ling

2016-01-01

The high attrition rate of new science teachers demonstrates the urgent need to incorporate effective practices in teacher preparation programs to better equip preservice science teachers. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate a way to enrich preservice science teachers' preparation by incorporating informal science teaching practice into…

Learning Science through Creating a `Slowmation': A case study of preservice primary teachers

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Hoban, Garry; Nielsen, Wendy

2013-01-01

Many preservice primary teachers have inadequate science knowledge, which often limits their confidence in implementing the subject. This paper proposes a new way for preservice teachers to learn science by designing and making a narrated stop-motion animation as an instructional resource to explain a science concept. In this paper, a simplified way for preservice teachers to design and make an animation called 'slowmation' (abbreviated from 'slow animation') is exemplified. A case study of three preservice primary teachers creating one from start to finish over 2 h was conducted to address the following research question: How do the preservice primary teachers create a slowmation and how does this process influence their science learning? The method of inquiry used a case study design involving pre- and post-individual interviews in conjunction with a discourse analysis of video and audio data recorded as they created a slowmation. The data illustrate how the preservice teachers' science learning was related to their prior knowledge and how they iteratively revisited the content through the construction of five representations as a cumulative semiotic progression: (i) research notes; (ii) storyboard; (iii) models; (iv) digital photographs; culminating in (v) the narrated animation. This progression enabled the preservice teachers to revisit the content in each representation and make decisions about which modes to use and promoted social interaction. Creating a slowmation facilitated the preservice teachers' learning about the life cycle of a ladybird beetle and revised their alternative conceptions.

Why Change to Active Learning? Pre-Service and In-Service Science Teachers' Perceptions

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O'Grady, Audrey; Simmie, Geraldine Mooney; Kennedy, Therese

2014-01-01

This article explores pre-service and in-service science teachers' perceptions on active learning, and examines the effectiveness of active learning by pre-service science teachers in the Irish second level classroom through a two-phase study. In the first phase, data on perceptions were gathered from final year pre-service teachers and in-service…

Knowledge Levels of Pre-Service Science Teachers on Radioactivity

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Zehra Molu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study aims to determine the knowledge levels of pre-service science teachers about radioactivity. A knowledge test was administered to 56 pre-service science teachers participated in the General Chemistry I course in the fall semester of 2014-15 academic year. Papers derived from the pre-service science teachers were read and evaluated, and the responses were classified as “accurate", "misconception", "wrong" and "empty" categories for open-ended questions and the responses to the multiple-choice questions were classified as "right" and "wrong". The pre-service science teachers’ correct response rates were between 9 % (definition of “nuclear radiation” concept, question 15 and 86 % (radioactivity uses, question 14 in open-ended questions whereas in multiple choice questions the ratio of correct answers ranged from 5 % (concept definition and nuclear reactions, questions 21, 23 and 33 to 98 % (sample of concept, question 20. Students hold misconceptions on the radioactivity, warning picture, nuclear power plant (questions 1, 13, and 16; isotopes (question 4; natural and artificial nucleus reaction (question 6; age of the rocks (question 8; atomic bomb (question 10; hydrogen bomb (question 11 and core irradiation (question 15.

Examining Preservice Science Teachers' Skills of Formulating Hypotheses and Identifying Variables

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Aydogdu, Bülent

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine preservice science teachers' skills of formulating hypotheses and identifying variables. The research has a phenomenological research design. The data was gathered qualitatively. In this study, preservice science teachers were first given two scenarios (Scenario-1 & Scenario-2) containing two different…

Pre-service secondary school science teachers science teaching ...

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PROF.MIREKU

pre-service secondary science teachers' self-efficacy beliefs with regard to gender and educational .... outcome. As a consequence, instruments for the determination of self-efficacy ...... Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 42, 119–31. Bursal, M.

Preservice Science Teacher Beliefs about Teaching and the Science Methods Courses: Exploring Perceptions of Microteaching Outcomes

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McLaury, Ralph L.

2011-01-01

This study investigates beliefs about teaching held by preservice science teachers and their influences on self-perceived microteaching outcomes within interactive secondary science teaching methods courses. Hermeneutic methodology was used in cooperation with seven preservice science teachers (N = 7) to infer participant beliefs about teaching…

Developing Preservice Science Teachers' Self-Determined Motivation toward Environment through Environmental Activities

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Karaarslan, Guliz; Sungur, Semra; Ertepinar, Hamide

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop pre-service science teachers' self-determined motivation toward environment before, after and five months following the environmental course activities guided by self-determination theory. The sample of the study was 33 pre-service science teachers who participated in an environmental science course. This…

University-School Partnerships: Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers Working Together to Teach Primary Science

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Kenny, John Daniel

2012-01-01

This paper reports on a partnership approach preparing pre-service primary teachers to teach science. Partnerships involving pre-service teachers and volunteer in-service colleagues were formed to teach science in the classroom of the colleague, with support from the science education lecturer. Each pre-service teacher collaboratively planned and…

Hopes and Fears for Science Teaching: The Possible Selves of Preservice Teachers in a Science Education Program

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Hong, Ji; Greene, Barbara

2011-01-01

Given the high attrition rate of beginning science teachers, it is imperative to better prepare science preservice teachers, so that they can be successful during the early years of their teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore science preservice teachers' views of themselves as a future teacher, in particular their hopes and fears for…

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Adaptation of Science Curriculum Materials for Inquiry-Based Elementary Science

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Forbes, Cory T.

2011-01-01

Curriculum materials are important resources with which teachers make pedagogical decisions about the design of science learning environments. To become well-started beginning elementary teachers capable of engaging their students in inquiry-based science, preservice elementary teachers need to learn to use science curriculum materials…

Do Science and Technology Teachers and Pre-Service Primary Teachers Have Different Thoughts about Concept Maps in Science and Technology Lessons?

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Karakuyu, Yunus

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the thoughts of primary science and technology teachers, primary class teachers, pre-service primary class teachers and pre-service primary science and technology teachers' about concept maps. This scale applied the use of basic and random method on the chosen 125 4th and 5th grade primary class teachers…

Teacher Training and Pre-service Primary Teachers’ Self-Efficacy for Science Teaching

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Velthuis, C.H.; Fisser, Petra; Pieters, Julius Marie

2014-01-01

This study focuses on the improvement of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching science by including science courses within the teacher training program. Knowing how efficacy beliefs change over time and what factors influence the development by pre-service primary teachers of positive

The Perceptions of Pre-Service Science Teachers and Science Teachers About Climate Change

OpenAIRE

Meilinda, M; Rustaman, N. Y; Tjasyono, B

2017-01-01

The global climate phenomenon in the context of climate change is the impact of both the dynamic complex climate system and human behaviors that affect environmental sustainability. Human is an important component that should be considered in science teaching that is believed to improve human attitudes towards the environmental sustainability. The research aims to investigate the perceptions of pre-service science teachers and science teachers in South Sumatra who teach climate change and glo...

Preservice Teachers' Memories of Their Secondary Science Education Experiences

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Hudson, Peter; Usak, Muhammet; Fančovičová, Jana; Erdoğan, Mehmet; Prokop, Pavol

2010-12-01

Understanding preservice teachers' memories of their education may aid towards articulating high-impact teaching practices. This study describes 246 preservice teachers' perceptions of their secondary science education experiences through a questionnaire and 28-item survey. ANOVA was statistically significant about participants' memories of science with 15 of the 28 survey items. Descriptive statistics through SPSS further showed that a teacher's enthusiastic nature (87%) and positive attitude towards science (87%) were regarded as highly memorable. In addition, explaining abstract concepts well (79%), and guiding the students' conceptual development with practical science activities (73%) may be considered as memorable secondary science teaching strategies. Implementing science lessons with one or more of these memorable science teaching practices may "make a difference" towards influencing high school students' positive long-term memories about science and their science education. Further research in other key learning areas may provide a clearer picture of high-impact teaching and a way to enhance pedagogical practices.

Pre-Service Science Teacher Preparation in China: Challenges and Promises

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Liu, Enshan; Liu, Cheng; Wang, Jian

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article was to present an overview of pre-service science teacher preparation in China, which is heavily influenced by Chinese tradition, Confucianism, and rapid social and economic development. The policies, science teacher education systems and related programs jointly contribute to producing enough science teachers for…

Caring Enough to Teach Science. Helping Pre-service Teachers View Science Instruction as an Ethical Responsibility

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Grinell, Smith; Rabin, Colette

2017-11-01

The goal of this project was to motivate pre-service elementary teachers to commit to spending significant instructional time on science in their future classrooms despite their self-assessed lack of confidence about teaching science and other impediments (e.g., high-stakes testing practices that value other subjects over science). Pre-service teachers in science methods courses explored connections between science and ethics, specifically around issues of ecological sustainability, and grappled with their ethical responsibilities as teachers to provide science instruction. Survey responses, student "quick-writes," interview transcripts, and field notes were analyzed. Findings suggest that helping pre-service teachers see these connections may shape their beliefs and dispositions in ways that may motivate them to embark on the long road toward improving their science pedagogical content knowledge and ultimately to teach science to their students more often and better than they otherwise might. The approach may also offer a way for teachers to attend to the moral work of teaching.

The Relationship between Preservice Science Teachers' Attitude toward Astronomy and Their Understanding of Basic Astronomy Concepts

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Bektasli, Behzat

2016-01-01

Turkish preservice science teachers have been taking a two-credit astronomy class during the last semester of their undergraduate program since 2010. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between preservice science teachers' astronomy misconceptions and their attitudes toward astronomy. Preservice science teachers were given an…

Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers' Self-Images of Science Teaching in Constructivism Science Education Courses

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Go, Youngmi; Kang, Jinju

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it investigates the self-images of science teaching held by early childhood pre-service teachers who took constructivism early childhood science education courses. Second, it analyzes what aspects of those courses influenced these images. The participants were eight pre-service teachers who took these…

The relationship between school environment, preservice science teachers' science teaching self-efficacy, and their use of instructional strategies at teachers' colleges in Saudi Arabia

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Alshalaan, Nasser A.

Studies indicate that many teachers have negative beliefs about science, which translates into low teacher efficacy, resulting in avoidance of science teaching or in ineffective science teaching behaviors. Highly efficacious teachers have been found to be more likely to use inquiry and student-centered teaching strategies, while teachers with a low sense of science-teaching efficacy are more likely to use teacher-directed strategies, such as didactic lectures and reading from the textbook (Czemiak, 1990). The purpose of this study was to investigate preservice science teachers' science-teaching self-efficacy changes and their correlation to teaching environment factors during the student teaching semester. Moreover, it explains how teaching environment factors and preservice teachers' science-teaching self-efficacy beliefs may relate to their use of teaching strategies in the science classroom during their student teacher training at teachers' colleges in Saudi Arabia. The population of this study is consisted of 184 middle and elementary preservice science teachers who were doing their student teaching at nine teachers' colleges (i.e., teachers' colleges of Riyadh, Dammam, Alrras, Almadinah, Alihsa, Jeddah, Makah, Altaief, and Abha) in Saudi Arabia during the spring semester of 2005. Three instruments were used to collect data for this study: (1) to measure science teaching self-efficacy, the researcher adapted the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument form B designed specifically for preservice teachers (STEBI-B); (2) to measure the school environment, the researcher adapted the Organizational Health Inventory (OHI), developed by Hoy, Tarter & Kottkamp (1991); and (3) to measure the type and frequency of instructional strategies that preservice science teachers use in the classroom, the researcher adapted the teaching practice subscale from The Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement Science K-8 Teacher Questionnaire (Horizon Research, Inc., 2000

Infusing Science, Technology, and Society Into an Elementary Teacher Education Program: The Impact on Preservice Teachers

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Henning, Mary Beth; Peterson, Barbara R.; King, Kenneth Paul

2011-01-01

In an effort to improve science and social studies instruction, preservice teachers developed original science, technology, and society units to teach in elementary and middle school classrooms during their clinical field experience. Data revealed that the preservice teachers fell into categories of being skeptics, open-minded instructors, or…

Pre-Service Secondary Science and Mathematics Teachers' Classroom Management Styles in Turkey

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Yilmaz, Kursad

2009-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine Pre-service secondary science and mathematics teachers' classroom management styles in Turkey. In addition, differences in pre-service secondary science and mathematics teachers' classroom management styles by gender, and field of study were examined. In the study, the survey model was employed. The research…

Investigation of Pre-Service Science Teachers' Attitudes towards Sustainable Environmental Education

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Keles, Özgül

2017-01-01

The purpose of the current study is to investigate pre-service science teachers' sustainable environmental education attitudes and the factors affecting them in terms of some variables (gender and grade level). The study group of the current research is comprised of 154 pre-service teachers attending the Department of Science Education in the…

Possibilities and Limits of Integrating Science and Diversity Education in Preservice Elementary Teacher Preparation

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Bravo, Marco A.; Mosqueda, Eduardo; Solís, Jorge L.; Stoddart, Trish

2014-08-01

In this paper we present findings from a project that documented the development of preservice teachers' beliefs and practices in delivering science instruction that considers issues of language and culture. Teacher candidates in the intervention group ( n = 65) received a science methods course and teaching practicum experience that provided guidance in teaching science in culturally and linguistically responsive ways. Comparisons between a control group of preservice teachers ( n = 45) and those involved in the intervention yielded stronger beliefs about the efficacy in promoting collaboration in science teaching than the intervention group. Observations of these preservice teachers during their teaching practicum revealed differences in favor of the intervention group in: (a) implementing science instruction that addressed the language and literacy involved in science; (b) using questions that elicited higher order thinking and; (c) providing scaffolds (e.g., purposeful feedback, probing student background knowledge) when confronting abstract scientific concepts. Implications for preservice teacher education are addressed.

Pre-Service Science Teachers' PCK: Inconsistency of Pre-Service Teachers' Predictions and Student Learning Difficulties in Newton's Third Law

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Zhou, Shaona; Wang, Yanlin; Zhang, Chunbin

2016-01-01

There is widespread agreement that science learning always builds upon students' existing ideas and that science teachers should possess knowledge of learners. This study aims at investigating pre-service science teachers' knowledge of student misconceptions and difficulties, a crucial component of PCK, on Newton's Third Law. A questionnaire was…

Changes in Attitudes towards Science-Technology-Society of Pre-Service Science Teachers

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Kaya, Osman Nafiz; Yager, Robert; Dogan, Alev

2009-01-01

This research focuses on use of a triadic teaching approach in a science-technology-society (STS) course designed for future science teachers for middle schools in Turkey. Forty-three pre-service science teachers were enrolled in a semester-long course organized around issues students identified and used throughout the semester. The triadic…

The efficacy beliefs of preservice science teachers in professional development school and traditional school settings

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Newsome, Demetria Lynn

Teachers' efficacy beliefs have been shown to correlate positively with to the successful implementation of science reform measures (National Research Council, 1996) and are context specific (Koul & Rubba, 1999). Studies on teacher efficacy in specific contexts have been conducted including the availability of resources and parent support (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2002), classroom management (Emmer & Hickman, 1990; Raudenbush, Rowen, & Cheong, 1992); and institutional climate and behavior of the principal (Hoy & Woolfolk, 1993). The purpose of this study was to compare the science teaching efficacy beliefs of teacher interns prepared in professional development schools with those of student teachers prepared in traditional school settings. Other variables examined included academic level, academic major, and area of science concentration. Preservice science teacher efficacy beliefs were measured using the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument for Preservice Science Teachers, STEBI Form B (Enoch & Riggs, 1990) with demographic information being collected by an accompanying questionnaire. Analyses included scoring the surveys on two scales, Personal Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Scale and the Outcome Expectancy Scale, calculating descriptive statistics, as well as performing MANOVAS and correlations. Results indicate that preservice science teachers working in professional development schools exhibit higher personal science teaching efficacy beliefs. This finding corroborates previous studies on the efficacy beliefs of preservice teachers working in PDS schools (Long, 1996; Sandholtz & Dadlez, 2000). Results also show a strong correlation between the personal science teaching efficacy beliefs and the setting where student teaching takes place. In addition, significant differences were found in the personal science teaching efficacy beliefs between elementary education majors and science majors, science education majors, and secondary education majors

Teaching Science for Social Justice: An Examination of Elementary Preservice Teachers' Beliefs

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Eslinger, James C.

This qualitative study examines the beliefs and belief changes of eleven elementary preservice teachers about teaching science for social justice. Using constructivist grounded theory, it forwards a new theory of belief change about teaching science for social justice. The theory posits that three teaching and learning conditions may facilitate belief change: preservice teachers need to recognize (1) the relationship between science and society; (2) the relationship between individuals and society; and (3) the importance of taking action on socioscientific issues. This research responds to calls by critical scholars of teacher education who contend that beliefs in relation to equity, diversity, and multiculturalism need to be explored. They have found that many preservice teachers hold beliefs that are antithetical to social justice tenets. Since beliefs are generally considered to be precursors to actions, identifying and promoting change in beliefs are important to teaching science for social justice. Such a move may lead to the advancement of curricular and pedagogical efforts to promote the academic participation and success in elementary science of Aboriginal and racialized minority students. The study was undertaken in a year-long science methods course taught by the researcher. It was centered on the preservice teachers -- their beliefs, their belief changes, and the course pedagogies that they identified as crucial to their changes. However, the course was based on the researcher-instructor's review of the scholarly literature on science education, teacher education, and social justice. It utilized a critical -- cultural theoretical framework, and was aligned to the three dimensions of critical nature of science, critical knowledge and pedagogy, and sociopolitical action. Findings indicate that, at the beginning of the year, preservice teachers held two types of beliefs (liberal and critical) and, by the end of the course, they experienced three kinds of

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Preservice Science Teachers' Beliefs about Science Teaching during a Science Teacher Training Programme

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Buldur, Serkan

2017-01-01

The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the changes in preservice science teachers' beliefs about science teaching during a science teacher training programme. The study was designed as a panel study, and the data were collected from the same participants at the end of each academic year during a four-year period. The participants…

Development of Socioscientific Issues-Based Teaching for Preservice Science Teachers

OpenAIRE

Prasart Nuangchalerm

2009-01-01

Problem statement: In the context of science education reform in Thailand, we need to prepare science teachers who can face science and social issues controversial; teachers can response the question socioscientific issues and let their students to meet the goal of science education. This study investigated the conception leading preservice science teachers approaching socioscientific issues-based teaching. The activities in classroom emphasized on peer discussion about science and social ref...

Pre-Service Teachers' Attitudes toward Teaching Science and Their Science Learning at Indonesia Open University

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Suprapto, Nadi; Mursid, Ali

2017-01-01

This study focuses on attitudes toward (teaching) science and the learning of science for primary school among pre-service teachers at the Open University of Indonesia. A three-year longitudinal survey was conducted, involving 379 students as pre-service teachers (PSTs) from the Open University in Surabaya regional office. Attitudes toward…

Developing Turkish Preservice Preschool Teachers' Attitudes and Understanding about Teaching Science through Play

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Bulunuz, Mizrap

2012-01-01

This research studied the development of preservice teachers' understandings and attitudes about teaching science through playful experiences. Subjects were 94 senior preservice teachers in two sections of a science methods class on teaching preschool children. Data sources were semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaire at the…

Teaching Science as Science Is Practiced: Opportunities and Limits for Enhancing Preservice Elementary Teachers' Self-Efficacy for Science and Science Teaching

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Avery, Leanne M.; Meyer, Daniel Z.

2012-01-01

Science teaching in elementary schools, or the lack thereof, continues to be an area of concern and criticism. Preservice elementary teachers' lack of confidence in teaching science is a major part of this problem. In this mixed-methods study, we report the impacts of an inquiry-based science course on preservice elementary teachers' self-efficacy…

A study of the effectiveness of a four semester preservice Secondary Science Teacher Education program regarding changes in teacher perceptions and practices

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Yakar, Zeha

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development and change in constructivist behaviors of preservice science teachers of the Iowa-Secondary Science Teacher Education Program (SSTEP) over the four semester sequence. Constructivist behaviors were investigated from four perspectives; including actual classroom performances as viewed from videotapes, teacher perceptions of teacher use of constructivist teaching practices, and teacher beliefs as gained from open-ended questions, and written artifacts. The participants of the study included a total of 41 secondary science preservice teachers in four different semesters of their teacher preparation program. Three instruments were used to generate the main data to answer the research questions. The three instruments were: (1) Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), (2) Philosophy of Teaching and Learning (PTL), and (3) videotape portfolio evaluated with the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP). Major findings include the following: (1) Preservice teachers' perceptions regarding constructivist approaches become significantly and increasingly more student-centered in terms of Personal Relevance, Critical Voice, Shared Control, and Student Negotiation as they prepare through the four semester sequence. (2) Preservice teachers' conceptions concerning teaching and learning become significantly and increasingly more student-centered in terms of what students need to do to improve their understanding of science concepts. (3) Preservice teachers conceptions and their perceptions about actual classroom practices rarely align with observed teaching practices in their classrooms. Although preservice teachers hold student-centered beliefs and perceptions, their actual classroom teaching practices were "transitional constructivist". (4) Preservice teachers' constructivist practices of teaching and learning began to decline in the third semester with preservice teachers moving towards more teacher

Identity Discourse in Preservice Teachers' Science Learning Autobiographies and Science Teaching Philosophies

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Hsu, Pei-Ling; Reis, Giuliano; Monarrez, Angelica

2017-01-01

Research in science education has shown that one's identities as science learner and teacher can mediate their pedagogical practices. Grounded in the perspective that language is a resource for identity (re)construction (Gee, 2000), the present study sought to understand how preservice science teachers' identities were manifested in their…

Integrating E-Books into Science Teaching by Preservice Elementary School Teachers

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Lai, Ching-San

2016-01-01

This study aims to discuss the issues of integrating e-books into science teaching by preservice elementary school teachers. The study adopts both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In total, 24 preservice elementary school teachers participated in this study. The main sources of research data included e-books produced by preservice…

The impact of a STS/Constructivist learning approach on the beliefs and attitudes of preservice science teachers

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Akcay, Hakan

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of an Science-Technology-Society (STS) course for preservice science teachers. The course was designed to change not only preservice science teachers' attitudes toward science, scientists and science courses, but also the awareness and use of STS/Constructivist approaches in teaching. It also focuses on changes in preservice science teachers regarding the effectiveness of an STS/Constructivist learning environment. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used with and a one-group pretest-posttest design. The instruments were administered to the preservice science teachers at the beginning of the semester as pre-tests and again at the end of the semester as post-tests. Data gathered from pre- and post-administration were analyzed for each of the instruments that provide answers to the research questions. The sample consists of forty-one pre-service science teachers who were enrolled in the Societal & Educational Applications of Biological Concepts course during the spring semester of the 2004 and 2005 academic years at the University of Iowa. The major findings for the study include the following: (1) Preservice science teachers showed significantly growth over the semester in their perceptions concerning STS/Constructivism, beliefs about science teaching and learning, and attitudes toward science and technology, and their implications for society. These significant changes were not affected by gender nor grade (elementary vs secondary) level. (2) Preservice science teachers gain in understanding of how students learn with STS/Constructivist approaches. They also increased their use of STS/Constructivist approaches which were developed and applied to teaching science for all students. (3) Preservice science teachers showed statistically significant growth toward an STS/Constructivist philosophy of science teaching and learning in terms of student actions in the classroom, as well as their

Lesson Study-Building Communities of Learning Among Pre-Service Science Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Hamzeh, Fouada

Lesson Study is a widely used pedagogical approach that has been used for decades in its country of origin, Japan. It is a teacher-led form of professional development that involves the collaborative efforts of teachers in co-planning and observing the teaching of a lesson within a unit for evidence that the teaching practices used help the learning process (Lewis, 2002a). The purpose of this research was to investigate if Lesson Study enables pre-service teachers to improve their own teaching in the area of science inquiry-based approaches. Also explored are the self-efficacy beliefs of one group of science pre-service teachers related to their experiences in Lesson Study. The research investigated four questions: 1) Does Lesson Study influence teacher preparation for inquiry-based instruction? 2) Does Lesson Study improve teacher efficacy? 3) Does Lesson Study impact teachers' aspiration to collaborate with colleagues? 4) What are the attitudes and perceptions of pre-service teachers to the Lesson Study idea in Science? The 12 participants completed two pre- and post-study surveys: STEBI- B, Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (Enochs & Riggs, 1990) and ASTQ, Attitude towards Science Teaching. Data sources included student teaching lesson observations, lesson debriefing notes and focus group interviews. Results from the STEBI-B show that all participants measured an increase in efficacy throughout the study. This study added to the body of research on teaching learning communities, professional development programs and teacher empowerment.

Preservice teachers' use of lesson study in teaching nature of science

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McDowell, Amy Virginia

The purpose of this study was to explore preservice teachers' lived experiences in a lesson study focused on teaching and learning nature of science (NOS). The body of knowledge about shifting pre- and in-service novice NOS understandings is substantial. The focus of science education research is now exploring ways to move these informed NOS understandings into classroom practice (Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000b). The research questions guiding the study were (a) how do preservice teachers' understandings of NOS shift as a result of the lesson study experience?, and (b) how does the reflective practice that occurs in lesson study influence preservice teachers' transition of NOS tenets into classroom practice? The participants in this study represented a sample of graduate preservice teachers, who were part of a middle and secondary science teaching alternative certification program in a southeastern university. In the first summer semester of this certification program, the participants were immersed in reform based science instruction; a section of which included NOS teachings (INTASC, 2002). In the following semester, participants were placed in a practicum setting; where the exploration of the preservice teachers' teaching of NOS was supported through the modified lesson study framework. Data sources included the Views on Nature of Science-Form B (VNOS-b), interviews, and lesson study portfolios. Analysis of NOS understandings was guided by instruments found in literature associated with the VNOS-b (Lederman et al., 2002) and reflection (Ward & McCotter, 2004). Results showed successful transfer of NOS into classroom practice using the modified lesson study framework, with less success in the deepening of participants' NOS understandings. Of particular significance was that results indicated a deepening of NOS pedagogical content knowledge for those participants functioning at higher levels of reflection. The study's results contributes to two knowledge bases

The effectiveness of CPI model to improve positive attitude toward science (PATS) for pre-service physics teacher

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Sunarti, T.; Wasis; Madlazim; Suyidno; Prahani, B. K.

2018-03-01

In the previous research, learning material based Construction, Production, and Implementation (CPI) model has been developed to improve scientific literacy and positive attitude toward science for pre-service physics teacher. CPI model has 4 phases, included: 1) Motivation; 2) Construction (Cycle I); 3) Production (Cycle II); and 4) Evaluation. This research is aimed to analyze the effectiveness of CPI model towards the improvement Positive Attitude toward Science (PATS) for pre-service physics teacher. This research used one group pre-test and post-test design on 160 pre-service physics teacher divided into 4 groups at Lambung Mangkurat University and Surabaya State University (Indonesia), academic year 2016/2017. Data collection was conducted through questioner, observation, and interview. Positive attitude toward science for pre-service physics teacher measurement were conducted through Positive Attitude toward Science Evaluation Sheet (PATSES). The data analysis technique was done by using Wilcoxon test and n-gain. The results showed that there was a significant increase in positive attitude toward science for pre-service physics teacher at α = 5%, with n-gain average of high category. Thus, the CPI model is effective for improving positive attitude toward science for pre-service physics teacher.

The nature of science and the preservice elementary teacher: Changes in understanding and practice

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Rivas, Michael Gerald

This action research project studies preservice elementary teachers in a science methods course. The purpose of this research project was to enhance preservice teachers' understanding of specific nature of science (NOS) tenets so as to promote equity and access within the elementary science classroom. In particular, I chose five NOS tenets that were listed in the first chapter of the AAAS (1989) document titled, "The Nature of Science," and connected them to equitable educational goals and practices. The theoretical framework guiding this study came from bodies of scholarship relating to the NOS, social constructivism, and action research. This study addressed the following three questions: (1) What opportunities were provided the preservice teachers so that they could enhance their understandings of the NOS? (2) What were the changes in preservice teachers' understanding of the NOS as a result? (3) How did the prospective teachers' understandings of the NOS translate into their classroom practice? The analysis revealed that the science methods course's operational curriculum consisted of implicit and explicit teaching of the NOS, as well as intended and untended NOS tenets. The prospective teachers initially held a limited view of the NOS, but by the end of the course their view had been enhanced. In addition, the participants made direct connections between their new understandings of the NOS and equity and access in the science classroom. In their teaching, the preservice teachers as a group implicitly taught all five of the NOS tenets. In fact, a majority taught three of the five intended tenets. Explicitly, only one tenet was taught, but it was taught with a direct connection to making the science classroom more inclusive. The findings of this study indicate that preservice teachers can have their views of the NOS enhanced even though they may have experienced years of deficient science instruction. They pointed out that this enhanced view of the NOS can be

Preservice Science Teachers' Efficacy Regarding a Socioscientific Issue: A Belief System Approach

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Kilinç, Ahmet; Kartal, Tezcan; Eroglu, Baris; Demiral, Ümit; Afacan, Özlem; Polat, Dilber; Demirci Guler, Mutlu P.; Görgülü, Özkan

2013-01-01

The aim of the present study was to understand the nature of teaching efficacy beliefs related to a socioscientific issue (SSI). We investigated Turkish preservice science teachers' teaching efficacy beliefs about genetically modified (GM) foods using a belief system approach. We assumed that preservice teachers' beliefs about GM foods (content…

Development of preservice elementary teachers' science self- efficacy beliefs and its relation to science conceptual understanding

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Menon, Deepika

Self-efficacy beliefs that relate to teachers' motivation and performance have been an important area of concern for preservice teacher education. This study used a mixed-methods approach to investigate the changes in preservice elementary teachers' science self-efficacy beliefs and the factors associated in a specialized elementary physics content course. In addition, the study is one of few to investigate the relationship between the changes in science self-efficacy beliefs and changes in physical science conceptual understanding. Participants included fifty-one preservice elementary teachers enrolled in two term of the physical science content course. Data collection and analysis procedures included both qualitative and quantitative measures. Data collection included implementation of Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (STEBI-B) (Bleicher, 2004) and Physical Science Concept Test as pre- and post-test, two semi-structured interviews with 18 participants (nine each semester), classroom observations and artifacts. A pre-post, repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) design was used to test the significance of differences between the pre- and post-surveys across time. Results indicated statistically significant gains in participants' science self-efficacy beliefs on both scales of STEBI-B - personal science teaching beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs. Additionally, a positive moderate relationship between science conceptual understandings and personal science teaching efficacy beliefs was found. Post-hoc analysis of the STEBI-B data was used to select 18 participants for interviews. The participants belonged to each group representing the low, medium and high initial levels of self-efficacy beliefs. Participants' responses indicated positive shifts in their science teacher self-image and confidence to teach science in future. Four categories that represented the course-related factors contributing towards science self

Pre-Service Science Teachers' Views of the Ecological Footprint: The Starting-Points of Sustainable Living

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Keles, Ozgul; Aydogdu, Mustafa

2010-01-01

In this study, pre-service science teachers' opinions about the concept of the ecological footprint were investigated before and after activities about sustainable life and their ecological footprints were calculated. A total of 49 pre-service science teachers (31 male, 18 female) who attend third class in the science education department…

The Effect of Simulation-Assisted Laboratory Applications on Pre-Service Teachers' Attitudes towards Science Teaching

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Ulukök, Seyma; Sari, Ugur

2016-01-01

In this study, the effects of computer-assisted laboratory applications on pre-service science teachers' attitudes towards science teaching were investigated and the opinions of the pre-service teachers about the application were also determined. The study sample consisted of 46 students studying science teaching Faculty of Education. The study…

What Kills Science in School?: Lessons from Pre-Service Teachers' Responses to Urban children's Science Inquiries.

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Matusov, Eugene

2018-06-01

This opportunistic case-study highlights striking differences in 6 urban children's and 12 preservice suburban middle-class teachers' perception of science and discuss consequences of science education and beyond. I found that all of the interviewed urban children demonstrated scientific inquiries and interests outside of the school science education that can be characterized by diverse simultaneous discourses from diverse practices, i.e., "heterodiscoursia" (Matusov in Culture & Psychology, 17(1), 99-119, 2011b), despite their diverse, positive and negative, attitudes toward school science. In contrast to the urban children's mixed attitudes to science, the preservice teachers view science negatively. They could not see science inquiries in the videotaped interviews of the urban children. There seemed to be many reasons for that. One of the possible reasons for that was that the preservice teachers tried to purify the science practice. Another reason was that they did not see a necessity to be interested and engaged in the curriculum that they are going to teach in future. The pedagogical consequences and remedies are discussed.

Investigation of preservice elementary teachers' thinking about science

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Cobern, William W.; Loving, Cathleen C.

2002-12-01

It is not uncommon to find media reports on the failures of science education, nor uncommon to hear prestigious scientists publicly lament the rise of antiscience attitudes. Given the position elementary teachers have in influencing children, antiscience sentiment among them would be a significant concern. Hence, this article reports on an investigation in which preservice elementary teachers responded to the Thinking about Science survey instrument. This newly developed instrument addresses the broadrelationship of science to nine important areas of society and culture and is intended to reveal the extent of views being consistent with or disagreeing with a commonly held worldview of science portrayed in the media and in popular science and science education literature. Results indicate that elementary teachers discriminate with respect to different aspects of culture and science but they are not antiscience.

Investigation of Preservice Science Teachers' Comprehension of the Star, Sun, Comet and Constellation Concepts

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Cevik, Ebru Ezberci; Kurnaz, Mehmet Altan

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to reveal preservice science teachers' perceptions related to the sun, star, comet and constellation concepts. The research was carried out by 56 preservice science teachers (4th grade) at Kastamonu University taking astronomy course in 2014-2015 academic year. For data collection open-ended questions that required…

Investigation of Pre-Service Science Teachers' Academic Self-Efficacy and Academic Motivation toward Biology

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Ates, Hüseyin; Saylan, Asli

2015-01-01

The purpose of this research was to examine pre-service science teachers' academic motivation and academic self-efficacy toward biology. The sample consisted of 369 pre-service science teachers who enrolled in the faculty of education of two universities in Turkey. Data were collected through Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) (Glynn & Koballa,…

Curriculum-Dependent and Curriculum-Independent Factors in Preservice Elementary Teachers' Adaptation of Science Curriculum Materials for Inquiry-Based Science

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Forbes, Cory T.

2013-01-01

In this nested mixed methods study I investigate factors influencing preservice elementary teachers' adaptation of science curriculum materials to better support students' engagement in science as inquiry. Analyses focus on two "reflective teaching assignments" completed by 46 preservice elementary teachers in an undergraduate elementary science…

Pre-service elementary teachers' understanding of scientific inquiry and its role in school science

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Macaroglu, Esra

The purpose of this research was to explore pre-service elementary teachers' developing understanding of scientific inquiry within the context of their elementary science teaching and learning. More specifically, the study examined 24 pre-service elementary teachers' emerging understanding of (1) the nature of science and scientific inquiry; (2) the "place" of scientific inquiry in school science; and (3) the roles and responsibilities of teachers and students within an inquiry-based learning environment. Data sources consisted primarily of student-generated artifacts collected throughout the semester, including pre/post-philosophy statements and text-based materials collected from electronic dialogue journals. Individual data sources were open-coded to identify concepts and categories expressed by students. Cross-comparisons were conducted and patterns were identified. Assertions were formed with these patterns. Findings are hopeful in that they suggest pre-service teachers can develop a more contemporary view of scientific inquiry when immersed in a context that promotes this perspective. Not surprisingly, however, the prospective teachers encountered a number of barriers when attempting to translate their emerging ideas into practice. More research is needed to determine which teacher preparation experiences are most powerful in supporting pre-service teachers as they construct a framework for science teaching and learning that includes scientific inquiry as a central component.

The impact of inquiry-based learning on the critical thinking dispositions of pre-service science teachers

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Arsal, Zeki

2017-07-01

In the study, the impact of inquiry-based learning on pre-service teachers' critical thinking dispositions was investigated. The sample of the study comprised of 56 pre-service teachers in the science education teacher education programme at the public university in the north of Turkey. In the study, quasi-experimental design with an experimental and a control group were applied to find out the impact of inquiry-based learning on the critical thinking dispositions of the pre-service teachers in the teacher education programme. The results showed that the pre-service teachers in the experimental group did not show statistically significant greater progress in terms of critical thinking dispositions than those in the control group. Teacher educators who are responsible for pedagogical courses in the teacher education programme should consider that the inquiry-based learning could not be effective method to improve pre-service teachers' critical thinking dispositions. The results are discussed in relation to potential impact on science teacher education and implications for future research.

Turkish Preservice Science Teachers' Socioscientific Issues-Based Teaching Practices in Middle School Science Classrooms

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Genel, Abdulkadir; Topçu, Mustafa Sami

2016-01-01

Background: Despite a growing body of research and curriculum reforms including socioscientific issues (SSI) across the world, how preservice science teachers (PST) or in-service science teachers can teach SSI in science classrooms needs further inquiry. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the abilities of PSTs to teach SSI in middle…

Predicting Turkish Preservice Elementary Teachers' Orientations to Teaching Science with Epistemological Beliefs, Learning Conceptions, and Learning Approaches in Science

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Sahin, Elif Adibelli; Deniz, Hasan; Topçu, Mustafa Sami

2016-01-01

The present study investigated to what extent Turkish preservice elementary teachers' orientations to teaching science could be explained by their epistemological beliefs, conceptions of learning, and approaches to learning science. The sample included 157 Turkish preservice elementary teachers. The four instruments used in the study were School…

The Relationship between Academic Procrastination Behaviors of Preservice Science Teachers and Their Attitudes toward Social Media

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Aslan Efe, Hülya; Efe, Rifat

2018-01-01

In this study, the relationship between study preservice science teachers' academic procrastination and their attitudes toward social media was investigated. The study was carried out with the participation of 511 preservice science teachers (F: 346, M:165) on teacher education course at Dicle University during 2014-2015 academic year. The date…

The Effect of Media on Preservice Science Teachers' Attitudes toward Astronomy and Achievement in Astronomy Class

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Bektasli, Behzat

2013-01-01

Studies show that it is hard to change students' attitudes toward science. This study specifically explored if media affect preservice science teachers' attitudes toward astronomy and their astronomy achievement. The sample for the pilot study consisted of 196 preservice science and mathematics teachers for attitude assessment and 230 preservice…

Preservice Teachers and Their Preconceptions of the NGSS Science and Engineering Practice of Developing and Using Models in Elementary Science Education

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Burks, Lizette A.

The science and engineering practice of developing and using models is a new science practice identified to achieve the vision of three-dimensional teaching and learning and as such should be an important new component of teacher preparation programs (NRC, 2012). Developing and using models is a high-leverage practice in teacher preparation because of the use of discourse in its implementation that is also used in other practices utilized within the NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013) science classroom. Additionally, the overlap between the other seven identified NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013) practices and the development and use of models along with the use of models represented in two of the overall three dimensions of the new vision for science education (NRC, 2012) contribute to its high leverage nature. The intent of this study was to examine elementary science preservice teachers' understandings and preconceptions about the practice of developing and using models. This study provides important information for teacher preparation to use this high-leverage practice. The study examined preservice teachers' preconceptions about the practice of developing and using models including discourse patterns the preservice teachers identified as being critical to the success of this practice in the classroom. Data were gathered through a written survey in which preservice teachers described their initial understanding about different components of modeling instruction. A video was used to elicit their initial understandings about certain components of modeling instruction. A sample of the preservice teachers were interviewed to elaborate on their responses to the survey. The results of the study indicated that when preservice teachers initially described how this practice might look in the classroom, only two of the six categories described in A Science Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) for this practice were described by most participants. Of those two

The impact of whole-plant instruction of preservice teachers' understanding of plant science principles

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Hypolite, Christine Collins

The purpose of this research was to determine how an inquiry-based, whole-plant instructional strategy would affect preservice elementary teachers' understanding of plant science principles. This study probed: what preservice teachers know about plant biology concepts before and after instruction, their views of the interrelatedness of plant parts and the environment, how growing a plant affects preservice teachers' understanding, and which types of activity-rich plant themes studies, if any, affect preservice elementary teachers' understandings. The participants in the study were enrolled in two elementary science methods class sections at a state university. Each group was administered a preinstructional test at the beginning of the study. The treatment group participated in inquiry-based activities related to the Principles of Plant Biology (American Society of Plant Biologists, 2001), while the comparison group studied those same concepts through traditional instructional methods. A focus group was formed from the treatment group to participate in co-concept mapping sessions. The participants' understandings were assessed through artifacts from activities, a comparison of pre- and postinstructional tests, and the concept maps generated by the focus group. Results of the research indicated that the whole-plant, inquiry-based instructional strategy can be applied to teach preservice elementary teachers plant biology while modeling the human constructivist approach. The results further indicated that this approach enhanced their understanding of plant science content knowledge, as well as pedagogical knowledge. The results also showed that a whole-plant approach to teaching plant science concepts is an instructional strategy that is feasible for the elementary school. The theoretical framework for this study was Human Constructivist learning theory (Mintzes & Wandersee, 1998). The content knowledge and instructional strategy was informed by the Principles of Plant

Preservice Teachers' Reconciliation of an Epistemological Issue in an Integrated Mathematics/Science Methods Course

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Cormas, Peter C.

2017-01-01

Preservice teachers in six sections (n = 87) of a sequenced, methodological and process-integrated elementary mathematics/science methods course were able to reconcile an issue centered on a similar area of epistemology. Preservice teachers participated in a science inquiry lesson on biological classification and a mathematics problem-solving…

Engaging Pre-Service Teachers to Teach Science Contextually with Scientific Approach Instructional Video

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Susantini, E.; Kurniasari, I.; Fauziah, A. N. M.; Prastowo, T.; Kholiq, A.; Rosdiana, L.

2018-01-01

Contextual teaching and learning/CTL presents new concepts in real-life experiences and situations where students can find out the meaningful relationship between abstract ideas and practical applications. Implementing contextual teaching by using scientific approach will foster teachers to find the constructive ways of delivering and organizing science content. This research developed an instructional video that represented a modeling of using a scientific approach in CTL. The aim of this research are to engage pre-service teachers in learning how to teach CTL and to show how pre-service teachers’ responses about learning how to teach CTL using an instructional video. The subjects of this research were ten pre-service teachers in Department of Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia. All subjects observed the instructional video which demonstrated contextual teaching and learning combined with the scientific approach as they completed a worksheet to analyze the video content. The results showed that pre-service teachers could learn to teach contextually as well as applying the scientific approach in science classroom through a modeling in the instructional video. They also responded that the instructional video could help them to learn to teach each component contextual teaching as well as scientific approach.

Impacts of Contextual and Explicit Instruction on Preservice Elementary Teachers' Understandings of the Nature of Science

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Bell, Randy L.; Matkins, Juanita Jo; Gansneder, Bruce M.

2011-01-01

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…

Turkish Preservice Science Teachers' Informal Reasoning regarding Socioscientific Issues and the Factors Influencing Their Informal Reasoning

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Topcu, Mustafa Sami; Yilmaz-Tuzun, Ozgul; Sadler, Troy D.

2011-01-01

The purpose of the study is to explore Turkish preservice science teachers' informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues and the factors influencing their informal reasoning. The researchers engaged 39 preservice science teachers in informal reasoning interview and moral decision-making interview protocols. Of the seven socioscientific…

How a science methods course may influence the curriculum decisions of preservice teachers in the Bahamas

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Wisdom, Sonya L.

The purpose of this study was to examine how a science methods course in primary education might influence the curriculum decisions of preservice teachers in The Bahamas related to unit plan development on environmental science topics. Grounded in a social constructivist theoretical framework for teaching and learning science, this study explored the development of the confidence and competence of six preservice teachers to teach environmental science topics at the primary school level. A qualitative case study using action research methodologies was conducted. The perspectives of preservice teachers about the relevancy of methods used in a science methods course were examined as I became more reflective about my practice. Using constant comparative analysis, data from student-written documents and interviews as well as my field notes from class observations and reflective journaling were analyzed for emerging patterns and themes. Findings of the study indicated that while preservice teachers showed a slight increase in interest regarding learning and teaching environmental science, their primary focus during the course was learning effective teaching strategies in science on topics with which they already had familiarity. Simultaneously, I gained a deeper understanding of the usefulness of reflection in my practice. As a contribution to the complexity of learning to teach science at the primary school level, this study suggests some issues for consideration as preservice teachers are supported to utilize more of the national primary science curriculum in The Bahamas.

Developing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge in pre-service science teachers: Support from blended learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alayyar, G.; Fisser, Petra; Voogt, Joke

2012-01-01

The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework has been used to prepare pre-service science teachers at the Public Authority of Applied Education and Training in Kuwait for ICT integration in education. Pre-service teachers worked in teams to design an ICT solution for an

Developing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge in pre-service science teachers : Support from blended learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alayyar, G.; Fisser, Petra; Voogt, Joke

2012-01-01

The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework has been used to prepare pre-service science teachers at the Public Authority of Applied Education and Training in Kuwait for ICT integration in education. Pre-service teachers worked in teams to design an ICT solution for an

Changing Preservice Science Teachers' Views of Nature of Science: Why Some Conceptions May Be More Easily Altered than Others

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Mesci, Gunkut; Schwartz, Renee' S.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess preservice teachers' views of Nature of Science (NOS), identify aspects that were challenging for conceptual change, and explore reasons why. This study particularly focused on why and how some concepts of NOS may be more easily altered than others. Fourteen preservice science teachers enrolled in a NOS and…

View of Nature of Science (VNOS Form B: An Instrument for Assessing Preservice Teachers View of Nature of Science at Borneo University Tarakan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Listiani Listiani

2017-03-01

Full Text Available NOS form B is an instrument that has been developed and revised to assess the view of nature of science of preservice science teachers through nature of science aspects.Indeed, students and teachers have to have the view of nature of science to avoid misconceptions of science concepts. Unfortunately, research on the view of Nature of Science is less conducted in Indonesia. This is a qualitative research that was conducted in Borneo University Tarakan. Respondents are preservice biology teachers in the sixth semester. The first step of this research is translating and adapting the VNOS form B into Bahasa Indonesia to make sure that the instrument is culturally fit to Indonesian and the transadapted instrument then given to the respondents. The result shows that the VNOS form B can be applied to assess the view of nature of science of preservice biology teachers. However, the result also shows that most of preservice biology teachers have few understanding on aspects of nature of scince.

Do Inquiring Minds Have Positive Attitudes? The Science Education of Preservice Elementary Teachers

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Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Morton, Karisma; Moore, Chelsea; Chimonidou, Antonia; Labrake, Cynthia; Kopp, Sacha

2016-01-01

Due to their potential impact on students' cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes, the negative attitudes towards science held by many elementary teachers are a critical issue that needs to be addressed. This study focuses on the science education of pre-service elementary teachers with the goal of improving their attitudes before they begin their professional lives as classroom teachers. Specifically, this study builds on a small body of research to examine whether exposure to inquiry-based science content courses that actively involve students in the collaborative process of learning and discovery can promote a positive change in attitudes towards science across several different dimensions. To examine this issue, surveys and administrative data were collected from over 200 students enrolled in the Hands on Science (HoS) program for pre-service teachers at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as more than 200 students in a comparison group enrolled in traditional lecture-style classes. Quantitative analyses reveal that after participating in HoS courses, pre-service teachers significantly increased their scores on scales measuring confidence, enjoyment, anxiety, and perceptions of relevance, while those in the comparison group experienced a decline in favorable attitudes to science. These patterns offer empirical support for the attitudinal benefits of inquiry-based instruction and have implications for the future learning opportunities available to students at all education levels. PMID:27667862

Social Interactions and Familial Relationships Preservice Science Teachers Describe during Interviews about Their Drawings of the Endocrine and Gastrointestinal Systems

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Patrick, Patricia

2014-01-01

This study examined preservice science teachers' understandings of the structure and function of the human gastrointestinal and endocrine systems through drawings and interviews. Moreover, the preservice science teachers described where they thought they learned about the systems. The 142 preservice teachers were asked to draw the human…

How Select Groups of Preservice Science Teachers with Inquiry Orientations View Teaching and Learning Science through Inquiry

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Ward, Peggy

Although hailed as a powerful form of instruction, in most teaching and learning contexts, inquiry-based instruction is fraught with ambiguous and conflicting definitions and descriptions. Yet little has been written about the experiences preservice science teacher have regarding their learning to teach science through inquiry. This project sought to understand how select preservice secondary science teachers enrolled in three UTeach programs in Arkansas conceptualize inquiry instruction and how they rationalize its value in a teaching and learning context. The three teacher education programs investigated in this study are adoption sites aligned with the UTeach Program in Austin, TX that distinguishes itself in part by its inquiry emphasis. Using a mixed method investigation design, this study utilized two sources of data to explore the preservice science teachers' thinking. In the first phase, a modified version of the Pedagogy of Science teaching Tests (POSTT) was used to identify select program participants who indicated preferences for inquiry instruction over other instructional strategies. Secondly, the study used an open-ended questionnaire to explore the selected subjects' beliefs and conceptions of teaching and learning science in an inquiry context. The study also focused on identifying particular junctures in the prospective science teachers' education preparation that might impact their understanding about inquiry. Using a constant comparative approach, this study explored 19 preservice science teachers' conceptions about inquiry. The results indicate that across all levels of instruction, the prospective teachers tended to have strong student-centered teaching orientations. Except subjects in for the earliest courses, subjects' definitions and descriptions of inquiry tended toward a few of the science practices. More advanced subjects, however, expressed more in-depth descriptions. Excluding the subjects who have completed the program, multiple

Latent transition analysis of pre-service teachers' efficacy in mathematics and science

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Ward, Elizabeth Kennedy

This study modeled changes in pre-service teacher efficacy in mathematics and science over the course of the final year of teacher preparation using latent transition analysis (LTA), a longitudinal form of analysis that builds on two modeling traditions (latent class analysis (LCA) and auto-regressive modeling). Data were collected using the STEBI-B, MTEBI-r, and the ABNTMS instruments. The findings suggest that LTA is a viable technique for use in teacher efficacy research. Teacher efficacy is modeled as a construct with two dimensions: personal teaching efficacy (PTE) and outcome expectancy (OE). Findings suggest that the mathematics and science teaching efficacy (PTE) of pre-service teachers is a multi-class phenomena. The analyses revealed a four-class model of PTE at the beginning and end of the final year of teacher training. Results indicate that when pre-service teachers transition between classes, they tend to move from a lower efficacy class into a higher efficacy class. In addition, the findings suggest that time-varying variables (attitudes and beliefs) and time-invariant variables (previous coursework, previous experiences, and teacher perceptions) are statistically significant predictors of efficacy class membership. Further, analyses suggest that the measures used to assess outcome expectancy are not suitable for LCA and LTA procedures.

The Development of Interdisciplinary Teaching Approaches among Pre-service Science and Mathematics Teachers

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Miranda Martins, Dominique

This study sought to understand how a group of pre-service teachers in a combined secondary science and mathematics teaching methods course conceptualized and experienced interdisciplinary approaches to teaching. Although knowing how to plan interdisciplinary activities is an essential teaching practice in Quebec, these pre-service teachers faced many challenges during the process of learning to teach with this approach. By using two interdisciplinary frameworks (Nikitina, 2005; Boix Mansilla & Duraising, 2007), I qualitatively analyzed the development of the pre-service teachers' prior and emerging ideas about interdisciplinarity and their ability to plan interdisciplinary teaching activities. The provincial curriculum and issues related to time greatly shaped students' conceptions about interdisciplinarity in the classroom and constrained their ability to plan for and envision the enactment of interdisciplinary lessons in secondary science and mathematics classes. In addition, images of themselves as content-specialists, self-efficacy beliefs in relation to interdisciplinary teaching, and student learning as a source of teacher motivation emerged as key factors promoting or interrupting the development of interdisciplinary teaching approaches. Examination of these factors highlights the need for teacher-education programs to provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to explore how they see themselves as educators, increase their instructional self-efficacy beliefs, and motivate them to teach in an interdisciplinary fashion. Keywords: interdisciplinary teaching, student-teachers, curriculum, teacher-education program, self-efficacy, motivation.

Using case method to explicitly teach formative assessment in preservice teacher science education

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Bentz, Amy Elizabeth

The process of formative assessment improves student understanding; however, the topic of formative assessment in preservice education has been severely neglected. Since a major goal of teacher education is to create reflective teaching professionals, preservice teachers should be provided an opportunity to critically reflect on the use of formative assessment in the classroom. Case method is an instructional methodology that allows learners to engage in and reflect on real-world situations. Case based pedagogy can play an important role in enhancing preservice teachers' ability to reflect on teaching and learning by encouraging alternative ways of thinking about assessment. Although the literature on formative assessment and case methodology are extensive, using case method to explore the formative assessment process is, at best, sparse. The purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: To what extent does the implementation of formative assessment cases in methods instruction influence preservice elementary science teachers' knowledge of formative assessment? What descriptive characteristics change between the preservice teachers' pre-case and post-case written reflection that would demonstrate learning had occurred? To investigate these questions, preservice teachers in an elementary methods course were asked to reflect on and discuss five cases. Pre/post-case data was analyzed. Results indicate that the preservice teachers modified their ideas to reflect the themes that were represented within the cases and modified their reflections to include specific ideas or examples taken directly from the case discussions. Comparing pre- and post-case reflections, the data supports a noted change in how the preservice teachers interpreted the case content. The preservice teachers began to evaluate the case content, question the lack of formative assessment concepts and strategies within the case, and apply formative assessment concepts and

Physical Sciences Preservice Teachers' Religious and Scientific Views Regarding the Origin of the Universe and Life

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Govender, Nadaraj

2017-01-01

This paper explores final-year physical sciences preservice teachers' religious and scientific views regarding the origin of the universe and life. Data was obtained from 10 preservice teachers from individual in-depth interviews conducted at the end of the Science Method module. Their viewpoints were analyzed using coding, sorting, and…

Taiwanese Preservice Teachers' Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Teaching Intention

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Lin, Kuen-Yi; Williams, P. John

2016-01-01

This study applies the theory of planned behavior as a basis for exploring the impact of knowledge, values, subjective norms, perceived behavioral controls, and attitudes on the behavioral intention toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education among Taiwanese preservice science teachers. Questionnaires (N = 139)…

The effect of electronic networking on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching self-efficacy and attitude towards science teaching

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Mathew, Nishi Mary

Preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy and attitude towards science teaching are important determinants of whether and how they will teach science in their classrooms. Preservice teachers' understanding of science and science teaching experiences have an impact on their beliefs about their ability to teach science. This study had a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design (N = 60). Preservice elementary teachers in this study were networked through the Internet (using e-mail, newsgroups, listserv, world wide web access and electronic mentoring) during their science methods class and student practicum. Electronic networking provides a social context in which to learn collaboratively, share and reflect upon science teaching experiences and practices, conduct tele-research effectively, and to meet the demands of student teaching through peer support. It was hoped that the activities over the electronic networks would provide them with positive and helpful science learning and teaching experiences. Self-efficacy was measured using a 23-item Likert scale instrument, the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument, Form-B (STEBI-B). Attitude towards science teaching was measured using the Revised Science Attitude Scale (RSAS). Analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data, with pretest scores as the covariate. Findings of this study revealed that prospective elementary teachers in the electronically networked group had better science teaching efficacy and personal science teaching efficacy as compared to the non-networked group of preservice elementary teachers. The science teaching outcome expectancy of prospective elementary teachers in the networked group was not greater than that of the prospective teachers in the non-networked group (at p < 0.05). Attitude towards science teaching was not significantly affected by networking. However, this is surmised to be related to the duration of the study. Information about the

The Relationship between Pre-Service Science Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs and Preferences for Creating a Constructivist Learning Environment

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Saylan, Asli; Armagan, Fulya Öner; Bektas, Oktay

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the relationship between pre-service science teachers' epistemological beliefs and perceptions of a constructivist learning environment. The Turkish version of Constructivist Learning Environment Survey and Schommer's Epistemological Belief Questionnaire were administered to 531 pre-service science teachers attending…

Determining the Factors That Affect the Objectives of Pre-Service Science Teachers to Perform Outdoor Science Activities

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Karademir, Ersin; Erten, Sinan

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine whether pre-service teachers have an aim to perform outdoor education activities within the scope of science and technology course; by which factors this aim is affected, through The Theory of Planned Behaviour and the opinions of pre-service teachers. Accordingly, the study was designed as mixed research…

Using Social Media to Promote Pre-Service Science Teachers' Practices of Socio-Scientific Issue (SSI) - Based Teaching

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Pitiporntapin, Sasithep; Lankford, Deanna Marie

2015-01-01

This paper addresses using social media to promote pre-service science teachers' practices of Socio-Scientific Issue (SSI) based teaching in a science classroom setting. We designed our research in two phases. The first phase examined pre-service science teachers' perceptions about using social media to promote their SSI-based teaching. The…

Changes in Pre-service Science Teachers' Understandings After Being Involved in Explicit Nature of Science and Socioscientific Argumentation Processes

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Kutluca, A. Y.; Aydın, A.

2017-08-01

The study explored the changes in pre-service science teachers' understanding of the nature of science and their opinions about the nature of science, science teaching and argumentation after their participation in explicit nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific argumentation processes. The participants were 56 third-grade pre-service science teachers studying in a state university in Turkey. The treatment group comprised 27 participants, and there were 29 participants in the comparison group. The comparison group participants were involved in a student-centred science-teaching process, and the participants of the treatment group were involved in explicit NOS and socioscientific argumentation processes. In the study, which lasted a total of 11 weeks, a NOS-as-argumentation questionnaire was administered to all the participants to determine their understanding of NOS at the beginning and end of the data collection process, and six random participants of the treatment group participated in semi-structured interview questions in order to further understand their views regarding NOS, science teaching and argumentation. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis revealed that the explicit NOS and socioscientific argumentation processes had a significant effect on pre-service science teachers' NOS understandings. Furthermore, NOS, argumentation and science teaching views of the participants in the treatment group showed a positive change. The results of this study are discussed in light of the related literature, and suggestions are made within the context of contribution to science-teaching literature, improvement of education quality and education of pre-service teachers.

Profile of science process skills of Preservice Biology Teacher in General Biology Course

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Susanti, R.; Anwar, Y.; Ermayanti

2018-04-01

This study aims to obtain portrayal images of science process skills among preservice biology teacher. This research took place in Sriwijaya University and involved 41 participants. To collect the data, this study used multiple choice test comprising 40 items to measure the mastery of science process skills. The data were then analyzed in descriptive manner. The results showed that communication aspect outperfomed the other skills with that 81%; while the lowest one was identifying variables and predicting (59%). In addition, basic science process skills was 72%; whereas for integrated skills was a bit lower, 67%. In general, the capability of doing science process skills varies among preservice biology teachers.

Development and Nature of Preservice Chemistry Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Nature of Science

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Demirdöğen, Betül; Hanuscin, Deborah L.; Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci, Esen; Köseoğlu, Fitnat

2016-08-01

The purpose of this case study is to delve into the complexities of the early development of preservice chemistry teachers' science teaching orientations, knowledge of learners, knowledge of instructional strategies, and knowledge of assessment during a two-semester intervention designed to enhance their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching nature of science (NOS). Thirty preservice chemistry teachers enrolled in a Research in Science Education course participated in the study. Qualitative data sources included responses to an open-ended instrument, interviews, observations, and artifacts such as lesson plans and reflection papers. Through the in-depth analysis of explicit PCK and constant comparative method of analysis, we identified the influence of the intervention on participants' PCK for NOS. Analysis of data revealed four major themes related to the nature of preservice chemistry teachers' NOS teaching practices and their PCK for NOS: (1) prerequisite knowledge and beliefs are necessary to teach NOS, (2) there is a developmental progression of PCK for NOS from knowledge to application level, (3) teachers need some comfort in their NOS understanding to teach NOS, and (4) the higher integration of PCK components leads to successful NOS teaching practices. Implications for science teacher education and research are discussed.

Developing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Pre-Service Science Teachers: Support from Blended Learning

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Alayyar, Ghaida M.; Fisser, Petra; Voogt, Joke

2012-01-01

The "Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge" (TPACK) framework has been used to prepare pre-service science teachers at the Public Authority of Applied Education and Training in Kuwait for ICT integration in education. Pre-service teachers worked in teams to design an ICT solution for an authentic problem they faced during in-school…

Perceptions of Pre-Service Social Sciences Teachers Regarding the Concept of "Geography" by Mind Mapping Technique

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Ozturk Demirbas, Cagri

2013-01-01

The objective of this study is to present the perceptions of preservice social sciences teachers regarding the concept of geography. In the study, the study group consists of 46 preservice social sciences teachers, who receive education at Ahi Evran University. The data were collected in December, 2010. Mind maps were used as data collection tools…

Pre-Service Science Teachers Views on STEM Materials and STEM Competition in Instructional Technologies and Material Development Course

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Cetin, Ali; Balta, Nuri

2017-01-01

This qualitative study was designed to introduce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) activities to preservice science teachers and identify their views about STEM materials. In this context, a competition was organized with 42 preservice science teachers (13 male- 29 female) who took Instructional Technologies and Material…

Engaging Pre-Service Science Teachers to Act as Active Designers of Technology Integration: A MAGDAIRE Framework

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Chien, Yu-Ta; Chang, Chun-Yen; Yeh, Ting-Kuang; Chang, Kuo-En

2012-01-01

This paper describes our efforts in developing the MAGDAIRE framework (abbreviated from Modeled Analysis, Guided Development, Articulated Implementation, and Reflected Evaluation) to transform pre-service science teachers' roles in a teacher education course: moving pre-service teachers from the roles of passive users of technology, as they…

Emotional climate of a pre-service science teacher education class in Bhutan

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Rinchen, Sonam; Ritchie, Stephen M.; Bellocchi, Alberto

2016-09-01

This study explored pre-service secondary science teachers' perceptions of classroom emotional climate in the context of the Bhutanese macro-social policy of Gross National Happiness. Drawing upon sociological perspectives of human emotions and using Interaction Ritual Theory this study investigated how pre-service science teachers may be supported in their professional development. It was a multi-method study involving video and audio recordings of teaching episodes supported by interviews and the researcher's diary. Students also registered their perceptions of the emotional climate of their classroom at 3-minute intervals using audience response technology. In this way, emotional events were identified for video analysis. The findings of this study highlighted that the activities pre-service teachers engaged in matter to them. Positive emotional climate was identified in activities involving students' presentations using video clips and models, coteaching, and interactive whole class discussions. Decreases in emotional climate were identified during formal lectures and when unprepared presenters led presentations. Emotions such as frustration and disappointment characterized classes with negative emotional climate. The enabling conditions to sustain a positive emotional climate are identified. Implications for sustaining macro-social policy about Gross National Happiness are considered in light of the climate that develops in science teacher education classes.

Student-Centered Learning in an Earth Science, Preservice, Teacher-Education Course

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Avard, Margaret

2009-01-01

In an effort to get elementary teachers to teach more science in the classroom, a required preservice science education course was designed to promote the use of hands-on teaching techniques. This paper describes course content and activities for an innovative, student-centered, Earth science class. However, any science-content course could be…

Changes in Pre-Service Science Teachers' Understandings After Being Involved in Explicit Nature of Science and Socioscientific Argumentation Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Kutluca, A. Y.; Aydin, A.

2017-01-01

The study explored the changes in pre-service science teachers' understanding of the nature of science and their opinions about the nature of science, science teaching and argumentation after their participation in explicit nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific argumentation processes. The participants were 56 third-grade pre-service science…

Investigating Pre-Service Science Teachers' Critical Thinking Dispositions and Problem Solving Skills in Terms of Different Variables

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Yenice, Nilgun

2011-01-01

This study was conducted to examine pre-service science teachers' critical thinking dispositions and problem solving skills based on gender, grade level and graduated high school variables. Also relationship between pre-service science teachers' critical thinking dispositions and problem solving skills was examined based on gender, grade level and…

Turkish Preservice Primary School Teachers' Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs and Attitudes toward Science: The Effect of a Primary Teacher Education Program

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Bayraktar, Sule

2011-01-01

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a primary teacher education program in improving science teaching efficacy beliefs (personal science teaching efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs) of preservice primary school teachers. The study also investigated whether the program has an effect on student…

Confronting Barriers to Teaching Elementary Science: After-School Science Teaching Experiences for Preservice Teachers

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Cartwright, Tina; Smith, Suzanne; Hallar, Brittan

2014-01-01

This qualitative study examines the transition of eight elementary preservice teachers into student teaching after participating in a science methods course that included a significant amount of teaching after-school science to elementary grade students. These eight participants had a chance to practice teaching inquiry-based science and to reform…

Effect of Robotics on Elementary Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy, Science Learning, and Computational Thinking

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Jaipal-Jamani, Kamini; Angeli, Charoula

2017-01-01

The current impetus for increasing STEM in K-12 education calls for an examination of how preservice teachers are being prepared to teach STEM. This paper reports on a study that examined elementary preservice teachers' (n = 21) self-efficacy, understanding of science concepts, and computational thinking as they engaged with robotics in a science…

Developing Pre-service Teachers' Technology Integration ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Developing Pre-service Teachers' Technology Integration Competencies in Science and Mathematics Teaching: Experiences from Tanzania and Uganda. ... This study investigated the ICT integration practices in pre-service teacher education in the School of Education at Makerere University (College of Education and ...

Research Experiences in Teacher Preparation: Effectiveness of the Green Bank preservice teacher enhancement program

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Hemler, Debra A.

1997-11-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the preservice teacher component of the Research Experiences in Teacher Preparation (RETP) project aimed at enhancing teacher perceptions of the nature of science, science research, and science teaching. Data was collected for three preservice teacher groups during the three phases of the program: (I) a one week institute held at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia where teachers performed astronomy research using a 40 foot diameter radio telescope; (II) a secondary science methods course; and (III) student teaching placements. Four Likert-type instruments were developed and administered pre and post-institute to assess changes in perceptions of science, attitudes toward research, concerns about implementing research in the classroom, and evaluation of the institute. Instruments were re-administered following the methods course and student teaching. Observations of classroom students conducting research were completed for seven preservice teacher participants in their student teaching placements. Analysis, using t-tests, showed a significant increase in preservice teachers perceptions of their ability to do research. Preservice teachers were not concerned about implementing research in their placements. No significant change was measured in their understanding of the nature of science and science teaching. Concept maps demonstrated a significant increase in radio astronomy content knowledge. Participants responded that the value of institute components, quality of the research elements, and preparation for implementing research in the classroom were "good" to "excellent". Following the methods course (Phase II) no significant change in their understanding of the nature of science or concerns about implementing projects in the classroom were measured. Of the 7 preservice teachers who were observed implementing research projects, 5 projects were consistent with the Green

Teaching science with a multicultural agenda: The challenges and conflicts for preservice teachers

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Yang, Kimberley

This dissertation examines the challenges and conflicts that preservice teachers have when teaching science with a multicultural agenda. This study is based on the experience of three preservice teachers who have participated in a one or two semester(s) volunteered commitment teaching science to pre-kindergarten students at a homeless shelter in the South Bronx of New York City. Findings derived from in-depth interviews, observations, lesson planning and debriefing sessions, journals, questionnaires and extracurricular interaction of the researcher and participants, indicate that preservice teachers were initially uncertain about the philosophy and actual practice of teaching science with a multicultural agenda. Their experience at the homeless shelter brings up issues of social class and family background as determinants of access and success in science education, multicultural science as exclusive from the accepted science canon, and the value of practicing science education with a multicultural agenda. The philosophical framework for teaching science from a multicultural framework is based on ideas that stem from feminist theories of valuing the lived social and educational experiences of children, and critical theory that examines the role of school and science as culture. The intention of multicultural science education is to create a science education that is inclusive for students regardless of cultural background. This includes students who have been traditionally marginalized from school science. In many instances, children from severe inner-city economically impoverished environments have been overlooked as science-able within school culture.

American Elementary Education Pre-Service Teachers' Attitudes towards Biotechnology Processes

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Chabalengula, Vivien Mweene; Mumba, Frackson; Chitiyo, Jonathan

2011-01-01

This study examined elementary education pre-service teachers' attitudes towards biotechnology processes. A sample comprised 88 elementary education pre-service teachers at a mid-sized university in the Midwest of the USA. Sixty and 28 of these pre-service teachers were enrolled in Introductory Science Methods course and Advance Science Methods…

The Influence of Repeated Teaching and Reflection on Preservice Teachers' Views of Inquiry and Nature of Science

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Lotter, Christine; Singer, Jonathan; Godley, Jenice

2009-12-01

This study describes the influence of a secondary science methods program on secondary science preservice teachers’ views and enactment of nature of science and inquiry-based instructional practices. Built into the structure of this program were three cycles of practice teaching and reflection in which the preservice teachers focused on key pedagogical ideas in classroom settings with middle and high school students. The nine secondary preservice teachers improved both their understanding and enactment of inquiry and nature of science throughout the program period. This study provides evidence of the importance of incorporating multiple low-stakes practicum experiences that are closely tied to methods course goals that are highly scaffolded through both methods instructor and cooperating teacher support and tied to analytic self-reflection.

An Analysis of Pre-Service Science Teachers' Moral Considerations about Environment and Their Attitudes towards Sustainable Environment

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Alpak-Tunç, Gizem; Yenice, Nilgün

2017-01-01

This study aims at analysing the moral considerations of pre-service science teachers about environment and their attitudes towards sustainable environment. It was carried out during the school year of 2014-2015 with 1438 pre-service science teachers attending public universities in the Aegean region of Turkey. The data of the study were collected…

An Added Layer of Support: Introducing a Heterarchical Peer Mentoring Intervention to a Preservice Science Teacher Education Cohort

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Neesemann, Lisa Ann

2017-01-01

In an effort to support preservice science teachers during their concurrent student teaching experiences and masters coursework, I created and implemented a Peer Mentoring Intervention to add an additional layer of support to those most traditionally curated. In this intervention, preservice secondary science teachers were paired into…

Science and Technology Pre-Service Teachers' Tendencies to Explain Vitality

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Ozdemir, Oguz

2012-01-01

The present study was carried out to determine the Science and Technology pre-service teachers' tendencies to explain vitality in a university located in Southeast Anatolia of Turkey in 2010-2011 academic year. The data were collected through the administration of a questionnaire developed by the researcher to 1st and 4th year Science and…

Influence of Particle Theory Conceptions on Pre-Service Science Teachers' Understanding of Osmosis and Diffusion

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AlHarbi, Nawaf N. S.; Treagust, David F.; Chandrasegaran, A. L.; Won, Mihye

2015-01-01

This study investigated the understanding of diffusion, osmosis and particle theory of matter concepts among 192 pre-service science teachers in Saudi Arabia using a 17-item two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic test. The data analysis showed that the pre-service teachers' understanding of osmosis and diffusion concepts was mildly correlated with…

Determination of Pre-Service Science Teachers' Level of Awareness of Environmental Ethics in Relation to Different Variables

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Keles, Özgül; Özer, Nilgün

2016-01-01

The purpose of the current study is to determine the pre-service science teachers' awareness levels of environmental ethics in relation to different variables. The sampling of the present study is comprised of 1,023 third and fourth year pre-service science teachers selected from 12 different universities in the spring term of 2013-2014 academic…

Oral Academic Language by Design: Bilingual Pre-Service Teachers' Purposeful Infusion of Paired Strategies during Science Instruction

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Arreguín-Anderson, María G.; Alanis, Iliana

2017-01-01

This study explores ways in which university science courses can be infused with opportunities for pre-service teachers to design student student interactions that promote language development and content mastery. Participants included bilingual pre-service teachers enrolled in an elementary science approaches course and its school-based fieldwork…

Pre-service science teachers' teaching self-efficacy in relation to personality traits and academic self-regulation.

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Senler, Burcu; Sungur-Vural, Semra

2013-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship among pre-service science teachers' personality traits, academic self-regulation and teaching self-efficacy by proposing and testing a conceptual model. For the specified purpose, 1794 pre-service science teachers participated in the study. The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory, and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire were administered to assess pre-service science teachers' teaching self-efficacy, personality, and academic self-regulation respectively. Results showed that agreeableness, neuroticism, performance approach goals, and use of metacognitive strategies are positively linked to different dimensions of teaching self-efficacy, namely self-efficacy for student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. In general, while agreeableness and neuroticism were found to be positively associated with different facets of self-regulation and teaching self-efficacy, openness was found to be negatively linked to these adaptive outcomes.

Exploring pre-service science teachers' pedagogical capacity for formative assessment through analyses of student answers

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Aydeniz, Mehmet; Dogan, Alev

2016-05-01

Background: There has been an increasing emphasis on empowering pre-service and in-service science teachers to attend student reasoning and use formative assessments to guide student learning in recent years. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore pre-service science teachers' pedagogical capacity for formative assessment. Sample: This study took place in Turkey. The participants include 53 pre-service science teachers in their final year of schooling. All but two of the participants are female. Design and methods: We used a mixed-methods methodology in pursing this inquiry. Participants analyzed 28 responses to seven two-tiered questions given by four students of different ability levels. We explored their ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses in students' answers. We paid particular attention to the things that the pre-service science teachers noticed in students' explanations, the types of inferences they made about students' conceptual understanding, and the affordances of pedagogical decisions they made. Results: The results show that the majority of participants made an evaluative judgment (i.e. the answer is correct or incorrect) in their analyses of students' answers. Similarly, the majority of the participants recognized the type of mistake that the students made. However, they failed to successfully elaborate on fallacies, limitations, or strengths in student reasoning. We also asked the participants to make pedagogical decisions related to what needs to be done next in order to help the students to achieve academic objectives. Results show that 8% of the recommended instructional strategies were of no affordance, 64% of low-affordance, and 28% were of high affordance in terms of helping students achieve the academic objectives. Conclusion: If our goal is to improve pre-service science teachers' noticing skills, and the affordance of feedback that they provide, engaging them in activities that asks them to attend to students' ideas

Promoting Preservice Teachers' Attitudes toward Socioscientific Issues

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Yerdelen, Sundus; Cansiz, Mustafa; Cansiz, Nurcan; Akcay, Hakan

2018-01-01

In this study, we aimed to improve preservice teachers' attitudes toward socioscientific issues through socioscientific issue course. Moreover, we investigated whether this course influences preservice teachers studying in a science education and non-science education in a similar way. For this purpose, a semester-long socioscientific issues…

The Effects of Online Homework on First Year Pre-Service Science Teachers' Learning Achievements of Introductory Organic Chemistry

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Ratniyom, Jadsada; Boonphadung, Suttipong; Unnanantn, Thassanant

2016-01-01

This study examined the effects of the introductory organic chemistry online homework on first year pre-service science teachers' learning achievements. The online homework was created using a web-based Google form in order to enhance the pre-service science teachers' learning achievements. The steps for constructing online homework were…

A Study on Using Hands-On Science Inquiries to Promote the Geology Learning of Preservice Teachers

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Lai, Ching-San

2015-01-01

This study aims to investigate the geology learning performance of preservice teachers. A total of 31 sophomores (including 11 preservice teachers) from an educational university in Taiwan participated in this study. The course arrangements include class teaching and hands-on science inquiry activities. The study searches both quantitative and…

Pre-Service Science Teachers in Xinjiang "Scientific Inquiry" - Pedagogical Content Knowledge Research

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Li, Yufeng; Xiong, Jianwen

2012-01-01

Scientific inquiry is one of the science curriculum content, "Scientific inquiry" - Pedagogical Content Knowledge is the face of scientific inquiry and teachers - of course pedagogical content knowledge and scientific inquiry a teaching practice with more direct expertise. Pre-service teacher training phase of acquisition of knowledge is…

The Effect of an Instructional Intervention on Enhancement Pre-Service Science Teachers' Science Processes Skills

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Durmaz, Hüsnüye

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of an instructional intervention on enhancement the pre-service science teachers' (PSTs) science process skills (SPSs) and to identify problems in using SPSs through Laboratory Applications in Science Education-I course (LASE-I). One group pretest-posttest pre-experimental design was employed. An…

Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Teach Primary Science: An Integrated Approach Using the Theme of Sustainability

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King, Donna

2014-01-01

An integrated approach to assessment afforded pre-service teachers the opportunity to learn about a local sustainability issue through three learning areas: science and technology, the arts and studies of society and environment (SOSE). Three sustainability issues chosen by the pre-service teachers are presented in this paper highlighting the…

The Impact of Video Case Content on Preservice Elementary Teachers' Decision-Making and Conceptions of Effective Science Teaching

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Olson, Joanne K.; Bruxvoort, Crystal N.; Vande Haar, Andrea J.

2016-01-01

Little is known about how the content of a video case influences what preservice teachers learn about science teaching. This study was designed to determine the impact of two different video cases on preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of multiple aspects of effective science teaching, with one video selected to focus attention on the role…

The Effects of Cognitive Styles on Naïve Impetus Theory Application Degrees of Pre-Service Science Teachers

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Cataloglu, Erdat; Ates, Salih

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between pre-service science teachers' Field Dependent or Field Independent (FD/FI) cognitive styles and the application of degrees of naive impetus theory. The sample consisted of 122 pre-service science teachers (97 females and 25 males) who were enrolled in the…

First-year Pre-service Teachers in Taiwan—Do they enter the teacher program with satisfactory scientific literacy and attitudes toward science?

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Chin, Chi-Chin

2005-10-01

Scientific literacy and attitudes toward science play an important role in human daily lives. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether first-year pre-service teachers in colleges in Taiwan have a satisfactory level of scientific literacy. The domains of scientific literacy selected in this study include: (1) science content; (2) the interaction between science, technology and society (STS); (3) the nature of science; and (4) attitudes toward science. In this study, the instruments used were Chinese translations of the Test of Basic Scientific Literacy (TBSL) and the Test of Science-related Attitudes. Elementary education majors (n = 141) and science education majors (n = 138) from four teachers’ colleges responded to these instruments. The statistical results from the tests revealed that, in general, the basic scientific literacy of first-year pre-service teachers was at a satisfactory level. Of the six scales covered in this study, the pre-service teachers displayed the highest literacy in health science, STS, and life science. Literacy in the areas of the nature of science and earth science was rated lowest. The results also showed that science education majors scored significantly higher in physical science, life science, nature of science, science content, and the TBSL than elementary science majors. Males performed better than females in earth science, life science, science content, and the TBSL. Next, elementary education majors responded with more “don’t know” responses than science education majors. In general, the pre-service teachers were moderately positive in terms of attitudes toward science while science education majors had more positive attitudes toward science. There was no significant difference in attitudes between genders. Previous experience in science indicated more positive attitudes toward science. The results from stepwise regression revealed that STS, the nature of science, and attitudes toward science could explain 50

Pre-Service Teachers' Conceptions of Probability

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Odafe, Victor U.

2011-01-01

Probability knowledge and skills are needed in science and in making daily decisions that are sometimes made under uncertain conditions. Hence, there is the need to ensure that the pre-service teachers of our children are well prepared to teach probability. Pre-service teachers' conceptions of probability are identified, and ways of helping them…

The Correlation between Pre-Service Science Teachers' Astronomy Achievement, Attitudes towards Astronomy and Spatial Thinking Skills

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Türk, Cumhur

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in pre-service Science teachers' astronomy achievement, attitudes towards astronomy and skills for spatial thinking in terms of their years of study. Another purpose of the study was to find out whether there was correlation between pre-service teachers' astronomy achievement, attitudes towards…

Influence of an Intensive, Field-Based Life Science Course on Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy for Environmental Science Teaching

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Trauth-Nare, Amy

2015-01-01

Personal and professional experiences influence teachers' perceptions of their ability to implement environmental science curricula and to positively impact students' learning. The purpose of this study was twofold: to determine what influence, if any, an intensive field-based life science course and service learning had on preservice teachers'…

Possibilities and Limits of Integrating Science and Diversity Education in Preservice Elementary Teacher Preparation

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Bravo, Marco A.; Mosqueda, Eduardo; Solís, Jorge L.; Stoddart, Trish

2014-01-01

In this paper we present findings from a project that documented the development of preservice teachers' beliefs and practices in delivering science instruction that considers issues of language and culture. Teacher candidates in the intervention group (n = 65) received a science methods course and teaching practicum experience that provided…

Development and Application of a Category System to Describe Pre-Service Science Teachers' Activities in the Process of Scientific Modelling

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Krell, Moritz; Walzer, Christine; Hergert, Susann; Krüger, Dirk

2017-09-01

As part of their professional competencies, science teachers need an elaborate meta-modelling knowledge as well as modelling skills in order to guide and monitor modelling practices of their students. However, qualitative studies about (pre-service) science teachers' modelling practices are rare. This study provides a category system which is suitable to analyse and to describe pre-service science teachers' modelling activities and to infer modelling strategies. The category system was developed based on theoretical considerations and was inductively refined within the methodological frame of qualitative content analysis. For the inductive refinement, modelling practices of pre-service teachers (n = 4) have been video-taped and analysed. In this study, one case was selected to demonstrate the application of the category system to infer modelling strategies. The contribution of this study for science education research and science teacher education is discussed.

Omani Pre-Service Science Teachers' Views about Global Warming: Beliefs about Actions and Willingness to Act

Science.gov (United States)

Ambusaidi, Abdullah; Boyes, Edward; Stanisstreet, Martin; Taylor, Neil

2012-01-01

A 44-item questionnaire was employed to determine pre-service teachers' beliefs about how useful various specific actions might be in helping to reduce global warming, their willingness to undertake these same actions, and the extent to which these two might be related. The instrument was administered to pre-service science teachers (n = 104) at…

Transforming a University "Entomology" Course into an Elementary Pre-service Teachers Training Course

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chow-Chin Lu

2017-06-01

Full Text Available As elementary school pre-service teachers are required to learn the pedagogical content knowledge of natural field, "Entomology" course offered at the teacher training department was transformed into elementary pre-service teachers’ training course to early cultivate science teachers. This study adopted a mixed method research design. Forty-three pre-service teachers participated in the study and took the "Entomology" teacher training course. The course covers insect concepts, concept map drawing, insect feeding skills, outdoors teaching skills for insect survey, assessment for insect science fairs and designing science lesson plans. Both quantitative data and qualitative data were collected and analyzed to investigate the development of pre-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. The results were as follows: 1 ICTS pre- and post-testing t test results show that pre-service teachers gained more insect cognitive concepts from the Entomology course. 2 In the pre-service teachers’ drawings of conceptual diagrams, the class framework was partially correct, but the conjunctions were accurately presented. 3 Pre-service teachers demonstrated skills of rearing insects, outdoors teaching skills for insect, assessing insect science fairs, and designing science lesson plans. 4 The transformation of the Entomology course into a teacher training course was feasible; however, entomology experimental activities may be added into the curriculum when pre-service teachers assessed insect science fairs.

Impact of STS Issue Oriented Instruction on Pre-Service Elementary Teachers' Views and Perceptions of Science, Technology, and Society

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Amirshokoohi, Aidin

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of Science, Technology, Society (STS) issue oriented science methods course on pre-service teachers' views and perceptions toward STS issues and instruction as well as their levels of environmental literacy. The STS issue oriented curriculum was designed to help pre-service teachers improve…

Caring Enough to Teach Science: Helping Pre-Service Teachers View Science Instruction as an Ethical Responsibility

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Grinell, Smith; Rabin, Colette

2017-01-01

The goal of this project was to motivate pre-service elementary teachers to commit to spending significant instructional time on science in their future classrooms despite their self-assessed lack of confidence about teaching science and other impediments (e.g., high-stakes testing practices that value other subjects over science). Pre-service…

Pre-Service Science Teachers' Reflective Thinking Skills toward Problem Solving

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Can, Sendil

2015-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the pre-service science teachers' reflective thinking skills toward problem solving and the effects of gender, grade level, academic achievement, type of graduated high school and father and mother's education level on these skills. The study was conducted through the survey method with the…

The Views of Science Pre-Service Teachers about the Usage of Basic Information Technologies (BIT) in Education and Instruction

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Çetin, Oguz

2016-01-01

In this study aiming to present a description based on science pre-service teachers' views related to use of Basic Information Technologies (BIT) in education and training, an interview is carried out with 21 pre-service science teachers who study in different classes in Faculty of Education, Nigde University. For this aim, improved interview form…

Influence of an Intensive, Field-Based Life Science Course on Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy for Environmental Science Teaching

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Trauth-Nare, Amy

2015-08-01

Personal and professional experiences influence teachers' perceptions of their ability to implement environmental science curricula and to positively impact students' learning. The purpose of this study was twofold: to determine what influence, if any, an intensive field-based life science course and service learning had on preservice teachers' self-efficacy for teaching about the environment and to determine which aspects of the combined field-based course/service learning preservice teachers perceived as effective for enhancing their self-efficacy. Data were collected from class documents and written teaching reflections of 38 middle-level preservice teachers. Some participants ( n = 18) also completed the Environmental Education Efficacy Belief Instrument at the beginning and end of the semester. Both qualitative and quantitative data analyses indicated a significant increase in PSTs' personal efficacies for environmental teaching, t(17) = 4.50, p = .000, d = 1.30, 95 % CI (.33, .90), but not outcome expectancy, t(17) = 1.15, p = .268, d = .220, 95 % CI (-.06, .20). Preservice teachers reported three aspects of the course as important for enhancing their self-efficacies: learning about ecological concepts through place-based issues, service learning with K-5 students and EE curriculum development. Data from this study extend prior work by indicating that practical experiences with students were not the sole factor in shaping PSTs' self-efficacy; learning ecological concepts and theories in field-based activities grounded in the local landscape also influenced PSTs' self-efficacy.

The Pre-Service Science Teachers' Mental Models for Concept of Atoms and Learning Difficulties

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Kiray, Seyit Ahmet

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to reveal the pre-service science teachers' difficulties about the concept of atoms. The data was collected from two different sources: The Draw an Atom Test (DAAT) and face-to-face interviews. Draw an atom test (DAAT) were administered to the 142 science teacher candidates. To elaborate the results, the researcher…

Preservice Science Teachers' Perceptions of Their TPACK Development after Creating Digital Stories

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Sancar-Tokmak, Hatice; Surmeli, Hikmet; Ozgelen, Sinan

2014-01-01

The aim of this case study was to examine pre-service science teachers' (PSTs) perceptions of their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) development after creating digital stories based on science topics drawn from the national curriculum. A total of 21 PSTs enrolled in Introduction to Computers II participated in the study. Data…

Socioscientific Argumentation of Pre-Service Teachers about Genetically Modified Organisms

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Herawati, D.; Ardianto, D.

2017-09-01

This study aims to investigate socioscientific argumentation of pre-service teachers of science and non-science major regarding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) issue. We used descriptive study and involved second-year pre-service teachers from two major, 28 pre-service science teachers (PSTs) and 28 pre-service non-science teachers (PNSTs) as participants. Paper and pencil test was administered in order to obtain the data of PSTs’ and PNSTs’ argument about GMOs. All of the data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. We applied Toulmin Argumentation Pattern (TAP) as a basic framework to identify the argumentation component. The result showed that both PSTs and PNSTs were able to propose an argument with a claim, data, and/or warrant.. Most of their argument contain data which provided in the text, without any further reasoning or relevant scientific knowledge. So, the coherency between argumentation component in both PSTs and PNSTs was limited. However, PSTs are more able to propose coherent arguments than PNSTs. These findings indicated that educational background and learning experiences may influence to pre-service teacher argumentation in the context of GMOs. Beside that, teaching and learning process which focused on the socioscientific issues is necessary to develop pre-service teachers’ argumentation

Intersections of Life Histories and Science Identities: The Stories of Three Preservice Elementary Teachers

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Avraamidou, Lucy

2016-01-01

Grounded within Connelly and Clandinin's conceptualization of teachers' professional identity in terms of "stories to live by" and through a life-history lens, this multiple case study aimed to respond to the following questions: (a) How do three preservice elementary teachers view themselves as future science teachers? (b) How have the…

Beliefs and Attitudes about Science and Mathematics in Pre-Service Elementary Teachers, STEM, and Non-STEM Majors in Undergraduate Physics Courses

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Michaluk, Lynnette; Stoiko, Rachel; Stewart, Gay; Stewart, John

2018-04-01

Elementary teachers often hold inaccurate beliefs about the Nature of Science (NoS) and have negative attitudes toward science and mathematics. Using a pre-post design, the current study examined beliefs about the NoS, attitudes toward science and mathematics, and beliefs about the teaching of mathematics and science in a large sample study ( N = 343) of pre-service teachers receiving a curriculum-wide intervention to improve these factors in comparison with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM majors in other physics courses ( N = 6697) who did not receive the intervention, over a 10-year period. Pre-service teachers evidenced initially more negative attitudes about mathematics and science than STEM majors and slightly more positive attitudes than non-STEM majors. Their attitudes toward mathematics and science and beliefs about the NoS were more similar to non-STEM than STEM majors. Pre-service teachers initially evidenced more positive beliefs about the teaching of mathematics and science, and their beliefs even increased slightly over the course of the semester, while these beliefs in other groups remained the same. Beliefs about the NoS and the teaching of mathematics and science were significantly negatively correlated for STEM and non-STEM majors, but were not significantly correlated for pre-service teachers. Beliefs about the NoS and attitudes toward mathematics and science were significantly positively correlated for both pre-service teachers and STEM students pursing the most mathematically demanding STEM majors. Attitudes toward science and mathematics were significantly positively correlated with accurate beliefs about the teaching of mathematics and science for all student groups.

Preservice Teachers' Perspectives on 'Appropriate' K-8 Climate Change and Environmental Science Topics

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Ford, D. J.

2013-12-01

With the release of the Next Generation Science Standards (NRC, 2013), climate change and related environmental sciences will now receive greater emphasis within science curricula at all grade levels. In grades K-8, preparation in foundational content (e.g., weather and climate, natural resources, and human impacts on the environment) and the nature of scientific inquiry will set the groundwork for later learning of climate change in upper middle and high school. These rigorous standards increase pressure on elementary and middle school teachers to possess strong science content knowledge, as well as experience supporting children to develop scientific ideas through the practices of science. It also requires a set of beliefs - about children and the science that is appropriate for them - that is compatible with the goals set out in the standards. Elementary teachers in particular, who often have minimal preparation in the earth sciences (NSF, 2007), and entrenched beliefs about how particular topics ought to be taught (Holt- Reynolds, 1992; Pajares, 1992), including climate change (Bryce & Day, 2013; Lambert & Bleicher, 2013), may face unique challenges in adjusting to the new standards. If teachers hold beliefs about climate change as controversial, for example, they may not consider it an appropriate topic for children, despite its inclusion in the standards. On the other hand, those who see a role for children in efforts to mitigate human impacts on the environment may be more enthusiastic about the new standards. We report on a survey of preservice K-8 teachers' beliefs about the earth and environmental science topics that they consider to be appropriate and inappropriate for children in grades K-3, 4-5, and 6-8. Participants were surveyed on a variety of standards-based topics using terminology that signals publicly and scientifically neutral (e.g. weather, ecosystems) to overtly controversial (evolution, global warming) science. Results from pilot data

Effects of 3D Printing Project-based Learning on Preservice Elementary Teachers' Science Attitudes, Science Content Knowledge, and Anxiety About Teaching Science

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Novak, Elena; Wisdom, Sonya

2018-05-01

3D printing technology is a powerful educational tool that can promote integrative STEM education by connecting engineering, technology, and applications of science concepts. Yet, research on the integration of 3D printing technology in formal educational contexts is extremely limited. This study engaged preservice elementary teachers (N = 42) in a 3D Printing Science Project that modeled a science experiment in the elementary classroom on why things float or sink using 3D printed boats. The goal was to explore how collaborative 3D printing inquiry-based learning experiences affected preservice teachers' science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, anxiety toward teaching science, interest in science, perceived competence in K-3 technology and engineering science standards, and science content knowledge. The 3D printing project intervention significantly decreased participants' science teaching anxiety and improved their science teaching efficacy, science interest, and perceived competence in K-3 technological and engineering design science standards. Moreover, an analysis of students' project reflections and boat designs provided an insight into their collaborative 3D modeling design experiences. The study makes a contribution to the scarce body of knowledge on how teacher preparation programs can utilize 3D printing technology as a means of preparing prospective teachers to implement the recently adopted engineering and technology standards in K-12 science education.

Swiss and Turkish Pre-Service Science Teachers' Anxiety Levels for Educational Technology

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Efe, Hulya Aslan; Efe, Rifat

2016-01-01

This study aims to culturally explain pre-service science teachers' instructional technology-related anxiety levels by analyzing the variables of their instructional technology using experiences, frequency of using instructional technologies, access to instructional technologies, instructional technology-related attitude and their instructional…

An Analysis of Pre-Service Elementary Teachers' Understanding of Inquiry-Based Science Teaching

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Lee, Carole K.; Shea, Marilyn

2016-01-01

This study examines how pre-service elementary teachers (PSETs) view inquiry-based science learning and teaching, and how the science methods course builds their confidence to teach inquiry science. Most PSETs think that inquiry is asking students questions rather than a formal set of pedagogical tools. In the present study, three groups of PSETs…

Preparing for the Plunge: Preservice Teachers' Assessment Literacy

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Siegel, Marcelle A.; Wissehr, Cathy

2011-01-01

Using a framework of assessment literacy that included principles, tools, and purposes, this study explored the assessment literacy of 11 secondary preservice teachers. Participants' journals, teaching philosophies, and inquiry-based science units served as data sources. We examined how the preservice teachers understood assessment tools as well…

Jordanian Preservice Primary Teachers' Perceptions of Mentoring in Science Teaching

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Abed, Osama H.; Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad

2015-01-01

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…

Changes in Preservice Elementary Teachers' Personal Science Teaching Efficacy and Science Teaching Outcome Expectancies: The Influence of Context

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Hechter, Richard P.

2011-01-01

This study investigated contextual changes in perceptions of science teaching self-efficacy through pre-, post- and retrospective administrations of the Science Teaching Expectancy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) among preservice elementary teachers when exposed to a science teaching methods course. Findings revealed that the number of postsecondary…

The impact of science methods courses on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching self-efficacy beliefs: Case studies from Turkey and the United States

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Bursal, Murat

Four case studies in two American and two Turkish science methods classrooms were conducted to investigate the changes in preservice elementary teachers' personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) beliefs during their course periods. The findings indicated that while Turkish preservice elementary teachers (TR sample) started the science methods course semester with higher PSTE than their American peers (US sample), due to a significant increase in the US sample's and an insignificant decline in the TR sample's PSTE scores, both groups completed the science methods course with similar PSTE levels. Consistent with Bandura's social cognitive theory, describing four major sources of self-efficacy, the inclusion of mastery experiences (inquiry activities and elementary school micro-teaching experiences) and vicarious experiences (observation of course instructor and supervisor elementary teacher) into the science methods course, providing positive social persuasion (positive appraisal from the instructor and classmates), and improving physiological states (reduced science anxiety and positive attitudes toward becoming elementary school teachers), were found to contribute to the significant enhancement of the US sample's PSTE beliefs. For the TR sample, although some of the above sources were present, the lack of student teaching experiences and inservice teacher observations, as well as the TR samples' negative attitudes toward becoming elementary school teachers and a lack of positive classroom support were found to make Turkish preservice teachers rely mostly on their mastery in science concepts, and therefore resulted in not benefiting from their science methods course, in terms of enhancing their PSTE beliefs. Calls for reforms in the Turkish education system that will include more mastery experiences in the science methods courses and provide more flexibility for students to choose their high school majors and college programs, and switch between them are made. In

Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Scientific Literacy and Self-Efficacy in Teaching Science

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Adam Al Sultan

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Many educators and educational institutions worldwide have agreed that the main goal of science education is to produce a scientifically literate community. Science teachers are key to the achievement of scientific literacy at all levels of education because of the essential role they play in preparing scientifically literate individuals. Studies show that pre-service elementary teachers need to build more confidence in teaching science and scientific literacy during their teacher education programs in order for them to successfully teach science knowledge to their students. Therefore, the purpose of this study is threefold. First, pre-service elementary teachers' scientific literacy levels were examined. Second, pre-service teachers' self-efficacy beliefs were measured by distinguishing between their personal and subject-specific self-efficacy beliefs. Third, the extent to which pre-service elementary teachers' scientific literacy levels and self-efficacy levels are related was investigated. Participants were 49 pre-service elementary teachers registered in two science methods courses (introductory and advanced at a mid-sized university in the United States. Quantitative data were collected using the Test of Basic Scientific Literacy, the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-Preservice, and Beliefs about Teaching. Results showed that participants had a satisfactory level of scientific literacy. However, pre-service teachers had borderline scores on the Nature of Science scale. Regarding self-efficacy, findings showed that both groups had the highest self-efficacy in teaching biology and the lowest in teaching physics. Participants in the advanced science methods course exhibited a moderate preexisting positive relationship between scientific literacy and subject-specific self-efficacy in teaching science.

The design of free activities for teaching science: A study with preservice teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Puig-Gutiérrez María

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper studies a science teaching problem related to students in the Bachelor of Preschool Education at the Seville University, Spain. Preservice teachers face difficulties when designing child-guided activities (also called, free activities. This type of tasks is desirable in preschool classrooms, because they promote creativity, observation capacity, inquiry and children autonomy. With the aim of improving the formation in the Bachelor, two university teachers have asked 136 preservice teachers of the third course to design a ‘children´s corner in their future classroom’ about a specific issue related to the science area in preschool education, according to the Spanish legislation. It is shown the headings of the students´ report as a result of their work. It has been analyzed the quality of the child-guided designed activities. It has been observed the need of improving the explicit instruction about the design of free activities for the first educational level.

Pre-Service Teachers' Mental Models of Basic Astronomy Concepts

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Arslan, A. Saglam; Durikan, U.

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study is to determine pre-service teachers' mental models related to basic astronomy concepts. The study was conducted using a survey method with 293 pre-service teachers from 4 different departments; physics education, science education, primary teacher education and early childhood education. An achievement test with…

Science Teaching Efficacy of Preservice Elementary Teachers: Examination of the Multiple Factors Reported as Influential

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Tastan Kirik, Özgecan

2013-01-01

This study explores the science teaching efficacy beliefs of preservice elementary teachers and the relationship between efficacy beliefs and multiple factors such as antecedent factors (participation in extracurricular activities and number of science and science teaching methods courses taken), conceptual understanding, classroom management…

Are Science Teachers Prepared to Promote Argumentation? A Case Study with Pre-Service Teachers in Bogotá City

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Archila, Pablo Antonio

2014-01-01

This paper addresses the importance of argumentation in science education. A research project was done in order to know how a group of pre-service chemistry teachers has been prepared to promote students' argumentation. A Chemistry degree studies plan from a Colombian university was surveyed, and 18 future teachers' representations about…

Pre-Service Science Teachers' Perception of the Principles of Scientific Research

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Can, Sendil; Kaymakci, Güliz

2016-01-01

The purpose of the current study employing the survey method is to determine the pre-service science teachers' perceptions of the principles of scientific research and to investigate the effects of gender, grade level and the state of following scientific publications on their perceptions. The sampling of the current research is comprised of 125…

Modeling Augmented Reality Games with Preservice Elementary and Secondary Science Teachers

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Burton, Erin Peters; Frazier, Wendy; Annetta, Leonard; Lamb, Richard; Cheng, Rebecca; Chmiel, Margaret

2011-01-01

Cell phones are ever-present in daily life, yet vastly underused in the formal science classroom. The purpose of this study was to implement a novel learning tool on cell phones, Augmented Reality Games, and determine how the interaction influenced preservice teachers' content knowledge and self-efficacy of cell phone use in schools. Results show…

Making Earth Science Relevant in the K-8 Classroom. The Development of an Instructional Soils Module for Pre-Service Elementary Teachers Using the Next Generation Science Standards

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Baldwin, K. A.; Hauge, R.; Dechaine, J. M.; Varrella, G.; Egger, A. E.

2013-12-01

The development and adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) raises a challenge in teacher preparation: few current teacher preparation programs prepare students to teach science the way it is presented in the NGSS, which emphasize systems thinking, interdisciplinary science, and deep engagement in the scientific process. In addition, the NGSS include more geoscience concepts and methods than previous standards, yet this is a topic area in which most college students are traditionally underprepared. Although nationwide, programmatic reform is needed, there are a few targets where relatively small, course-level changes can have a large effect. One of these targets is the 'science methods' course for pre-service elementary teachers, a requirement in virtually all teacher preparation programs. Since many elementary schools, both locally and across the country, have adopted a kit based science curriculum, examining kits is often a part of a science methods course. Unfortunately, solely relying on a kit based curriculum may leave gaps in science content curriculum as one prepares teachers to meet the NGSS. Moreover, kits developed at the national level often fall short in connecting geoscientific content to the locally relevant societal issues that engage students. This highlights the need to train pre-service elementary teachers to supplement kit curriculum with inquiry based geoscience investigations that consider relevant societal issues, promote systems thinking and incorporate connections between earth, life, and physical systems. We are developing a module that teaches geoscience concepts in the context of locally relevant societal issues while modeling effective pedagogy for pre-service elementary teachers. Specifically, we focus on soils, an interdisciplinary topic relevant to multiple geoscience-related societal grand challenges (e.g., water, food) that is difficult to engage students in. Module development is funded through InTeGrate, NSF

Developing Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy through Field-Based Science Teaching Practice with Elementary Students

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Flores, Ingrid M.

2015-01-01

Thirty preservice teachers enrolled in a field-based science methods course were placed at a public elementary school for coursework and for teaching practice with elementary students. Candidates focused on building conceptual understanding of science content and pedagogical methods through innovative curriculum development and other course…

Examining pre-service science teachers' developing pedagogical design capacity for planning and supporting task-based classroom discussions

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Ross, Danielle Kristina

Teachers face many challenges as we move forward into the age of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (Achieve, Inc., 2013). The NGSS aim to develop a population of scientifically literate and talented students who can participate in the "innovation-driven economy" (p. 1). In order to meet these goals, teachers must provide students with opportunities to engage in science and engineering practices (SEPs) and learn core ideas of these disciplines. This study followed pre-service secondary science teachers as they participated in a secondary science teacher preparation program intended to support the development of their pedagogical design capacity (Brown, 2009) related to planning and supporting whole-class taskbased discussions. Teacher educators in this program designed an intervention that aimed in supporting this development. This study examined a particular dimension of PDC -- specifically, PSTs effective use of resources to plan science lessons in which students engage in a high demand task, participate in SEPs, and discuss their work in a whole-class setting. In order to examine the effectiveness of the intervention, I had to define PDC a priori. I measured PDC by documenting how/whether PSTs engaged in the following instructional planning practices: developing Learning Goals, selecting and/or designing challenging tasks, anticipating student thinking, planning for monitoring student thinking, imagining the discussion storyline, planning questions, and planning marking strategies. Analyses showed a significant difference between baseline lesson plan scores and Instructional Performance scores. These findings suggest these patterns and changes were directly linked to the teacher preparation program. The mean increase in Instructional Performance scores during the course of the teacher preparation year further supports the effect of the teacher preparation coursework. Pre-service teachers with high pedagogical design capacity continually integrated the

Thai Pre-Service Science Teachers' Struggles in Using Socio-Scientific Issues (SSIs) during Practicum

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Pitiporntapin, Sasithep; Yutakom, Naruemon; Sadler, Troy D.

2016-01-01

In educational reform, teaching through socio-scientific issues (SSIs) is considered the best way to promote scientific literacy for citizenship as the goal of science teaching. To bring SSIs into the science classroom, Thai pre-service science teachers (PSTs) are expected to understand the concept of SSI-based teaching and to use it effectively…

A cultural historical activity theory perspective to understand preservice science teachers' reflections on and tensions during a microteaching experience

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Sezen-Barrie, Asli; Tran, Minh-Dan; McDonald, Scott P.; Kelly, Gregory J.

2014-09-01

This study draws from cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to analyze preservice teachers' reflections on a microteaching activity. Microteaching activities involved preservice educators teaching middle school students from local schools. The study was conducted with 23 preservice teachers enrolled in a large university's teacher education program. During this secondary science teaching methods course, every pair of preservice teachers engaged in 20 minute microteaching activity with 3-5 middle school students. The microteaching was videotaped, and the teachers subsequently provided voice-over reflections on a second audio track. Transcriptions of the microteaching events were analyzed through the formation of event maps showing the phases of activity and the organizational sequence of actions. Event maps were used to investigate the focus of preservice teachers' reflections. The results showed that while learning from their microteaching, preservice teachers focused primarily on the mediating artifacts and gave least attention to the larger teaching community surrounding these activities. Use of CHAT helped to identify challenges in different elements of the microteaching activity. The study contributes to how reflective practice can be enhanced through attention to the social and cultural dimensions of the teaching.

An Investigation of Pre-Service Science and Mathematics Teachers' Personal Growth Initiative

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Büyükgöze, Hilal

2015-01-01

The current paper primarily aims to investigate pre-service science and mathematics teachers' personal growth initiative levels. The second aim of the study is to examine whether participants' initiative levels differ in relation to their gender, grade, department, perceived academic achievement, and willingness to attend graduate education after…

Improving Science and Literacy Learning for English Language Learners: Evidence from a Pre-service Teacher Preparation Intervention

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Shaw, Jerome M.; Lyon, Edward G.; Stoddart, Trish; Mosqueda, Eduardo; Menon, Preetha

2014-08-01

This paper present findings from a pre-service teacher development project that prepared novice teachers to promote English language and literacy development with inquiry-based science through a modified elementary science methods course and professional development for cooperating teachers. To study the project's impact on student learning, we administered a pre and post assessment to students (N = 191) of nine first year elementary teachers (grades 3 through 6) who experienced the intervention and who taught a common science unit. Preliminary results indicate that (1) student learning improved across all categories (science concepts, writing, and vocabulary)—although the effect varied by category, and (2) English Language Learner (ELL) learning gains were on par with non-ELLs, with differences across proficiency levels for vocabulary gain scores. These results warrant further analyses to understand the extent to which the intervention improved teacher practice and student learning. This study confirms the findings of previous research that the integration of science language and literacy practices can improve ELL achievement in science concepts, writing and vocabulary. In addition, the study indicates that it is possible to begin to link the practices taught in pre-service teacher preparation to novice teacher practice and student learning outcomes.

Pre-Service Teachers' Development of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) in the Context of a Secondary Science Teacher Education Program

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Habowski, Thomas; Mouza, Chrystalla

2014-01-01

This study investigates pre-service teachers' TPACK development in a secondary science teacher education program that combined a content-specific technology integration course with extensive field experience. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Quantitative data were collected through a pre-post administration of the…

Use of Creative Drama in Science and Mathematics by Preservice Elementary Teachers

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Ozdemir, Pinar; Akkus Cikla, Oylum

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study is to analyse science and mathematics lesson plans prepared in the light of drama based instruction by preservice elementary teachers. For this purpose, 12 female participants were chosen volunteerly. They gained basic knowledge and experience about creative drama by involving sample creative drama activities and lesson…

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs and Science Experiences of a Cohort of Preservice Elementary Teachers

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Deehan, James; Danaia, Lena; McKinnon, David H.

2017-01-01

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…

Elementary science education: Dilemmas facing preservice teachers

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Sullivan, Sherry Elaine

Prospective teachers are involved in a process of induction into a culture of teaching that has rules, or codes of conduct for engaging in teaching practice. This same culture of teaching exists within a larger culture of schooling that also has values and norms for behaviors, that over time have become institutionalized. Teacher educators are faced with the challenging task of preparing preservice teachers to resolve dilemmas that arise from conflicts between the pressure to adopt traditional teaching practices of schooling, or to adopt inquiry-based teaching practices from their university methods classes. One task for researchers in teacher education is to define with greater precision what factors within the culture of schooling hinder or facilitate implementation of inquiry-based methods of science teaching in schools. That task is the focus of this study. A qualitative study was undertaken using a naturalistic research paradigm introduced by Lincoln and Guba in 1985. Participant observation, interviews, discourse analysis of videotapes of lessons from the methods classroom and written artifacts produced by prospective teachers during the semester formed the basis of a grounded theory based on inductive analysis and emergent design. Unstructured interviews were used to negotiate outcomes with participants. Brief case reports of key participants were also written. This study identified three factors that facilitated or hindered the prospective teachers in this research success in implementing inquiry-based science teaching in their field placement classrooms: (a) the culture of teaching/teacher role-socialization, (b) the culture of schooling and its resistance to change, and (c) the culture of teacher education, especially in regards to grades and academic standing. Some recommendations for overcoming these persistent obstacles to best practice in elementary science teaching include: (a) preparing prospective teachers to understand and cope with change

Analysis of preservice science teacher information literacy towards research skills

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Subekti, H.; Purnomo, A. R.; Susilo, H.; Ibrohim; Suwono, H.

2018-04-01

Information literacy is an important component for university students necessary to support personal development both in academic and real-life setting. This research aimed to analyze the drawing picture of information literacy ability among preservice science teacher in Universitas Negeri Surabaya related to research skills. Purposive sampling was used to determine the amount of participants, thereby involving 208 participants from class year 2014, 2015, and 2016. For gathering the data, the instruments being applied were questionnaire based information literacy test. The data then were analyzed in descriptive manner. The results indicated that the male students outperformed the female students by which they obtained 51.1% correct answer, 2% higher than the female students. Based on the duration of the study, the percentage of correct answers varies among students of class year 2014, 2015, and 2016; 56.2%, 45.1%, and 48.4% respectively. When looked at the average percentage of all students, however, most of items were scored in low category (below 50%) except for type of notification, strategy to accessing information, mastery of terminologies used in research and the essence of the copyright . To conclude, the literacy ability of preservice science teachers is still relatively low and the tendency of information literacy possessed by male students is relatively higher than female students.

Evaluating Interest in Acids-Bases: Development of an Acid-Base Interest Scale (ABIS) and Assessment of Pre-Service Science Teachers' Interest

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Çiçek, Ö.; Ilhan, N.

2017-01-01

Students are more likely to be successful in topics they are interested in than others. This study aims to develop an Acid-Base Interest Scale (ABIS) and subsequently evaluate the interest of pre-service science teachers in acids-bases according to gender, years at the university, type of high school the pre-service science teachers attended, and…

The effectiveness of CCDSR learning model to improve skills of creating lesson plan and worksheet science process skill (SPS) for pre-service physics teacher

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Limatahu, I.; Suyatno; Wasis; Prahani, B. K.

2018-03-01

In the previous research, CCDSR (Condition, Construction, Development, Simulation, and Reflection) learning model has been developed to improve science process skills for pre-service physics teacher. This research is aimed to analyze the effectiveness of CCDSR learning model towards the improvement skills of creating lesson plan and worksheet of Science Process Skill (SPS) for pre-service physics teacher in academic year 2016/2017. This research used one group pre-test and post-test design on 12 pre-service physics teacher at Physics Education, University of Khairun. Data collection was conducted through test and observation. Creating lesson plan and worksheet SPS skills of pre-service physics teacher measurement were conducted through Science Process Skill Evaluation Sheet (SPSES). The data analysis technique was done by Wilcoxon t-test and n-gain. The CCDSR learning model consists of 5 phases, including (1) Condition, (2) Construction, (3) Development, (4) Simulation, and (5) Reflection. The results showed that there was a significant increase in creating lesson plan and worksheet SPS skills of pre-service physics teacher at α = 5% and n-gain average of moderate category. Thus, the CCDSR learning model is effective for improving skills of creating lesson plan and worksheet SPS for pre-service physics teacher.

Examining Social Studies and Science and Technology Preservice Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs Regarding Different Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Topkaya, Yavuz

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine epistemological beliefs of pre-service teachers who attend social studies and science and technology teaching programs; and to investigate how these beliefs varies regarding grade level, gender and departments. The sample of the study is composed of 300 social studies, 260 science and technology…

Pre-Service Teachers' Science Teaching Self-Efficacy Beliefs: The Influence of a Collaborative Peer Microteaching Program

Science.gov (United States)

Cinici, Ayhan

2016-01-01

The aim of my study was to explore the nature of changes in pre-service science teachers' (PSTs') self-efficacy beliefs toward science teaching through a mixed-methods approach. Thirty-six participants enrolled in a science methods course that included a collaborative peer microteaching ("Cope-M"). Participants' science teaching…

Assessing the Attitudes and Beliefs of Preservice Middle School Science Teachers toward Biologically Diverse Animals

Science.gov (United States)

Wagler, Ron; Wagler, Amy

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between United States (US) preservice middle school science teacher characteristics, their attitude toward a specific animal and their belief concerning the likelihood of incorporating information about that specific animal into their future science classroom. The study participants…

Hands-on science methods class for pre-service elementary teachers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manner, B.M. [Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

1994-12-31

If elementary teachers are to be comfortable teaching science, they must have positive pre-service experiences. A science methods class that is activity-based and student-centered, rather than lecture-based and teacher-centered, peaks their interest in science and alleviates their fears. Activities conducted by the students illustrate science concepts or integrate science with children`s literature books such as The Grouchy Ladybug. These activities are conducted by each student with the rest of the class and the professor acting as an elementary class. Each activity is then evaluated as to the science concept, what was done well, and how it could be improved. The students also relate how the activity would be integrated with other subjects such as social studies, art, math, and language arts. Student feedback indicates this method is enjoyable, educational, and valuable in preparing them to teach science. The {open_quotes}oohs{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}I didn`t know that!{close_quotes} during activities are positives, but students have also learned some science, lost most of their science anxiety, and will teach science with the confidence and enthusiasm that was lacking at the beginning of the course.

Turkish Preservice Science Teachers' Informal Reasoning Regarding Socioscientific Issues and the Factors Influencing Their Informal Reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Topçu, Mustafa Sami; Yılmaz-Tüzün, Özgül; Sadler, Troy D.

2011-06-01

The purpose of the study is to explore Turkish preservice science teachers' informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues and the factors influencing their informal reasoning. The researchers engaged 39 preservice science teachers in informal reasoning interview and moral decision-making interview protocols. Of the seven socioscientific issues, three issues were related to gene therapy, another three were related to human cloning, and one was related to global warming. The data were analyzed using an interpretive qualitative research approach. The characteristic of informal reasoning was determined as multidimensional, and the patterns of informal reasoning emerged as rationalistic, emotive, and intuitive reasoning. The factors influencing informal reasoning were: personal experiences, social considerations, moral-ethical considerations, and technological concerns.

Exploring the Use of Lesson Study to Develop Elementary Preservice Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Nature of Science

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Akerson, Valarie L.; Pongsanon, Khemmawadee; Park Rogers, Meredith A.; Carter, Ingrid; Galindo, Enrique

2017-01-01

This study explored a modified version of Japanese Lesson Study to determine whether and how it influenced preservice elementary teachers in their abilities to deliver science lessons that included nature of science (NOS) to their own students. We used a case study approach that focused on one subset of a cohort of preservice elementary teachers…

Exploring the development of science self-efficacy in preservice elementary school teachers participating in a science education methods course

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Gunning, Amanda M.

The demands of society's increasing dependence on science and technology call for our students to have a solid foundation in science education, starting in the earliest grades. However, elementary school teachers often lack the necessary experiences to deliver that education. This qualitative study seeks to explore the development of six preservice elementary teachers in a semester-long science methods course. The course consisted of many components; one in particular was a microteaching experience, which emerged as especially significant. The participants' experiences throughout the semester were studied primarily through the lens of self-efficacy, but were also examined considering learning theories and mental models. It was found that two participants in particular were self-directed learners and were able to construct for themselves a self-selected cognitive apprenticeship. Other findings include the significance of a microteaching experience on development of self-efficacy in science teaching and the role mental models may or may not play in development of self-efficacy in the science methods course. This study has implications both for preservice elementary education in science and in general.

Enhancing Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Students' Misconceptions in Learning Chemistry

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Naah, Basil Mugaga

2015-01-01

Preservice teachers enrolled in a modified introductory chemistry course used an instructional rubric to improve and evaluate their understanding of students' misconceptions in learning various chemistry concepts. A sample of 79 preservice teachers first explored the state science standards to identify chemistry misconceptions associated with the…

Academic gender stereotypes of pre-service teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ćirović Ivana

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This research was aimed at studying the content of academic gender stereotypes of pre-service teachers who are being prepared for working in different cycles of education. The sample included 408 students of teaching programmes of the Teacher Training College, Faculty of Mathematics and Faculty of Philology in Belgrade. It has been established that future class and subject teachers have gender stereotypes about the interests and achievements of students in different school subjects. pre-service teachers from both groups are of the opinion that girls get interested more easily than boys in the majority of school subjects, as well as that girls are more talented for the subjects in the field of humanities and languages, while boys are more talented for the subjects in the field of sciences. Pre-service teachers estimate that boys typically have a low achievement in languages, arts and music, while girls have a low achievement in physics, computer science, technical sciences and physical education. Since teachers’ gender stereotypes can affect students’ achievement, educational and career choices, it is important to raise awareness about the content and consequences of such beliefs in teachers and focus on certain actions towards their altering. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179034: Od podsticanja inicijative, saradnje, stvaralaštva u obrazovanju do novih uloga i identiteta u društvu i br. 47008: Unapređivanje kvaliteta i dostupnosti obrazovanja u procesima modernizacije Srbije

Shadow Puppet Plays in Elementary Science Methods Class Help Preservice Teachers Learn about Minority Scientists

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Gray, Phyllis; Rule, Audrey C.; Gentzsch, Anneliese; Tallakson, Denise A.

2016-01-01

This practical article describes an arts-integrated project with engineering design and science concepts from the Next Generation Science Standards, art principles from the National Arts Standards, as well as ideas under the theme of "Culture" from the National Council for the Social Studies Standards. Preservice teachers in an…

Teaching Probability to Pre-Service Teachers with Argumentation Based Science Learning Approach

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Can, Ömer Sinan; Isleyen, Tevfik

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of the argumentation based science learning (ABSL) approach on the teaching probability to pre-service teachers. The sample of the study included 41 students studying at the Department of Elementary School Mathematics Education in a public university during the 2014-2015 academic years. The study is…

Preservice Teachers' Images of Scientists: Do Prior Science Experiences Make a Difference?

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Milford, Todd M.; Tippett, Christine D.

2013-01-01

This article presents the results of a mixed methods study that used the Draw-a-Scientist Test as a visual tool for exploring preservice teachers' beliefs about scientists. A questionnaire was also administered to 165 students who were enrolled in elementary (K-8) and secondary (8-12) science methods courses. Taken as a whole, the images drawn by…

The effect of science demonstrations as a community service activity on pre-service science teachers' teaching practices

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Gurel, Derya Kaltakci

2016-03-01

In the scope of this study, pre-service science teachers (PSST) developed and carried out science demonstrations with everyday materials for elementary school students as a community service activity. 17 PSST enrolled in the community services practices course at Kocaeli University comprised the sample of the present study. Community service practices aim to develop consciousness of social responsibility and professional skills, as well as to gain awareness of social and community problems and find solutions for pre-service teachers. With this aim, each PSST developed five science demonstration activities and their brochures during a semester. At the end of the semester, a total of 85 demonstrations were carried out at public elementary schools, which are especially located in socioeconomically poor districts of Kocaeli, Turkey. In the present case study, the effect of developing and carrying out science demonstrations for elementary school students on six of the PSST' teaching practices on density and buoyancy concept was investigated. 30-minute interviews conducted with each PSST, videos recorded during their demonstration performances, brochures they prepared for their demonstration activities, and reflection papers were used as data collection tools of the study. The results showed that community service practices with science demonstrations had positive effects on PSST' science content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Ideas About Scientific Practices

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Ricketts, Amy

2014-10-01

With the goal of producing scientifically literate citizens who are able to make informed decisions and reason critically when science intersects with their everyday lives, the National Research Council (NRC) has produced two recent documents that call for a new approach to K-12 science education that is based on scientific practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. These documents will potentially influence future state standards and K-12 curricula. Teachers will need support in order to teach science using a practices based approach, particularly if they do not have strong science backgrounds, which is often the case with elementary teachers. This study investigates one cohort (n = 19) of preservice elementary teachers' ideas about scientific practices, as developed in a one-semester elementary science teaching methods course. The course focused on eight particular scientific practices, as defined by the National Research Council's A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012). Participants' written reflections, lesson plans and annotated teaching videos were analyzed in fine detail to better understand their ideas about what it means to engage in each of the practices. The findings suggest that preservice elementary teachers hold promising ideas about scientific practices (such as an emphasis on argumentation and communication between scientists, critical thinking, and answering and asking questions as the goal of science) as well as problematic ideas (including confusion over the purpose of modeling and the process of analysis, and conflating argumentation and explanation building). These results highlight the strengths and limitations of using the Framework (NRC 2012) as an instructional text and the difficulties of differentiating between preservice teachers' content knowledge about doing the practices and their pedagogical knowledge about teaching the practices.

Attitudes Toward Integration as Perceived by Preservice Teachers Enrolled in an Integrated Mathematics, Science, and Technology Teacher Education Program.

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Berlin, Donna F.; White, Arthur L.

2002-01-01

Describes the purpose of the Master of Education (M. Ed.) Program in Integrated Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (MSAT Program) at The Ohio State University and discusses preservice teachers' attitudes and perceptions toward integrated curriculum. (Contains 35 references.) (YDS)

Intersections of life histories and science identities: the stories of three preservice elementary teachers

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Avraamidou, Lucy

2016-03-01

Grounded within Connelly and Clandinin's conceptualization of teachers' professional identity in terms of 'stories to live by' and through a life-history lens, this multiple case study aimed to respond to the following questions: (a) How do three preservice elementary teachers view themselves as future science teachers? (b) How have the participants' life histories shaped their science identity trajectories? In order to characterize the participants' formation of science identities over time, various data regarding their life histories in relation to science were collected: science biographies, self-portraits, interviews, reflective journals, lesson plans, and classroom observations. The analysis of the data illustrated how the three participants' identities have been in formation from the early years of their lives and how various events, experiences, and interactions had shaped their identities through time and across contexts. These findings are discussed alongside implications for theory, specifically, identity and life-history intersections, for teacher preparation, and for research related to explorations of beginning elementary teachers' identity trajectories.

Making the Invisible Visible: Engaging Elementary Preservice Teachers in Science and Literacy Connections

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Gwekwerere, Yovita; Buley, Jan

2011-01-01

Picture books can be used to teach children to infer, hypothesise, question, identify, explain and compare. By making the "invisible visible" preservice teachers in Canada explored ways to enhance the development of critical science and literacy skills through the creation of picture books in collaboration with students in Grades 5 and…

Exploring the Impact of Argumentation on Pre-Service Science Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of Chemical Equilibrium

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Aydeniz, Mehmet; Dogan, Alev

2016-01-01

This study examines the impact of argumentation on pre-service science teachers' (PST) conceptual understanding of chemical equilibrium. The sample consisted of 57 first-year PSTs enrolled in a teacher education program in Turkey. Thirty two of the 57 PSTs who participated in this study were in the experimental group and 25 in the control group.…

Pre-Service Primary Science Teachers' Understandings of the Effect of Temperature and Pressure on Solid-Liquid Phase Transition of Water

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Yalcin, Fatma Aggul

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore pre-service primary teachers' understandings of the effect of temperature and pressure on the solid-liquid phase transition of water. In the study a survey approach was used, and the sample consisted of one-hundred and three, third year pre-service primary science teachers. As a tool for data collection, a test…

Using a Conceptual-Change Approach to Help Preservice Science Teachers Reorganize Their Knowledge Structures for Constructivist Teaching

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Dhindsa, H. S.; Anderson, O. R.

2004-02-01

This study, based on constructivist learning theory, examined how effectively preservice chemistry teachers (N = 43) can be educated to think flexibly and to reorganize their thinking in a way that may complement diverse ways students approach the subject domain. The teacher's cognitive structure was assessed prior to and after a conceptual change intervention using flow-map narrative analyses. There was a significant change in the organization of the preservice teacher's narrative after the conceptual change intervention, including greater networking of ideas and more thematic development of the content. Hence, a conceptual change approach may be a useful way to educate teachers to be more responsive to student individual differences when planning and delivering science lessons.

A study of the influence of a preservice science teacher education program over time

Science.gov (United States)

Maher, Terrence Patrick

2009-12-01

This dissertation looks at the beliefs and practices of thirteen science teachers across the teaching continuum. Three pre-service teachers, four student teachers, three first year teachers and three teachers with three or more years of experience were participants in this longitudinal study that took place between 2006 and 2009. All participants were graduates of a large university in the southeastern United States. The study found that inquiry-based teaching practices were taught at the university and most participants believe that it is a superior way of teaching science. Using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) instrument to measure the amount of inquiry-based teaching, the following findings were made: The highest level of inquiry-based teaching occurs during pre-service education. This was the only group to score within the "reformed-based" teaching range. The total RTOP scores decreased into the traditional teaching practice range during student teaching. The scores continued to decrease during the first and second years of teaching, showing an even stronger prevalence toward traditional teaching. A slight increase in the average total RTOP scores was noted with teachers having three or more years of experience. But even these teachers' scores were well within the traditional teaching method range. When interviewed, the most common reasons cited by these teachers for not using inquiry-based practice in the public classrooms were high stakes testing, crowded class sizes, and lack of equipment/support.

Minority Pre-service Teachers' and Faculty Training on Climate Change Education in Delaware State University

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Ozbay, G.; Fox-Lykens, R.; Veron, D. E.; Rogers, M.; Merrill, J.; Harcourt, P.; Mead, H.

2015-12-01

Delaware State University is working toward infusing undergraduate education with climate change science and enhancing the climate change learning content of pre-service teacher preparation programs as part of the MADE-CLEAR project (www.madeclear.org). Faculty development workshops have been conducted to prepare and educate a cadre of faculty from different disciplines in global climate science literacy. Following the workshops, the faculty participants have integrated climate literacy tenets into their existing curriculum. Follow up meetings have helped the faculty members to use specific content in their curriculum such as greenhouse gases, atmospheric CO2, sea level rise, etc. Additional training provided to the faculty participants in pedagogical methods of climate change instruction to identify common misconceptions and barriers to student understanding. Some pre-service teachers were engaged in summer internships and learned how to become messenger of climate change science by the state parks staff during the summer. Workshops were offered to other pre-service teachers to teach them specific climate change topics with enhanced hands-on laboratory activities. The participants were provided examples of lesson plans and guided to develop their own lesson plans and present them. Various pedagogical methods have been explored for teaching climate change content to the participants. The pre-service teachers found the climate content very challenging and confusing. Training activities were modified to focus on targeted topics and modeling of pedagogical techniques for the faculty and pre-service teachers. Program evaluation confirms that the workshop participant show improved understanding of the workshop materials by the participants if they were introduced few climate topics. Learning how to use hands-on learning tools and preparing lesson plans are two of the challenges successfully implemented by the pre-service teachers. Our next activity includes pre-service

Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Teaching Science and Their Science Learning at Indonesia Open University

OpenAIRE

Nadi SUPRAPTO; Ali MURSID

2017-01-01

This study focuses on attitudes toward (teaching) science and the learning of science for primary school among pre-service teachers at the Open University of Indonesia. A three-year longitudinal survey was conducted, involving 379 students as pre-service teachers (PSTs) from the Open University in Surabaya regional office. Attitudes toward (teaching) science’ (ATS) instrument was used to portray PSTs’ preparation for becoming primary school teachers. Data analyses were used, including descrip...

A New Coherent Science Content Storyline Astronomy Course for Pre-Service Teachers at Penn State

Science.gov (United States)

Palma, Christopher; Plummer, Julia; Earth and Space Science Partnership

2016-01-01

The Earth and Space Science Partnership (ESSP) is a collaboration among Penn State scientists, science educators and seven school districts across Pennsylvania. One of the ESSP goals has been to provide pre-service teachers with new or improved science course offerings at Penn State in the Earth and Space Science domains. In particular, we aim to provide students with opportunities to learn astronomy content knowledge through teaching methods that engage them in investigations where they experience the practices used by astronomers. We have designed a new course that builds on our research into students' ideas about Solar System astronomy (Plummer et al. 2015) and the curriculum our team created for a professional development workshop for in-service teachers (Palma et al. 2013) with this same theme. The course was offered for the first time in the spring 2015 semester. We designed the course using a coherent science content storyline approach (see, e.g., Palma et al. 2014), which requires all of the student investigations to build towards a big idea in science; in this case, we chose the model for formation of our Solar System. The course led pre-service teachers through a series of investigations that model the type of instruction we hope they will adopt in their own classrooms. They were presented with a series of research questions that all tie in to the big idea of Solar System formation, and they were responsible for collecting and interpreting their own data to draw evidence-based conclusions about one aspect of this model. Students in the course were assessed on their astronomy content knowledge, but also on their ability to construct arguments using scientific reasoning to answer astronomy questions. In this poster, we will present descriptions of the investigations, the assessments used, and our preliminary results about how the course led this group of pre-service teachers to improved understanding of astronomy content and the practices astronomers use in

Science Teaching Attitudes and Scientific Attitudes of Pre-Service Teachers of Gifted Students

Science.gov (United States)

Erdogan, Sezen Camci

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine science teaching attitudes and scientific attitudes of pre-service teachers of gifted students due to gender and grade level and also correlation among these variables. It is a survey study that the group is 82 students attending Gifted Education undergraduate level. Data is gathered by Scientific Attitude…

Impact of Chinese Culture on Pre-service Science Teachers' Views of the Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Dongsheng; Zhang, Hongshia; Wei, Bing

2018-04-01

This study examines Chinese pre-service teachers' (N = 30) views on the nature of science (NOS) and how Chinese culture influences their views. Participants were from two teachers' universities in eastern China. As an exploratory and interpretive study, a scenario-based interview approach was adopted. The results indicated that the participants held unique views about the five key aspects of NOS. Many participants have alternative and contemporary views of NOS, but few possess classical views. In fact, teachers adopted features of the Confucian Doctrine of the Mean either consciously or unconsciously to account for their views of NOS. This research reflects that the Doctrine of the Mean affected Chinese teachers' views of NOS, making them rather deficient in their understandings of classical NOS. Based on empirical data, it is argued that science teacher training in China should focus on the content and objectives of classical NOS, rather than just teaching contemporary views of NOS. Taking Chinese culture into consideration, science teacher education in China cannot entirely import the strategies of teaching the classical views of NOS from the developed world, but should develop, design and contextualize local strategies that are suitable for the training of Chinese science teachers. Some issues for further investigation of learners' views of NOS in non-Western contexts are suggested as implications from this study.

Constructivism and the use of performance assessment in science: A comparative study of beliefs among preservice and inservice teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Bednarski, Marsha H.

Reform efforts in science education stress the importance of preservice and inservice teacher education in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. A change in current student assessment practices is seen as the catalyst in the reform of curriculum and instruction. Recommended for assessment of the proposed inquiry-based science programs are performance-based assessments (National Research Council, 1996). The constructivist philosophy, the foundation for these reform efforts, proposes that knowledge acquisition by the learner is a result of the interaction between what is brought to the learning situation and what is experienced while in it. Literature supports the use of constructivist-based instructional strategies for preservice and inservice teacher education (American Federation of Teachers, National Council on Measurement in Education, and National Education Association, 1990). Literature also provides support for the importance of teacher beliefs in relation to the successful transfer of these instructional strategies (Keegan, 1992; Nespor, 1987). There is not supporting evidence related to constructivist instructional strategies and teacher beliefs transferring to the use of performance assessment. This study identified whether preservice and inservice teachers differed with respect to their beliefs about constructivist-based learning strategies and performance assessment. It also identified whether teacher beliefs held about constructivist-based learning strategies were related to the construction of assessments they developed for use in their classrooms. Education majors enrolled in a Northeastern university's assessment course and inservice teachers from three Northeast public school districts participated in this study. Results of a 36-item belief survey, administered to preservice and inservice teachers, and a 10-item checklist, used to score assessment examples provided by the teachers, concluded that attitudes toward constructivist-based learning

Pre-Service Teachers' Views of Inquiry Teaching and Their Responses to Teacher Educators' Feedback on Teaching Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Hye-Gyoung; Kim, Mijung; Kim, Byoung Sug; Joung, Yong Jae; Park, Young-Shin

2013-01-01

This study attempted to explore 15 Korean elementary pre-service teachers' views of inquiry teaching. During a science teaching methods course, pre-service teachers implemented a peer teaching lesson, had a group discussion to reflect on five teacher educators' comments on their first peer teaching practice, and revised and re-taught the lesson as…

Turkish Pre-Service Science Teachers' Awareness, Beliefs, Values, and Behaviours Pertinent to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Higde, Emrah; Oztekin, Ceren; Sahin, Elvan

2017-01-01

This study examined Turkish pre-service science teachers' awareness, uncertainty beliefs, values, and behaviours pertinent to climate change. It aimed to determine significant predictors of climate change-related behaviours and uncertainty beliefs about the reality of climate change. A Turkish-adapted survey was administered to 1277 pre-service…

The Relationship between Environmental Moral Reasoning and Environmental Attitudes of Pre-Service Science Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Tuncay, Busra; Yilmaz-Tuzun, Ozgul; Tuncer-Teksoz, Gaye

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between environmental moral reasoning patterns and environmental attitudes of 120 pre-service science teachers. Content analysis was carried out on participants' written statements regarding their concerns about the presented environmental problems and the statements were labeled as…

Development and Nature of Preservice Chemistry Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Demirdögen, Betül; Hanuscin, Deborah L.; Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci, Esen; Köseoglu, Fitnat

2016-01-01

The purpose of this case study is to delve into the complexities of the early development of preservice chemistry teachers' science teaching orientations, knowledge of learners, knowledge of instructional strategies, and knowledge of assessment during a two-semester intervention designed to enhance their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for…

Elementary Education Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Biotechnology and Its Related Processes

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Chabalengula, Vivien Mweene; Mumba, Frackson; Chitiyo, Jonathan

2011-01-01

This study examined preservice teachers' understanding of biotechnology and its related processes. A sample comprised 88 elementary education preservice teachers at a large university in the Midwest of the USA. A total of 60 and 28 of the participants were enrolled in introductory and advanced science methods courses, respectively. Most…

The effect of site-based preservice experiences on elementary science teaching self-efficacy beliefs

Science.gov (United States)

Wingfield, Mary E.

Current reform in science education has focused on the need for improvement of preservice teacher training (National Science Education Standards, 1996). As a situation specific construct (Bandura, 1977), self-efficacy studies have been conducted to investigate factors that impact preservice teachers' sense of confidence as it relates to their ability to become successful science teachers. This descriptive study identified factors in the site based experiences that affected preservice elementary teachers' self-efficacy as measured by the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBL-B) (Enochs and Riggs, 1990). The sample consisted of the entire population of undergraduate elementary preservice teachers in the site based teacher education program during the fall semester of 1997 at a large south central urban university. The 131 paired, pretest posttests of the entire STEBL-B and the two constructs were analyzed for significance in mean score gains. Results of the paired t test yielded a t value of 11.52 which was significant at p Bandura identified as sources of information used to determine self-efficacy. These include performance accomplishments through authentic teaching experiences, vicarious experiences through observation of the site based teachers, and verbal persuasion and physiological states from feedback given by the university coordinators. The majority of these preservice teachers started the semester with a negative attitude toward teaching science, but ended the semester with a positive view of themselves as effective science teachers in the future.

Investigating Predictors of Pre-Service Science Teachers' Behavioral Intention toward e-Resources for Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Shittu, Ahmed Tajudeen; Kareem, Bamidele Wahab; Obielodan, Omotayo Olabo; Fakomogbon, Michael Ayodele

2017-01-01

This study examined predictors of pre-service science teachers' behavioral intention toward e-resources use for teaching in Nigeria. The study used cross-sectional survey research method and a questionnaire with a set of items that measure technology preparedness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and behavioral intention to gather the…

The influence of analogical reasoning instruction on the pedagogical reasoning ability of preservice elementary teachers

Science.gov (United States)

James, Mark Charles

Novice teachers with little prior knowledge of science concepts often resort to teaching science as a litany of jargon and definitions. The primary objective of this study was to establish the efficacy of analogy-based pedagogy on influencing the teaching performance of preservice elementary teachers, a group that has been identified for their particular difficulties in teaching science content. While numerous studies have focused on the efficacy of analogy-based instruction on the conceptual knowledge of learners, this was the first study to focus on the influence of analogy-based pedagogy instruction on the teaching performance of novice teachers. The study utilized a treatment/contrast group design where treatment and contrast groups were obtained from intact sections of a university course on methods of teaching science for preservice elementary education students. Preservice teachers in the treatment group were provided instruction in pedagogy that guided them in the generation of analogies to aid in the explanation phase of their learning cycle lessons. The process of generating and evaluating analogies for use in teaching was instrumental in focusing the preservice teachers' lesson planning efforts on critical attributes in target concepts, and away from misplaced concentrations on jargon and definitions. Teaching performance was primarily analyzed using coded indicants of Shulman's (1986) six stages of pedagogical reasoning ability. The primary data source was preservice teachers' work submitted for a major course assignment where the preservice teachers interviewed an elementary school student to gauge prior knowledge of Newtonian force concepts. The culmination of the semester-long assignment was the design of an individualized lesson that was presented by the preservice teachers to individual elementary school students. The results of this study strongly suggest that instruction in methods to include analogy-based pedagogy within a learning cycle lesson

Investigation of the Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Pre-Service Science Teachers in Terms of Following and Using the Innovations in the Field of Education

Science.gov (United States)

Dede, Hulya; Yilmaz, Zeynel Abidin; Ilhan, Nail

2017-01-01

One of the factors influencing teachers' and pre-service teachers' self-efficacy beliefs is the use of innovations and research in education (scientific articles, thesis, and new teaching materials). This study aims to examine to what extent pre-service science teachers follow the innovations in the field of education and use these innovations in…

Using "Slowmation" to Enable Preservice Primary Teachers to Create Multimodal Representations of Science Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Hoban, Garry; Nielsen, Wendy

2012-01-01

Research has identified the value of students constructing their own representations of science concepts using modes such as writing, diagrams, 2-D and 3-D models, images or speech to communicate meaning. "Slowmation" (abbreviated from "Slow Animation") is a simplified way for students, such as preservice teachers, to make a narrated animation…

Strategies for Astronomers in the Preparation of Pre-Service Elementary and Secondary Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, G. R.

2004-12-01

Making an impact on pre-service teacher preparation is challenging and requires a multi-faceted approach. To begin with, it's advisable to be informed by the education research and consensus policy statements published by the teacher education community, and to make meaningful connections with educators in this field. Two significant books to consult in this area come from the National Academy Press: "How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School" (NRC, 2000; see in particular chapter 8 on 'Teacher Learning') and "Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium" (NRC, 2001). Much can also be learned from joining the Association for the Education Teachers of Science (AETS; www.TheAETS.org) and/or attending its annual conferences, which attract various science teacher educators. It goes without saying that most teachers tend to teach science the way they learned it themselves, at least as a "default" pedagogical approach. Thus, initiatives in pre-service teacher preparation should include efforts to involve constructivist, inquiry-based teaching and learning in the undergraduate science lecture and laboratory courses that future teachers are enrolling in. Another important area in teacher education is the "science methods" course that a pre-service teacher enrolls in, through a college or school of education. Science methods courses are usually offered in both elementary and secondary education, and the approaches in each are of course different. Pre-service teachers in methods courses are often most concerned with classroom management strategies, and there is usually not much time in these courses for guidance on astronomy-specific (or any discipline-specific) curriculum and instruction. But experiences with short "interventions" in both elementary and secondary science methods courses have demonstrated that talking about and working hands-on with a well-designed space science curriculum resource (e.g. "The

An Exploratory Analysis of TPACK Perceptions of Pre-Service Science Teachers: A Regional Australian Perspective

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Reyes, Vicente Chua, Jr.; Rizk, Nadya; Gregory, Sue; Doyle, Helen

2016-01-01

Four distinct constructs were identified from a survey of a sample of pre-service science teachers at a regional Australian University. The constructs emerged after employing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on respondents' perceptions of pedagogical practices incorporating the use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT). The key…

Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Teaching Science and Their Science Learning at Indonesia Open University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadi SUPRAPTO

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on attitudes toward (teaching science and the learning of science for primary school among pre-service teachers at the Open University of Indonesia. A three-year longitudinal survey was conducted, involving 379 students as pre-service teachers (PSTs from the Open University in Surabaya regional office. Attitudes toward (teaching science’ (ATS instrument was used to portray PSTs’ preparation for becoming primary school teachers. Data analyses were used, including descriptive analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The model fit of the attitudes toward (teaching science can be described from seven dimensions: self-efficacy for teaching science, the relevance of teaching science, gender-stereotypical beliefs, anxiety in teaching science, the difficulty of teaching science, perceived dependency on contextual factors, and enjoyment in teaching science. The results of the research also described science learning at the Open University of Indonesia looks like. Implications for primary teacher education are discussed.

Using Science to Promote Preservice Teacher Understanding of Problem Solving in Mathematics

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Tobias, Jennifer M.; Ortiz, Enrique

2007-01-01

Preservice elementary teachers need to be given the experiences of integrating mathematics with other subjects. They need to go into the classroom with the understanding that mathematics is not an isolated topic. This article describes a paper airplane activity that was presented in a class of preservice elementary education teachers to show how…

How Pre-Service Teachers Learn Educational Technology with the Situated Learning Approach

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Kucuk, Sevda

2018-01-01

This research investigated pre-service teachers' motivation, learning strategies, and engagement in a situated learning based educational technology course. In this study, correlational research design was used. The sample of this study was 65 second year science education pre-service teachers. The data were collected through two questionnaires.…

Use of Elements of Theatre as Teaching Strategies to Increase Preservice Teacher Self-Efficacy and Proficiency in the Art, Science, and Business of Teaching

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Davidson, Maaike T.

2013-01-01

This sequential, mixed method, QUAN-QUAL study redefines the craft of teaching into the science ("what"), art ("how"), and the business of teaching to assess and prepare preservice teachers. It also measures the effectiveness of using theatrical elements as teaching strategies to effectively develop preservice teachers in the…

A Comparison of Swiss and Turkish Pre-Service Science Teachers' Attitudes, Anxiety and Self-Efficacy Regarding Educational Technology

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Efe, Hülya Aslan; Efe, Rifat; Yücel, Sait

2016-01-01

In this study, pre-service science teachers' anxiety, self-efficacy and attitudes regarding educational technology were investigated. Given the increased emphasis on educational technology in the classroom, teachers' attitudes, anxiety and self-efficacy regarding educational technology are important. The study was conducted with a total of 726…

Using Video Vignettes of Historical Episodes for Promoting Pre-Service Teachers' Ideas about the Nature of Science

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Cakmakci, Gultekin

2017-01-01

This study used video vignettes of historical episodes from documentary films as a context and instructional tool to promote pre-service science teachers' (PSTs) conceptions of the nature of science (NOS). The participants received explicit-reflective NOS instruction, and were introduced to techniques to be able to use scenes from documentary…

Investigating Relationships among Pre-Service Science Teachers' Conceptual Knowledge of Electric Current, Motivational Beliefs and Self-Regulation

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Inaltun, Hüseyin; Ates, Salih

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine relationships among pre-service science teachers' conceptual knowledge of electric current, motivational beliefs, and self-regulation. One hundred and twenty-seven students (female = 107, male = 20) enrolled in the science education program of a public university in Ankara participated the study. A concept…

Pre-Service Science Teachers' Views on Their Online Argumentation about What Is Happening in Middle School Science Classrooms during Their Practicum Period

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Kaya, Osman Nafiz; Dogan, Alev; Kilic, Ziya; Ebenezer, Jazlin

2004-01-01

In this study, Pre-service Science Teachers' (PSTs) views about the potential benefits and existing barriers of their argumentation on the World Wide Web about what is happening in middle school science classrooms during two semesters of their practicum experiences were investigated. "Special Web Group" called the "Collaborative…

Preparing Pre-Service School Librarians for Science-Focused Collaboration with Pre-Service Elementary Teachers: The Design and Impact of a Cross-Class Assignment

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Rawson, Casey H.

2015-01-01

Numerous authors in the library and information science (LIS) field have called for more authentic collaborative experiences for students in school librarian education programs, particularly experiences that partner school library students with pre-service teachers to collaboratively design instruction. The first-iteration, design-based study…

Balancing Teacher and Student Roles in Elementary Classrooms: Preservice Elementary Teachers' Learning about the Inquiry Continuum

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Biggers, Mandy; Forbes, Cory T.

2012-01-01

Using the National Research Council's inquiry continuum framework, we use a multiple-case study research design to investigate the teacher- and student-directedness of elementary preservice teachers' planned and enacted science lessons and their pedagogical reasoning about science instruction during a semester-long science methods course. Our…

Pre-service Science Teachers’ Self-efficacy Beliefs to Teach Socio-scientific Issues

OpenAIRE

Muğaloğlu, Ebru Z.; Küçük, Zerrin Doğança; Güven, Devrim

2016-01-01

This study aims to examine self-efficacy of pre-service science teachers to teach socio-scientific issues (SSI). Twenty-three senior pre-service science teachers participated in the study. Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) was modified with an emphasis on SSI rather than scientific issues. The modified STEBI was applied to the participants before and after the intervention. As for the six-week intervention, three modules, which focused on understanding nature of SSI, teachin...

Validation of the Domains of Creativity Scale for Nigerian Preservice Science, Technology, and Mathematics Teachers

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Awofala, Adeneye O. A.; Fatade, Alfred O.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Investigation into the factor structure of Domains of Creativity Scale has been on for sometimes now. The purpose of this study was to test the validity of the Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale on Nigerian preservice science, technology, and mathematics teachers. Method: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed…

Preservice Teachers' TPACK Beliefs and Attitudes toward Simulations

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Lehtinen, Antti; Nieminen, Pasi; Viiri, Jouni

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effect of an intervention regarding the use of simulations in science teaching on primary school preservice science teachers' (n = 36) self-assessed technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK). The connection of their self-assessed TPACK on their views on the usefulness of simulations in science teaching…

Promoting Shifts in Preservice Science Teachers' Thinking through Teaching and Action Research in Informal Science Settings

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Wallace, Carolyn S.

2013-08-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of an integrated experiential learning and action research project on preservice science teachers' developing ideas about science teaching, learning, and action research itself. The qualitative, interpretive study examined the action research of 10 master's degree students who were involved in service learning with children in informal education settings. Results indicated that all of the participants enhanced their knowledge of children as diverse learners and the importance of prior knowledge in science learning. In-depth case studies for three of the participants indicated that two developed deeper understandings of science learners and learning. However, one participant was resistant to learning and gained more limited understandings.

Conceptions of the Nature of Science Held by Undergraduate Pre-Service Biology Teachers in South-West Nigeria

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Adedoyin, A. O.; Bello, G.

2017-01-01

This study investigated the conceptions of the nature of science held by pre-service undergraduate biology teachers in South-West, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined the influence of their gender on their conceptions of the nature of science. The study was a descriptive research of the survey method. The population for the study comprised…

Turkish Primary Science Teachers' Perceptions of an Ideal Teacher Education System

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Korkmaz, Hunkar; Altindag, Ahmet

2017-01-01

The goals of this descriptive study were to determine Turkish pre-service science teachers' perceptions of an ideal teacher education system. The sample consisted of 137 pre-service teachers, including 74 females and 63 males. The questionnaire was based on open-ended questions and was developed to investigate ideal teacher education system…

Facilitating Elementary Science Teachers' Implementation of Inquiry-Based Science Teaching

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Qablan, Ahmad M.; DeBaz, Theodora

2015-01-01

Preservice science teachers generally feel that the implementation of inquiry-based science teaching is very difficult to manage. This research project aimed at facilitating the implementation of inquiry-based science teaching through the use of several classroom strategies. The evaluation of 15 classroom strategies from 80 preservice elementary…

Pre-service teachers' content knowledge and pedagogical content ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

kofi.mereku

African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences Vol. 13, 2017. 63 ... knowledge in teaching geometric transformation ... made more practical and that pre-service teachers should be given ample opportunity to practice.

Preparing "Professional" Science Teachers: Critical Goals.

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Dass, Pradeep Maxwell

This paper focuses on pre-service teacher education and elaborates on the critical importance of three attributes to the development of professional science teachers: (1) science teachers must be reflective practitioners of their profession; (2) all instructional practice and decisions of science teachers must be backed by a research-based…

Elementary pre-service teachers' conceptual understanding of dissolving: a Vygotskian concept development perspective

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Harrell, Pamela; Subramaniam, Karthigeyan

2015-09-01

Background and purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate and identify the nature and the interrelatedness of pre-service teachers' misconceptions and scientific concepts for explaining dissolving before, during, and after a 5E learning cycle lesson on dissolving, the intervention. Sample, design, and methods: Guided by Vygotsky's theory of concept development, the study focused specifically on the spontaneous, and spontaneous pseudo-concepts held by the 61 elementary pre-service teachers during a 15-week science methods course. Data included concept maps, interview transcripts, written artifacts, drawings, and narratives, and were thematically analyzed to classify concepts and interrelatedness. Results: Results of the study showed that spontaneous pseudo-concepts (1) dominated pre-service teachers' understandings about dissolving throughout the study, and (2) were simply associated with scientific concepts during and after the intervention. Conclusion: Collectively, the results indicated that the pre-service teachers' did not acquire a unified system of knowledge about dissolving that could be characterized as abstract, generalizable, and hierarchical. Implications include the need for (1) familiarity with pre-service teachers' prior knowledge about science content; (2) a variety of formative assessments to assess their misconceptions; (3) emphasizing the importance of dialectical method for concept development during instruction; and (4) skillful content instructors.

Reaching the Future Teachers in Your Classroom: New Directions in Pre-Service Education

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Grier, Jennifer A.; Ruberg, L.

2006-09-01

We will present results and progress from initiatives seeking to improve the experiences of future teachers in college level science classes. A future teacher (pre-service teacher) is inspired to teach science based on personal experiences with college science classes. The most critical opportunity to make a real difference in science education in schools comes when the teachers themselves are first being educated. Given the difficulties in identifying future teachers and the wide variations in their needs, how can we best help future teachers in training? What critical thinking skills are most important for them to absorb from their exposure to science as undergraduates and graduate students? What teaching and learning experiences can we offer that will help science teachers in training confidently assess the relationship between evidence and explanations and then bring that understanding and experience effectively into their own classroom? Recent initiatives in pre-service education have identified several key strategies for improving teacher preparation at the post-secondary level: - Using a constructivist approach to teach physical science concepts and guided inquiry - Knowing common misconceptions about key scientific concepts that students bring to college-level science classrooms - Applying documented strategies for identifying and addressing student misconceptions; and - Knowing how to select and adapt curriculum materials based on common preconceptions held by students. The challenge of reaching these outcomes is complex and cannot be addressed with simple solutions. Teaching strategies that help prepare future teachers include modeling effective teaching of science, understanding the relationship between student/teacher misconceptions, designing and implementing evaluation and assessment, appropriate use of technology tools, and tapping into the existing community of learners to provide ongoing education opportunities and support as the pre-service

Evolution in the Southeastern USA: Factors Influencing Acceptance and Rejection in Pre-Service Science Teachers

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Glaze, Amanda L.; Goldston, M. Jenice; Dantzler, John

2015-01-01

Evolution continues to be a controversial topic around the world but nowhere is this more apparent locally than in the Southeastern region of the USA. In this study, we explored acceptance and rejection of evolution among pre-service science teachers in a teaching college in the rural Southeast and sought to determine (1) what relationships exist…

The Relationship between Environmental Moral Reasoning and Environmental Attitudes of Pre-Service Science Teachers

OpenAIRE

TUNCAY, Busra; YILMAZ-TUZUN, Ozgul; TUNCER-TEKSOZ, Gaye

2011-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between environmental moral reasoning patterns and environmental attitudes of 120 pre-service science teachers. Content analysis was carried out on participants’ written statements regarding their concerns about the presented environmental problems and the statements were labeled as ecocentric, anthropocentric, and non-environmental according to their meanings. Then, descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted ...

Virtual Mentoring of Preservice Teachers

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Reese, Jill

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study was to describe music teachers' perceptions of the benefits and challenges they experienced as virtual mentors of preservice music teachers. Each mentor was assigned a cohort of preservice teachers who were enrolled in an elementary general music methods course. Cohorts observed their mentor's teaching via Skype. Mentors…

Preservice Teachers Developing Coherent Inquiry Investigations in Elementary Astronomy

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Plummer, Julia D.; Tanis Ozcelik, Arzu

2015-01-01

For students to attain deep understanding of scientific practices, they will need to have opportunities to participate in sustained engagement in doing science. Such opportunities begin with elementary teachers implementing coherent and well-sequenced inquiry-based investigations in their classrooms. This study explored how preservice teachers (N…

Technology Integration in a Science Classroom: Preservice Teachers' Perceptions

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Rehmat, Abeera P.; Bailey, Janelle M.

2014-01-01

The challenge of preparing students for the information age has prompted administrators to increase technology in the public schools. Yet despite the increased availability of technology in schools, few teachers are integrating technology for instructional purposes. Preservice teachers must be equipped with adequate content knowledge of technology…

Preservice Science Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs and Informal Reasoning Regarding Socioscientific Issues

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Ozturk, Nilay; Yilmaz-Tuzun, Ozgul

2017-12-01

This study investigated preservice elementary science teachers' (PSTs) informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues (SSI), their epistemological beliefs, and the relationship between informal reasoning and epistemological beliefs. From several SSIs, nuclear power usage was selected for this study. A total of 647 Turkish PSTs enrolled in three large universities in Turkey completed the open-ended questionnaire, which assessed the participants' informal reasoning about the target SSI, and Schommer's (1990) Epistemological Questionnaire. The participants' epistemological beliefs were assessed quantitatively and their informal reasoning was assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings revealed that PSTs preferred to generate evidence-based arguments rather than intuitive-based arguments; however, they failed to generate quality evidence and present different types of evidence to support their claims. Furthermore, among the reasoning quality indicators, PSTs mostly generated supportive argument construction. Regarding the use of reasoning modes, types of risk arguments and political-oriented arguments emerged as the new reasoning modes. The study demonstrated that the PSTs had different epistemological beliefs in terms of innate ability, omniscient authority, certain knowledge, and quick learning. Correlational analyses revealed that there was a strong negative correlation between the PSTs' certain knowledge and counterargument construction, and there were negative correlations between the PSTs' innate ability, certain knowledge, and quick learning dimensions of epistemological beliefs and their total argument construction. This study has implications for both science teacher education and the practice of science education. For example, PST teacher education programs should give sufficient importance to training teachers that are skillful and knowledgeable regarding SSIs. To achieve this, specific SSI-related courses should form part of science

Using Citizen Science to Engage Preservice Elementary Educators in Scientific Fieldwork

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Scott, Catherine M.

2016-01-01

Preservice elementary teachers' lack of confidence in teaching science is an ongoing concern. Only 29% of elementary teachers in the field felt "very well prepared to teach life science," according to the National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education. Research has suggested that bridging informal and formal science education can…

Preservice elementary teachers learning of astronomy

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Fidler, Chuck Gary

The dissertation presents a new approach for the study of preservice elementary teacher astronomy education. The approach suggests that learning astronomical concepts are facilitated by greater sophistication in scale perception and spatial-aptitude. This dissertation is underscored by the national call for elementary science education reform efforts and suggests certain strategies shown more effective for the development of accurate astronomical comprehension. The present research study describes how preservice elementary teachers conceptualize and communicate ideas about Space. Instead of assuming a universal mental conception of cosmic orientations and relationships, the dissertation claims that the perception of Space related dimensions vary among preservice elementary teachers. Furthermore, the dissertation suggests individual perceptions of the scale sizes and orientations of celestial systems have direct influences on mental models used to organize and communicate astronomical information. The development of inaccurate mental models of the scaled dimensions of Space may perpetuate the teacher-student cycle of misconception and naive-theory generation among children in elementary education settings. The ability to conceptualize the vast cosmos is facilitated by the minds ability to think about vast scales and orientations of celestial objects. The Earth-based perspective of astronomy education compels the learner to think about astronomical principles within imaginary frames of reference and across unfamiliar scaled dimensions. Therefore, mental astronomical model building is underscored by the perception of scale and cosmic spatiality. This study suggests these cognitive skill sets are interconnected and facilitate the learning of accurate astronomy principles; as well as play an important role when designing an astronomy education program for preservice elementary teachers. This research study is comprised of three separate standalone articles designed and

Digital Technology and Teacher Preparation: The Instructional Role of Social Media Among Pre-Service Teachers

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Trytten, Bria Klotz

As social media use becomes more prevalent among teachers, it becomes vital to understand how teachers are using social media and what effects it has, if any, on teaching practices in the classroom. This study sought to explore the relationship between pre-service teachers' use of social media and their perceptions of inquiry-based science education, an important teaching best practice. This study is unique in that it explores pre-service teachers' use of three social media platforms--Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest--and how pre-service teachers plan to apply them to classroom education. Previous studies focused on only one social media platform, usually Twitter or Facebook. This study surveyed 113 pre-service teachers in their 3rd or 4th year of school at one of two teacher colleges. The survey employed multiple choice, open-ended, and Likert-type questions to assess pre-service teachers' use of social media as well as their attitudes surrounding inquiry-based instruction. In order to better explain and analyze survey results, fourteen survey participants were interviewed with follow-up questions to elaborate on both social media use and inquiry attitudes. Findings indicated that the pre-service teachers used social media, and overwhelmingly Pinterest, to find lesson plans and classroom organizational ideas. Cited reasons for this practice included convenience, variety of lesson planning, and easily searchable databases. The study found statistical significance in that teachers who aspire to teach lower grade levels will turn to social media to find lesson plans more frequently than those who aspire to teach higher grade levels. The study found social media use had no statistically significant effect on the level of inquiry-based teaching that the participants aimed to achieve in their future classrooms.

The Impact of Project-Based Learning on Pre-Service Teachers' Technology Attitudes and Skills

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Alexander, Curby; Knezek, Gerald; Christensen, Rhonda; Tyler-Wood, Tandra; Bull, Glen

2014-01-01

Researchers in this study looked at the effect of content-specific, technology-rich project-based learning activities on EC-8 pre-service teachers' competencies and skills, as well as pre-service teacher's attitudes toward science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Researchers employed a quantitative design involving participants in…

Preparing pre-service teachers to integrate technology into inquiry-based science education: Three case studies in The Netherlands

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Tran, Trinh-Ba; van den Berg, Ed; Ellermeijer, Ton; Beishuizen, Jos

2016-05-01

Integration of technology ( e.g. measuring with sensors, video measurement, and modeling) into secondary-school science teaching is a need globally recognized. A central issue of incorporating these technologies in teaching is how to turn manipulations of equipment and software into manipulations of ideas. Therefore, preparation for pre-service teachers to apply ICT tools should be combined with the issues of minds-on inquiring and meaning-making. From this perspective, we developed a course within the post-graduate teacher-education program in the Netherlands. During the course, pre-service teachers learnt not only to master ICT skills but also to design, teach, and evaluate an inquiry-based lesson in which the ICT tool was integrated. Besides three life sessions, teachers' learning scenario also consisted of individual tasks which teachers could carry out mostly in the school or at home with support materials and online assistance. We taught three iterations of the course within a design-research framework in 2013, 2014 and collected data on the teacher learning processes and outcomes. The analyses of these data from observation, interviews, questionnaires, and documents were to evaluate implementation of the course, then suggest for revisions of the course set-up, which was executed and then assessed again in a subsequent case study. Main outcomes of the three case studies can be summarized as follows: within a limited time (3 life sessions spread over 2-3 months), the heterogeneous groups of pre-service teachers achieved a reasonable level of competence regarding the use of ICT tools in inquiry-based lessons. The blended set-up with support materials, especially the Coach activities and the lesson-plan form for an ICT-integrated inquiry-based lesson, contributed to this result under the condition that the course participants really spent considerable time outside the life sessions. There was a need for more time for hands-on, in-group activities in life

Using the History of Research on Sickle Cell Anemia to Affect Preservice Teachers' Conceptions of the Nature of Science.

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Howe, Eric M.

This paper examines how using a series of lessons developed from the history of research on sickle cell anemia affects preservice teacher conceptions of the nature of science (NOS). The importance of a pedagogy that has students do science through an integral use of the history of science is effective at enriching students' NOS views is presented.…

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Beliefs about Nature of Science and Constructivist Teaching in the Content-Specific Context

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Yoon, Hye-Gyoung; Kim, Byoung Sug

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how Korean preservice elementary teachers' beliefs about nature of science (NOS) and their beliefs about constructivist teaching were structured and related and if any relation was prevalent in the content-specific contexts. As the same format, three versions of questionnaires were developed in three…

Wikis: Developing Pre-Service Teachers' Leadership Skills and Knowledge of Content Standards

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Reid-Griffin, Angelia; Slaten, Kelli M.

2016-01-01

In this initial phase of our multi-year research study we set out to explore the development of leadership skills in our pre-service secondary teachers after using an online wiki, Wikispaces. This paper presents our methods for preparing a group of 13 mathematics and 3 science secondary pre-service teachers to demonstrate the essential knowledge,…

Conceptualisations of infinity by primary pre-service teachers

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Date-Huxtable, Elizabeth; Cavanagh, Michael; Coady, Carmel; Easey, Michael

2018-05-01

As part of the Opening Real Science: Authentic Mathematics and Science Education for Australia project, an online mathematics learning module embedding conceptual thinking about infinity in science-based contexts, was designed and trialled with a cohort of 22 pre-service teachers during 1 week of intensive study. This research addressed the question: "How do pre-service teachers conceptualise infinity mathematically?" Participants argued the existence of infinity in a summative reflective task, using mathematical and empirical arguments that were coded according to five themes: definition, examples, application, philosophy and teaching; and 17 codes. Participants' reflections were differentiated as to whether infinity was referred to as an abstract (A) or a real (R) concept or whether both (B) codes were used. Principal component analysis of the reflections, using frequency of codings, revealed that A and R codes occurred at different frequencies in three groups of reflections. Distinct methods of argument were associated with each group of reflections: mathematical numerical examples and empirical measurement comparisons characterised arguments for infinity as an abstract concept, geometric and empirical dynamic examples and belief statements characterised arguments for infinity as a real concept and empirical measurement and mathematical examples and belief statements characterised arguments for infinity as both an abstract and a real concept. An implication of the results is that connections between mathematical and empirical applications of infinity may assist pre-service teachers to contrast finite with infinite models of the world.

Improving the Science Teaching Self-Efficacy of Preservice Elementary Teachers: A Multiyear Study of A Hybrid Geoscience Course

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Cervato, Cinzia; Kerton, Charles

2017-01-01

We describe the impact of a hybrid Earth and space science course, taught online and complemented by a 2-hour face-to-face lab, on the science teaching self-efficacy of elementary preservice teachers over a 3-year span. Guided by the two overarching objectives of engaging students in the content and increasing their comfort level with teaching…

Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Challenging Behavior

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Butler, Anne; Monda-Amaya, Lisa

2016-01-01

Challenging behavior can have adverse effects on both students and teachers, and preservice teachers often report feeling ill prepared to manage this behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) preservice teacher perceptions of student and teacher behavior during scenarios of challenging behavior, (b) alternative solutions or strategies…

Science Curriculum Components Favored by Taiwanese Biology Teachers

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Lin, Chen-Yung; Hu, Reping; Changlai, Miao-Li

2005-09-01

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.

Exploring impacts of the EED 420 science methods course on pre-service elementary teachers’ views regarding the nature of science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

EunJin Bang

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This study explores the impact of a semester-long science methods course examining pre-service elementary teachers’ views on the nature of science (NOS. Also examined were NOS characteristics that pre-service teachers incorporated into their science lesson plans and peer teachings, during the course. Data used for this study were obtained from 21 pre-service teachers who participated in the pre/post card exchange game, pre/post VNOS interviews, 5E lesson plans, and peer teaching performances. The results of the study showed that some changes were made as a result of EED 420— such as starting to view science as a data-gathering experimental endeavor, rather than just a theorydriven endeavor. None of the groups explicitly designed or taught their lesson’s NOS aspects. The study posits that a mere one semester-long science method’s course is insufficient to adequately improve understanding of the NOS, and to establish a sufficiently robust desire in pre-service teachers for them to implement NOS into their lessons.

Five male preservice elementary teachers: Their understandings, beliefs and practice regarding science teaching

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Hoover, Barbara Grambo

Many factors influence teacher choices concerning the frequency, instructional methods, and content of science teaching. Although the role of gender in science learning has been studied extensively, the gender of elementary teachers as it intersects their teaching of science has not been investigated. In this ethnographic study, I focused on five male preservice elementary teachers as they experienced their student teaching internship, aiming to understand their underlying beliefs about science and science teaching and how those beliefs influenced their practice. In an attempt to illuminate the complex interplay of personality, experience, interests, and gender in the professional lives of these men, this study emphasized the importance of context in the formation and expression of their science beliefs and pedagogy. For this reason, I collected data from a number of sources. From September, 2001 to May, 2002, I observed my participants in their science methods courses and on multiple occasions as they taught science in elementary classrooms in a suburban school district. I reviewed journal entries required for the science methods class and examined documents such as handouts, readings and teacher guides from their elementary teaching experience. I conducted semi-structured and informal interviews. I analyzed data from these sources using grounded theory methodology. Although these five men had many similarities, they differed in their love of science, their exposure to science, their avocational interests, and their views of science pedagogy. This study, however, revealed a unifying theme: each participant had his own set of personal and academic resources that he carried into the classroom and used to construct a distinctive science learning environment. Some of these resources intersect with gender. For example, several men had science-related avocational interests. There was a common emphasis on creating a relaxed, enjoyable, hands-on teaching environment as

Preparing pre-service teachers to integrate technology into inquiry-based science education: Three case studies in The Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran, Trinh-Ba; Ed van den Berg, Ed; Beishuizen, Jos; Ellermeijer, Ton

2015-01-01

Integration of technology (e.g. measuring with sensors, video measurement, and modeling) into secondary-school science teaching is a need globally recognized. A central issue of incorporating these technologies in teaching is how to turn manipulations of equipment and software into manipulations of ideas. Therefore, preparation for pre-service teachers to apply ICT tools should be combined with the issues of minds-on inquiring and meaning-making. From this perspective, we developed a course within the post-graduate teacher-education program in the Netherlands. During the course, pre-service teachers learnt not only to master ICT skills but also to design, teach, and evaluate an inquiry-based lesson in which the ICT tool was integrated. Besides three life sessions, teachers’ learning scenario also consisted of individual tasks which teachers could carry out mostly in the school or at home with support materials and online assistance. We taught three iterations of the course within a design-research framework in 2013, 2014 and collected data on the teacher learning processes and outcomes. The analyses of these data from observation, interviews, questionnaires, and documents were to evaluate implementation of the course, then suggest for revisions of the course set-up, which was executed and then assessed again in a subsequent case study. Main outcomes of the three case studies can be summarized as follows: within a limited time (3 life sessions spread over 2–3 months), the heterogeneous groups of pre-service teachers achieved a reasonable level of competence regarding the use of ICT tools in inquiry-based lessons. The blended set-up with support materials, especially the Coach activities and the lesson-plan form for an ICT-integrated inquiry-based lesson, contributed to this result under the condition that the course participants really spent considerable time outside the life sessions. There was a need for more time for hands-on, in-group activities in life

Analysis of pre-service and in-service views of evolution of Serbian teachers

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Stanisavljević Jelena

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We analysed the potential differences between the conceptions of Serbian pre-service and in-service teachers using controlled parameters such as acceptance of the evolution theory. Our sample includes Primary School teachers as well as Secondary School teachers of Biology and of Language. We show that the ideas of pre-service (PreB and in-service biology teachers (InB are more evolutionary than those of their colleagues. In contrast, most creationist responses came from the groups of pre-service language (PreL and pre-service primary teachers (PreP. The agnostic teachers are more evolutionist than other teachers. The more a teacher believes in God and practices religion, the more creationist he or she is, but a great number of teachers who believe in God are evolutionist or simultaneously evolutionist and creationist. There is a positive correlation between evolutionist answers and the attitude that „Science and religion should be separated“, and „religion and politics should be separated“. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 173038 i br. III 43001

What Is the Teacher Doing? What Are the Students Doing? An Application of the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test

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Minogue, James

2010-01-01

This study documents the use of the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test as diagnostic tool for both preservice teacher beliefs about science teaching and science methods course effectiveness. Direct comparison of pre-course to post-course images from 50 preservice elementary teachers was undertaken using McNemar's test. Results indicated statistically…

Predicting Pre-Service Classroom Teachers' Civil Servant Recruitment Examination's Educational Sciences Test Scores Using Artificial Neural Networks

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Demir, Metin

2015-01-01

This study predicts the number of correct answers given by pre-service classroom teachers in Civil Servant Recruitment Examination's (CSRE) educational sciences test based on their high school grade point averages, university entrance scores, and grades (mid-term and final exams) from their undergraduate educational courses. This study was…

The perceptions of pre-service and in-service teachers regarding a project-based STEM approach to teaching science.

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Siew, Nyet Moi; Amir, Nazir; Chong, Chin Lu

2015-01-01

Whilst much attention has focused on project-based approaches to teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, little has been reported on the views of South-East Asian science teachers on project-based STEM approaches. Such knowledge could provide relevant information for education training institutions on how to influence innovative teaching of STEM subjects in schools. This article reports on a study that investigated the perceptions of 25 pre-service and 21 in-service Malaysian science teachers in adopting an interdisciplinary project-based STEM approach to teaching science. The teachers undertook an eight hour workshop which exposed them to different science-based STEM projects suitable for presenting science content in the Malaysian high school science syllabus. Data on teachers' perceptions were captured through surveys, interviews, open-ended questions and classroom discussion before and at the end of the workshop. Study findings showed that STEM professional development workshops can provide insights into the support required for teachers to adopt innovative, effective, project-based STEM approaches to teaching science in their schools.

Preservice teachers' discursive approaches to constructing scientific arguments from evidence to claim

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Gilles, Brent David

Scientific argumentation has recently become required in K-12 classrooms, but preservice teachers often do not have prior experiences with this practice. The lack of prior experiences has made engaging in argumentation during inquiry-based content courses a priority for science teacher educators because of its importance in science education. Previous research has not examined how preservice teachers construct arguments in classroom interactions. A discourse analysis of twenty-one preservice teachers was conducted to study how preservice teachers constructed arguments within small group activities. Specifically, I drew upon discursive psychology (Potter & Wetherell, 1987) and conversation analysis (Sacks, 1972) to consider how preservice teachers' talk functioned to build arguments, as well as how their talk evolved over the course of the four targeted activities. Findings indicated that the preservice teachers oriented towards institutional norms in constructing arguments. These norms shaped the ways that arguments were constructed. The construction of arguments also included negotiating epistemic authority. This authority was used by a member of the group to take up a leadership position, which they used to direct the group's actions. However, there were moments that other group members attempted to take up epistemic stances, which created instances where members used various talk moves (e.g., overlapping speech, ignoring, and holding the conversational floor) to implicitly disagree with each other. As the activities progressed the students spontaneously adopted asynchronous online collaborative tools that seemed to shape their discourse by decreasing conceptually rich talk. The transition from talk to text also coincided with an increased reliance on the teacher, which changed from focusing on expectations of the assignment to how evidence should be organized. Overall, the findings demonstrated how preservice teachers used discourse, specifically talk, to

Pre-Service Science Teachers' Views about Nuclear Energy with Respect to Gender and University Providing Instruction

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Ates, H.; Saracoglu, M.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research was to investigate pre-service science teachers' (PST) views about nuclear energy and to examine what effects, if any, of gender and the university of instruction had on their views. Data were collected through the Risks and Benefits about Nuclear Energy Scale (Iseri, 2012). The sample consisted of 214 PSTs who…

Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers' Mathematics Ability

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Stripling, Christopher T.; Roberts, T. Grady

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the mathematics ability of the nation's preservice agricultural education teachers. Based on the results of this study, preservice teachers were not proficient in solving agricultural mathematics problems, and agricultural teacher education programs require basic and intermediate mathematics as their…

Rethinking Difficulties of Teaching Inquiry-Based Practical Work: Stories from elementary pre-service teachers

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Kim, Mijung; Tan, Aik-Ling

2011-03-01

To alleviate teachers' reluctance toward practical work, there has been much discussion on teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, teaching materials, and failsafe strategies for practical work. Despite these efforts, practical work is still regarded as a challenging task for many elementary science teachers. To understand the complexity of teachers' conflicts in practical work, this study examines teachers' ideas about teaching and learning that influence teachers' decision-making and action on teaching practical work. More important than knowing technical-rational aspects of practical work is to understand the internal contradictions that teachers have to resolve within themselves regarding their capabilities and beliefs about science teaching and practical work. Using stories and experiences of 38 third-year university students in a science method course in Korea, we seek to understand the conflicts and negotiations that they experience as they make decisions regarding practical work throughout their course. Reflective writings and group discussions on their lived experiences and concerns were used to probe participants' ideas on teaching using practical work. From written and verbal data, themes were saturated in terms of the aspects which could (dis)encourage their practice. Results suggest that there are multifactorial challenges in pre-service teachers' understandings and concerns in practical work. Besides time, materials, and curriculum, pedagogical assumptions and values also compositely challenge the minds of teachers. As the pre-service elementary teachers negotiated within themselves the importance of science in classroom and social levels, the question is raised about their identities as pre-service elementary teachers to appreciate the balance between science teaching and practical work.

Effective Communication between Preservice and Cooperating Teachers

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Lawley, Ji Ji; Moore, Jenifer; Smajic, Almir

2014-01-01

This article reviews research on communication between preservice and cooperating teachers during a teacher internship. The research reveals that poor communication between preservice teachers and cooperating teachers can cause barriers to planning lessons, feedback, and teaching experiences. Additionally, research indicates that…

Science teacher development and the lens of social media: An investigation into the identity and influences upon the development of elementary pre-service science teachers

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Wall, Steven D.

Pre-service teacher education is committed to the cultivation of different forms of competency that include, but are not limited to, content knowledge and pedagogical skill (Levin, Hammer, & Coffey, 2009; Yerrick, 2005). While advances in practice have been made, pre-service elementary teachers (PS-ESTs) continue to exhibit anxiety and doubt about self-efficacy in science teaching. Teacher education is designed to encourage PS-ESTs to formulate useful practices, but PS-ESTs must first overcome limitations and anxiety generated by past, personal experiences and an acknowledged discomfort with science. While this goal is accomplished through contexts designed with that intent (e.g. methods courses, field experiences), challenges remain. Twenty-first century elementary teacher education research needs to examine influences associated with individual identities within specific roles (Gee, 2000), teaching and learning contexts and their inherent influences, and interactions that are enhanced by the increasing presence and influence of social networks. To examine and better understand identity, contexts, and interactional influences, blogs from two cohorts of PS-ESTs were examined to better understand how teacher education practices influenced PS-ESTs and to determine PS-ESTs beliefs about the teacher's role. The study was designed to answer the following research questions: "What is learned about the identity of PS-ESTs authored through social media, what contextual influences are acknowledged by PS-ESTs, and what interactions are occurring and what roles are they playing in the development of PS-ESTs?" This study used grounded theory and perceptual control theory (PCT) to analyze and reduce data to make assertions about PS-ESTs' development as teachers and influences upon their practices. Findings illuminated components of PS-EST teaching identities and suggested multiple implications within different domains, including the role of PST understandings of science

Challenges Pre-Service Teachers Face When Implementing a 5E Inquiry Model of Instruction

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Enugu, Ramya; Hokayem, Hayat

2017-01-01

This study examined the challenges that pre-service teachers faced when implementing inquiry and their perspective on how to overcome them. The data sample was 55 pre-service teachers (PSTs) enrolled into two sections of a science methods course in a private university in North Texas. The data sources consisted of inquiry-based lesson plans, PST…

Preservice Teachers Connecting Mathematics and Drumming

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Marshall, Anne Marie

2014-01-01

Increasingly, elementary classroom teachers are being called to teach a myriad of subjects, including visual art, dance, and music. Preservice teachers must be prepared to teach and integrate multiple subjects. To that end, preservice teachers will need experiences in their preparation that help them to see connections across content areas and…

Preservice Teachers' Perceptions about Teaching Mathematics through Music

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An, Song A.; Tillman, Daniel; Shaheen, Andrea; Boren, Rachel

2014-01-01

This study examined preservice teachers' perceptions about teaching elementary level mathematics lessons integrated with music. It also sought to determine how preservice teachers would strategize the integration of music activities when introducing elementary level mathematics lessons. The participants, 53 undergraduate preservice teachers at a…

Examining of the Predictors of Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of the Quality of the Science Fair Projects in Turkey

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Tortop, Hasan Said

2014-01-01

This study aimed at examining the predictors of quality of science fair (SF) projects in the light of pre-service teachers' evaluation of SF rubric' domains. These projects were selected by judges in A city for the A Regional Exhibition of Science and Mathematics Project Study for Primary School Students: The SF projects were evaluated by thirty…

Preservice and Inservice Teachers' Perceptions of Appropriateness of Teacher Self-Disclosure

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Zhang, Shaoan; Shi, Qingmin; Tonelson, Stephen; Robinson, Jack

2009-01-01

This study investigated preservice and inservice teachers' perceptions of appropriateness of teacher self-disclosure. A sample of 180 preservice teachers and 135 preK-12 teachers participated in the study. Results showed statistically significant differences between the groups of teachers in their perceptions of appropriateness of teacher…

Integrating Science Content and Pedagogy in the Earth, Life, and Physical Sciences: A K-8 Pre-Service Teacher Preparation Continuum at the University of Delaware

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Madsen, J.; Allen, D.; Donham, R.; Fifield, S.; Ford, D.; Shipman, H.; Dagher, Z.

2007-12-01

University of Delaware faculty in the geological sciences, biological sciences, and the physics and astronomy departments have partnered with faculty and researchers from the school of education to form a continuum for K- 8 pre-service teacher preparation in science. The goal of the continuum is to develop integrated understandings of content and pedagogy so that these future teachers can effectively use inquiry-based approaches in teaching science in their classrooms. Throughout the continuum where earth science content appears an earth system science approach, with emphasis on inquiry-based activities, is employed. The continuum for K-8 pre-service teachers includes a gateway content course in the earth, life, or physical sciences taken during the freshman year followed by integrated science content and methods courses taken during the sophomore year. These integrated courses, called the Science Semester, were designed and implemented with funding from the National Science Foundation. During the Science Semester, traditional content and pedagogy subject matter boundaries are crossed to stress shared themes that teachers must understand to teach standards-based science. Students work collaboratively on multidisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) activities that place science concepts in authentic contexts and build learning skills. They also critically explore the theory and practice of elementary science teaching, drawing on their shared experiences of inquiry learning during the Science Semester. The PBL activities that are the hallmark of the Science Semester provide the backdrop through which fundamental earth system interactions can be studied. For example in a PBL investigation that focuses on kids, cancer, and the environment, the hydrologic cycle with emphasis on surface runoff and ground water contamination is studied. Those students seeking secondary certification in science will enroll, as a bridge toward their student teaching experience, in an

Changes in Preservice Teacher Attitudes toward Astronomy within a Semester-Long Astronomy Instruction and Four-Year-Long Teacher Training Programme

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Ucar, Sedat; Demircioglu, Tuba

2011-01-01

Teachers' attitudes toward science, especially toward astronomy, are considered to be an important aspect of teaching and learning astronomy in school. Research findings to date remain inconclusive as to whether attitudes toward science change with the science courses taken or with increasing achievement. Therefore, preservice teacher attitudes…

Pre-service physics teachers' ideas on size, visibility and structure of the atom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uenlue, Pervin

2010-01-01

Understanding the atom gives the opportunity to both understand and conceptually unify the various domains of science, such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and geology. Among these disciplines, physics teachers are expected to be particularly well educated in this topic. It is important that pre-service physics teachers know what sort of theories regarding the atom they will bring into their own classrooms. Six tasks were developed, comprising size, visibility and structure of the atom. These tasks carried out by pre-service physics teachers were examined by content analysis and six categories were determined. These are size, visibility, subatomic particles, atom models, electron orbit and electron features. Pre-service physics teachers' ideas about the atom were clarified under these categories.

Learning the pedagogical implications of student diversity: The lived experience of preservice teachers learning to teach secondary science in diverse classrooms

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Larkin, Doug

This study explores the nature of the changes in thinking that occur in prospective teachers during teacher education programs, particularly as these changes pertain to the pedagogical implications of student diversity within the teaching of high school science. The specific research question examined here is: How do preservice secondary science teachers' conceptions about what it means to teach science in diverse classrooms change during a teacher education program, and in what ways are these changes influenced by their science methods courses and student teaching experiences? The theory of conceptual change serves as the framework for understanding preservice teacher learning in this study. In this research, I describe the experiences of six prospective secondary science teachers from four different teacher education programs located in the Midwestern United States using a multiple case study approach. Qualitative data was collected from students through interviews, questionnaires, teaching portfolios, written coursework, lesson planning materials, and naturalistic observations of student teaching. The questionnaire and interview protocols were based on those developed for the Teacher Education and Learning to Teach study (NCRTE, 1991) and adapted for specific science content areas. Findings of this study include the fact that participants came to view the salience of diversity in science teaching primarily in terms of students' interest, motivation, and engagement. Also, it appeared prospective teachers needed to first recognize the role that student thinking plays in learning before being able to understand the pedagogical implications of student diversity became possible. Finally, while all of the participants increasingly valued student ideas, they did so for a wide variety of reasons, not all of which related to student learning. The implications section of this study highlights opportunities for drawing on science education research to inform multicultural

The Principle-Practical Discourse Edge: Elementary Preservice and Mentor Teachers Working Together on Colearning Tasks

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Gunckel, Kristin L.; Wood, Marcy B.

2016-01-01

A major challenge in preparing elementary teachers to teach inquiry-based science is finding qualified mentor teachers who use research-based approaches to teach science in their classrooms. This situation means preservice teachers often see few connections between the research-based principles for teaching science they learn in university-based…

Snapshots of Authentic Scientific Inquiry and Teacher Preparation: Undergraduate STEM Courses, Preservice and Inservice Teachers' Experiences

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French, Debbie Ann

In this dissertation, the researcher describes authentic scientific inquiry (ASI) within three stages of teacher preparation and development: a1) undergraduate STEM courses, b2) preservice secondary science education methods courses, and c3) inservice teacher professional development (PD). Incorporating (ASI)-- pedagogy closely modeling the research practices of scientists--is at the forefront of national science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) initiatives and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In the first of three research articles, 42 students participated in an introductory astronomy course which employed inquiry-based pedagogy. The researcher administered the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) pre/post instruction. In the second article, 56 preservice secondary science teachers completed ideal lesson plan scenarios before and after 80 hours of methods instruction. The researcher scored the scenarios using a rubrirubric developedc according to the NGSS Science and Engineering Practices, and analyzed the components from the scenarios. The third article surveyed 63 inservice STEM teachers with prior research and industry experience. The researcher highlights teacher ASI perspectives. Overall, teachers incorporated opportunities for K-20 students to use scientific instrumentation and technology to collect and analyze data, work collaboratively, and develop evidence-based conclusions. Few teachers provided opportunities for students to ask scientific questions or disseminate results, suggesting the need that teachers (at all levels) need scaffolded instruction in these areas. The researcher argues that while ASI and STEM PDs are effective for teachers, developing similar interest, on-going communities of practice may provide support for teacher to implement the ASI practices in their classrooms.

Construction of teacher knowledge in context: Preparing elementary teachers to teach mathematics and science

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Lowery, Maye Norene Vail

1998-12-01

The purposes of this study were to further the understanding of how preservice teacher construct teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge of elementary mathematics and science and to determine the extent of that knowledge in a school-based setting. Preservice teachers, university instructors, inservice teachers, and other school personnel were involved in this context-specific study. Evidence of the preservice teachers' knowledge construction (its acquisition, its dimensions, and the social context) was collected through the use of a qualitative methodology. Collected data included individual and group interviews, course documents, artifacts, and preservice teaching portfolios. Innovative aspects of this integrated mathematics and science elementary methods course included standards-based instruction with immediate access to field experiences. Grade-level teams of preservice and inservice teachers planned and implemented lessons in mathematics and science for elementary students. An on-site, portable classroom building served as a mathematics and science teaching and learning laboratory. A four-stage analysis was performed, revealing significant patterns of learning. An ecosystem of learning within a constructivist learning environment was identified to contain three systems: the university system; the school system; and the cohort of learners system. A mega system for the construction of teacher knowledge was revealed in the final analysis. Learning venues were discovered to be the conduits of learning in a situated learning context. Analysis and synthesis of data revealed an extensive acquisition of teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge through identified learning components. Patience, flexibility, and communication were identified as necessities for successful teaching. Learning components included: collaboration with inservice teachers; implementation of discovery learning and hands-on/minds-on learning; small groupwork; lesson planning

Integrating Explicit Learning about the Culture of Science into the Pre-Service Teacher Curriculum through Readings and Reflections

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Egger, A. E.

2014-12-01

Teachers provide foundational science experiences that spark interest in some students to pursue science and serve as an endpoint for others. For both groups, getting a glimpse into the culture of science is important to their futures as citizens, but this glimpse is not something all teachers are equipped to offer. Explicit instruction in the culture of science is generally not part of college-level science courses; to reach future teachers, it should be incorporated into the curriculum for pre-service teachers. I have incorporated readings from Visionlearning's peer-reviewed, freely available, web-based Process of Science series (http://www.visionlearning.com/en/library/Process-of-Science/49) into my class for pre-service middle-level and secondary science teachers. The readings describe the development of the culture and process of science using deeply embedded examples of scientists and their work. Students reflected on each reading by describing what they learned and something they will use in their future teaching. Responses were graded for thoughtfulness and completeness and later compiled. In general, students with more science courses had a better initial understanding of the culture of science and found the readings engaging stories that explained in more depth what they already knew. However, all students reported learning some fundamental aspects of the culture and nature of science. Most commonly, they learned scientific language, often words with both colloquial and scientific definitions: theory, hypothesis, law, uncertainty, error, confidence. Other learning gains were reported in defining the difference between scientific controversy and social controversy over science, interactions between historical events and the scientific enterprise, how much scientists work in groups and interact at meetings, and the role that funding plays in guiding research. On their own, students struggled to describe explicit ways to incorporate these concepts into their

Using AN Essea Earth Systems Science Course in a Web-Enhanced Setting for Pre-Service Middle School Teachers

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Slattery, W.

2003-12-01

The ESSEA Middle School course was originally designed as an asynchronous on-line tool for teacher professional development. The ESSEA course uses real world events such as deforestation, volcanic eruptions and hurricanes to develop content understandings of Earth systems processes and to model pedagogical best practices appropriate for middle school students. The course is structured as multiple three-week learning cycles. During week one of each cycle, participants are formed into Sphere groups to study the impact of the event under consideration on the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, or lithosphere. During week two, Event teams are formed to include members from each of the previous week's Sphere groups. Together they develop interactions between the different spheres and the event. During week three, teachers develop classroom applications and post them on-line for other participants to comment upon. On-going assessment suggests that in-service teacher participants of the on-line course are more likely to infuse inquiry-based science instruction into their classroom settings and to teach science as a subject integrating Physical science, Life science, and Earth/Space science in their own classrooms It is imperative to develop such characteristics in pre-service teachers as well. Wright State University's undergraduate Middle School teacher preparation program requires that undergraduates seeking Middle Childhood Licensure by the State of Ohio take a course in Earth Systems science that is aligned with the national and state science education standards. Towards this end the ESSEA course has been adapted for use in a web-enhanced setting. Weeks one and two (Sphere and Event study) of the ESSEA Middle School course are used as an integral component of this Earth Systems science course. In this way content knowledge and pedagogical strategies are modeled just as they are in the fully on-line course. Questions raised on-line are the topic of research or

A Situational Study for the Identification of Pre-Service Science Teachers' Creative Thinking and Creative Scientific Thinking Skills

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Demir Kaçan, Sibel

2015-01-01

This study was conducted with the participation of 33 pre-service teachers attending the department science teaching of a Turkish university. Participants self-reported using the "Self-assessment of creativity scale" and were asked to choose the most appropriate answer to the five-choice self-assessment question "Which category best…

Are preservice teachers prepared to teach struggling readers?

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Washburn, Erin K; Joshi, R Malatesha; Binks Cantrell, Emily

2011-06-01

Reading disabilities such as dyslexia, a specific learning disability that affects an individual's ability to process written language, are estimated to affect 15-20% of the general population. Consequently, elementary school teachers encounter students who struggle with inaccurate or slow reading, poor spelling, poor writing, and other language processing difficulties. However, recent evidence may suggest that teacher preparation programs are not providing preservice teachers with information about basic language constructs and other components related to scientifically based reading instruction. As a consequence preservice teachers have not exhibited explicit knowledge of such concepts in previous studies. Few studies have sought to assess preservice teachers' knowledge about dyslexia in conjunction with knowledge of basic language concepts. The purpose of the present study was to examine elementary school preservice teachers' knowledge of basic language constructs and their perceptions and knowledge about dyslexia. Findings from the present study suggest that preservice teachers, on average, are able to display implicit skills related to certain basic language constructs (i.e., syllable counting), but fail to demonstrate explicit knowledge of others (i.e., phonics principles). Also, preservice teachers seem to hold the common misconception that dyslexia is a visual perception deficit rather than a problem with phonological processing. Implications for future research as well as teacher preparation are discussed.

Factors influencing pre-service physics teachers' skills of writing teaching materials

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Sinaga, Parlindungan

2016-02-01

Writing teaching materials is one of the generic pedagogical skills. Teachers and pre-service teachers should be trained to have the skills of writing teaching materials. This study examines the factors that influence the skills of writing in the disciplines among pre-service physics teachers. This study in particular aims to contribute to the development of science writing in the disciplines and to the organization of workshops on writing teaching materials for pre-service teachers. The problems of this research are formulated in the question of what are the factors that influence the skills of pre-service physics teachers in writing teaching materials. The research adopted mixed methods with embedded experimental design. The research subjects were 18 students enrolled in the school physics course. The instruments used consisted of conceptual understanding tests, learning strategy questionnaire, tests of the multiple representation skills, and one-on-one semi- structured interview. Results of data analysis show that the ability and skills of writing physics teaching materials of the pre- service physics teachers are determined by the factors of conceptual understanding of the subject matter with a contribution of 20%, the skills of making multiple representations of concepts with a contribution of 9.8% and students' self-regulation and learning strategy with a contribution of 33.5%. There are other factors that have not been investigated in this study; therefore, it is recommended that future research conduct further investigation on other factors that influence pre-service teachers' skills in writing physics teaching materials.

Pre-service Elementary Teachers Understanding on Force and Motion

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Anggoro, S.; Widodo, A.; Suhandi, A.

2017-09-01

The research is done to investigate the understanding on the subtopic of Force and Motion that exists among the pre-services elementary teachers. The participants were 71 Elementary Teachers Study Program students in 6th and 77 one in 2nd semester at private university. Research instrument consisted of background information of respondents, belief of preconception and 8 questions that relates to Force and Motion with four alternative answers and their explained. Descriptive statistics such as percentage and bar chart were used for analyzing the data collected. Research findings have shown many participants have some misunderstand or misconception conception especially in free fall object, rest object, buoyant force and gravitation. This research recommends learning progression pre-services teachers to be exposed with conflict cognitive strategy for science conceptual change.

Project ALERT: Forging New Partnerships to Improve Earth System Science Education for Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers

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Metzger, E. P.; Ambos, E. L.; Ng, E. W.; Skiles, J.; Simila, G.; Garfield, N.

2002-05-01

Project ALERT (Augmented Learning Environment and Renewable Teaching) was founded in 1998, with funding from NASA and the California State University (CSU), to improve earth system science education for pre-service teachers. Project ALERT has formed linkages between ten campuses of the CSU, which prepares about 60 percent of California's teachers, and two NASA centers, Ames Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. ALERT has also fostered alliances between earth science and science education faculty. The combined expertise of Project ALERT's diverse partners has led to a wide array of activities and products, including: 1) incorporation in university classrooms of NASA-developed imagery, data, and educational resources; 2) creation and/or enhancement of several courses that bring earth systems science to pre-service teachers; 3) fellowships for CSU faculty to participate in collaborative research and education projects at the NASA Centers; 4) development of teaching modules on such varied topics as volcanoes, landslides, and paleoclimate; and 5) a central web site that highlights resources for teaching introductory Earth system science. An outgrowth of Project ALERT is the increased interest on the part of CSU earth scientists in education issues. This has catalyzed their participation in other projects, including NASA's Project NOVA, Earth System Science Education Alliance, and Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum, the Digital Library for Earth System Science Education, and the California Science Project. Project ALERT has also expanded to provide professional development opportunities for in-service teachers, as exemplified by its support of the Bay Area Earth Science Institute (BAESI) at San Jose State University. Each year, BAESI offers 10-15 full-day workshops that supply teachers and teachers-to-be with a blend of science concepts and classroom activities, free instructional materials, and the opportunity to earn inexpensive university credit. These

A Case of Preservice Elementary Teachers Exploring, Retelling, and Reframing.

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Nelson, Michael

2001-01-01

Presents preservice elementary teachers' frames (points of view) on science curriculum. Uses Carl Sagan's text, "The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark". Explores how students retelling their reactions to experiences of their own design might influence their awareness of beliefs in general and reconsideration of…

The Structures of the Alternative Conceptions of Preservice Secondary Teachers on Seasonal Changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junyoung Oh

2005-03-01

Full Text Available This study was to understand the components that influence preservice secondary teachers' conceptions about "seasonal changes". We selected 74 university science education students among whom 23 were in the second, 23 in the third, and 28 in the fourth year. The data collected from the paper-pencil test and individual interview with students. The results of this study show that the students had considerable apparent alternative conceptions, and that the 'distance theory' had most important effects on their alternative conceptions. It can be said that preservice secondary teachers' initial models of the seasonal change have their origin in their belief sets (specific theory related to 'seasonal change', on the basis of which they can interpret their observations and cultural information with the constraints of a naive framework of physics. The structures and possible sources of their alternative conceptions for overcoming these alternative conceptions were also discussed. Implications for preservice science teacher education related to the results were discussed.

Introducing Engineering Design to a Science Teaching Methods Course through Educational Robotics and Exploring Changes in Views of Preservice Elementary Teachers

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Kaya, Erdogan; Newley, Anna; Deniz, Hasan; Yesilyurt, Ezgi; Newley, Patrick

2017-01-01

Engineering has become an important subject in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which have raised engineering design to the same level as scientific inquiry when teaching science disciplines at all levels. Therefore, preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) need to know how to integrate the engineering design process (EDP) into their…

Social, moral, and temporal qualities: Pre-service teachers' considerations of evolution and creation

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Hahn, Deirdre

The introduction of the theories of evolution into public education has created a history of misinterpretation and uncertainty about its application to understanding deep time and human origins. Conceptions about negative social and moral outcomes of evolution itself along with cognitive temporal constraints may be difficult for many individuals to uncouple from the scientific theory, serving to provoke the ongoing debate about the treatment of evolution in science education. This debate about teaching evolution is strongly influenced by groups who strive to add creationism to the science curriculum for a balanced treatment of human origins and to mediate implied negative social and moral outcomes of evolution. Individual conceptualization of evolution and creation may influence the choice of college students to teach science. This study is designed to examine if pre-service teachers' conceptualize an evolutionary and creationist process of human development using certain social, moral or temporal patterns; and if the patterns follow a negative conceptual theme. The pilot study explored 21 pre-service teachers' conceptual representation of an evolutionary process through personal narratives. Participants tended to link evolutionary changes with negative social and moral consequences and seemed to have difficulty envisioning change over time. The pilot study was expanded to include a quantitative examination of attribute patterns of an evolutionary and creationist developmental process. Seventy-three pre-service teachers participated in the second experiment and tended to fall evenly along a continuum of creationist and evolutionist beliefs about life. Using a chi-square and principle components analysis, participants were found to map concepts of evolution and creation onto each other using troubling attributes of development to distinguish negative change over time. A strong negative social and moral pattern of human development was found in the creation condition

Understanding Preservice Teachers' Development of Pedagogical Knowledge Practices When Co-Teaching Primary Science to Peers

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Hudson, Peter

2014-01-01

Preservice teachers articulate the need for more teaching experiences for developing their practices, however, extending beyond existing school arrangements may present difficulties. Thus, it is important to understand preservice teachers' development of pedagogical knowledge practices when in the university setting. This mixed-method study…

Turkish preservice science teachers' socioscientific issues-based teaching practices in middle school science classrooms

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Genel, Abdulkadir; Sami Topçu, Mustafa

2016-01-01

Background: Despite a growing body of research and curriculum reforms including socioscientific issues (SSI) across the world, how preservice science teachers (PST) or in-service science teachers can teach SSI in science classrooms needs further inquiry. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the abilities of PSTs to teach SSI in middle school science classrooms, and the research question that guided the present study is: How can we characterize Turkish PSTs' SSI-based teaching practices in middle school science classrooms (ages 11-14)? Sample: In order to address the research question of this study, we explored 10 Turkish PSTs' SSI-based teaching practices in middle school science classrooms. A purposeful sampling strategy was used, thus, PSTs were specifically chosen because they were ideal candidates to teach SSI and to integrate SSI into the science curricula since they were seniors in the science education program who had to take the field experience courses. Design and method: The participants' SSI teaching practices were characterized in light of qualitative research approach. SSI-based teaching practices were analyzed, and the transcripts of all videotape recordings were coded by two researchers. Results: The current data analysis describes Turkish PSTs' SSI-based teaching practices under five main categories: media, argumentation, SSI selection and presentation, risk analysis, and moral perspective. Most of PSTs did not use media resources in their lesson and none of them considered moral perspective in their teaching. While the risk analyses were very simple and superficial, the arguments developed in the classrooms generally remained at a simple level. PSTs did not think SSI as a central topic and discussed these issues in a very limited time and at the end of the class period. Conclusions: The findings of this study manifest the need of the reforms in science education programs. The present study provides evidence that moral, media

Methods for Marine Ecosystems Research through the Use of PDAs with Preservice Teachers

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Antoinette Bruciati

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Science teachers are charged with the task of providing students in grades K-12 with opportunities that will enable them to make sense of science and develop habits of mind. One goal of science education is to prepare well-rounded citizens who are scientifically literate. Through inquiry-based learning, students formulate questions, perform investigations, and construct new understandings. It is important for preservice science teachers to be introduced to current techniques, discoveries, and debates in the field of science. The use of personal digital assistants (PDAs can provide K-12 students with increased opportunities for exploring and learning through scientific investigations. In order for these devices to be successfully integrated into classroom instruction, changes in teaching methodologies must be adopted. This paper presents a model lesson that can be used to guide preservice teachers in the use of PDAs for studying a marine ecosystem. The field experience takes place on the shoreline of Long Island Sound at Stratford Point, in Stratford Connecticut.

Integrating Service-Learning Pedagogy for Preservice Elementary Teachers' Science Identity Development

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Wilson, Rachel E.; Bradbury, Leslie U.; McGlasson, Martha A.

2015-04-01

The purpose of this article is to explore how preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) interpreted their service-learning experiences within a pre-methods environmentally focused course and how their interpretations shaped their science teaching identities. Along a continuum of service-learning experiences were events that emphasized science learning, that focused on science teaching, and that were transitional, with elements of both science learning and science teaching. These various service-learning experiences were designed to be "boundary experiences" for professional identity development (Geijsel & Meijers in Educational Studies, 3(4), 419-430, 2005), providing opportunities for PSETs to reflect on meanings in cultural contexts and how they are related to their own personal meanings. We analyzed written reflections and end-of-course oral reflection interviews from 42 PSETs on their various service-learning experiences. PSETs discussed themes related to the meanings they made of the service-learning experiences: (a) experiencing science in relation to their lives as humans and future teachers, (b) interacting with elementary students and other PSETs, and (c) making an impact in the physical environment and in the community. The connections that PSETs were making between the discursive spaces (service-learning contexts) and their own meaning-making of these experiences (as connected to their own interests in relation to their future professions and daily lives) shows evidence of the potential that various types of science service-learning experiences have for PSETs in developing inbound science teaching identity trajectories (Wenger in Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). The findings of this study point to positive outcomes for PSETs when they participate in structured service-learning experiences along a learning to teaching continuum (246).

Data Modeling for Preservice Teachers and Everyone Else

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Petrosino, Anthony J.; Mann, Michele J.

2018-01-01

Although data modeling, the employment of statistical reasoning for the purpose of investigating questions about the world, is central to both mathematics and science, it is rarely emphasized in K-16 instruction. The current work focuses on developing thinking about data modeling with undergraduates in general and preservice teachers in…

Preservice teachers' perceived confidence in teaching school violence prevention.

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Kandakai, Tina L; King, Keith A

2002-01-01

To examine preservice teachers' perceived confidence in teaching violence prevention and the potential effect of violence-prevention training on preservice teachers' confidence in teaching violence prevention. Six Ohio universities participated in the study. More than 800 undergraduate and graduate students completed surveys. Violence-prevention training, area of certification, and location of student- teaching placement significantly influenced preservice teachers' perceived confidence in teaching violence prevention. Violence-prevention training positively influences preservice teachers' confidence in teaching violence prevention. The results suggest that such training should be considered as a requirement for teacher preparation programs.

"Me? Teach Science?" Exploring EC-4 Pre-Service Teachers' Self Efficacy in an Inquiry-Based Constructivist Physics Classroom

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Narayan, Ratna; Lamp, David

2010-01-01

In this qualitative and interpretive study, we investigated factors that influenced elementary preservice teachers' self-efficacy in a constructivist, inquiry-based physics class. Bandura's (1977) theory of social learning was used as a basis to examine preservice teacher's self-efficacy. Participants included 70 female EC-4 preservice teachers…

Closing the Gap between Beliefs and Practice: Change of Pre-Service Chemistry Teachers' Orientations during a PCK-Based NOS Course

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Demirdögen, Betül; Uzuntiryaki-Kondakçi, Esen

2016-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to investigate how pre-service chemistry teachers' science teaching orientations change during a two-semester intervention designed to enhance their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching the nature of science (NOS). Moreover, the way that pre-service chemistry teachers translated their change in…

Exploring Impacts of the EED 420 Science Methods Course on Pre-service Elementary Teachers’ Views Regarding the Nature of Science

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EunJin BANG

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This study explores the impact of a semester-long science methods course examining pre-service elementary teachers’ views on the nature of science(NOS. Also examined were NOS characteristics that pre-service teachers incorporated into their science lesson plans and peer teachings, during the course. Data used for this study were obtained from 21 pre-service teachers who participated in the pre/post card exchange game, pre/post VNOS interviews, 5E lesson plans, and peer teaching performances. The results of the study showed that some changes were made as a result of EED 420—such as starting to view science as a data-gathering experimental endeavor, rather than just a theory-driven endeavor. None of the groups explicitly designed or taught their lesson’s NOS aspects. Thestudy posits that a mere one semester-long science method’s course is insufficient to adequately improve understanding of the NOS, and to establish a sufficiently robust desire in pre-service teachersfor them to implement NOS into their lessons.

The nature of science and technology for pre-service chemistry teacher: A case of techno-chemistry experiment "From Stannum Metalicum to conductive glass"

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Mudzakir, A.; Widhiyanti, T.; Hernani, Arifin, M.; Lestari, A. N.; Jauhariansyah, S.

2017-08-01

The study was conducted to address the problems related to low Indonesian students' scientific literacy as revealed in the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) since 2000-2015. Science teachers (e.g. chemistry teacher) must recognize the nature of science (NOS) to assist their students in preparing an explanation of a phenomenon scientifically correctly. Teachers also need to understand critically about nature of technology (NOT) and it relationship with science as well as society. To integrate those two kinds of knowledge (NOS and NOT), we can conduct a techno-science activity, which integrate the technology to science course in pre-service teacher education program, so that they can improve their knowledge about nature of science and technology (NOST) and pedagogical content knowledge related to NOST. The purpose of this study was to construct an inquiry based laboratory activity worksheet for making conductive glass so that the pre-service teacher could explain how the structure of the semiconductor Fluor doped Tin Oxide (SnO2.F) affect their performance. This study we conducted, described how to design a pre-service chemistry teacher education course that can improve recognizing view of NOST by using a framework called model of educational reconstruction (MER). The scientific activities in the course were guided inquiry based techno-chemistry experiments involving "From Stannum Metallicum to Conductive Glass". Conductive glasses are interesting subject research for several reason. The application of this technology could be found on solar cell, OLED, and display panel. The doped Tin dioxide has been deposited on glass substrate using the spray pyrolysis technique at 400-550°C substrate temperature, 4-5 times, 20 cm gap between glass and sprayer and 450 angle to form a thin film which will act as electrical contact. The resistivity is about 0.5 - 15Ω. The product resulted on this study was rated by several expert to find if the worksheet could

Investigation of Pre-Service Teachers' Opinions about Science in Terms of the Basic Elements of the Education Program

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Sengul, Ozge Aydin

2016-01-01

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the pre-service teachers' opinions about science within the context of the basic elements of the education program, such as objectives, content, learning-teaching process and evaluation. The study was designed as a case study, one of the qualitative research methods. The participants of the study…

Where Do I Look? Preservice Teachers' Classroom Observation Patterns

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Young, Teresa; Bender-Slack, Delane

2011-01-01

During field experiences, preservice teachers are typically required to observe mentor teachers in schools, but what exactly are they seeing? This research examined the patterns and variations that existed with regard to preservice teachers' classroom observations during recent field experiences. Data were collected from 24 preservice teachers…

Pre-service elementary science teaching self-efficacy and teaching practices: A mixed-methods, dual-phase, embedded case study

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Sangueza, Cheryl Ramirez

This mixed-method, dual-phase, embedded-case study employed the Social Cognitive Theory and the construct of self-efficacy to examine the contributors to science teaching self-efficacy and science teaching practices across different levels of efficacy in six pre-service elementary teachers during their science methods course and student teaching experiences. Data sources included the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) for pre-service teachers, questionnaires, journals, reflections, student teaching lesson observations, and lesson debriefing notes. Results from the STEBI-B show that all participants measured an increase in efficacy throughout the study. The ANOVA analysis of the STEBI-B revealed a statistically significant increase in level of efficacy during methods course, student teaching, and from the beginning of the study to the end. Of interest in this study was the examination of the participants' science teaching practices across different levels of efficacy. Results of this analysis revealed how the pre-service elementary teachers in this study contextualized their experiences in learning to teach science and its influences on their science teaching practices. Key implications involves the value in exploring how pre-service teachers interpret their learning to teach experiences and how their interpretations influence the development of their science teaching practices.

Preservice Elementary Teachers and the Fundamentals of Probability

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Dollard, Clark

2011-01-01

This study examined how preservice elementary teachers think about situations involving probability. Twenty-four preservice elementary teachers who had not yet studied probability as part of their preservice elementary mathematics coursework were interviewed using a task-based interview. The participants' responses showed a wide variety of…

Slovenian Pre-Service Teachers' Prototype Biography

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Lipovec, Alenka; Antolin, Darja

2014-01-01

In this article we apply narrative methodology to the study of pre-service elementary teachers' school-time memories connected to mathematics education. In the first phase of our empirical study we asked 214 Slovenian pre-service teachers to write their mathematical autobiographies. On the basis of the mathematical autobiographies we constructed a…

From Students to Teachers: Investigating the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs and Experiences of Graduate Primary Teachers

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Deehan, James; Danaia, Lena; McKinnon, David H.

2018-03-01

The science achievement of primary students, both in Australia and abroad, has been the subject of intensive research in recent decades. Consequently, much research has been conducted to investigate primary science education. Within this literature, there is a striking juxtaposition between tertiary science teaching preparation programs and the experiences and outcomes of both teachers and students alike. Whilst many tertiary science teaching programs covary with positive outcomes for preservice teachers, reports of science at the primary school level continue to be problematic. This paper begins to explore this apparent contradiction by investigating the science teaching efficacy beliefs and experiences of a cohort of graduate primary teachers who had recently transitioned from preservice to inservice status. An opportunity sample of 82 primary teachers responded to the science teaching efficacy belief instrument A (STEBI-A), and 10 graduate teachers provided semi-structured interview data. The results showed that participants' prior science teaching efficacy belief growth, which occurred during their tertiary science education, had remained durable after they had completed their teaching degrees and began their careers. Qualitative data showed that their undergraduate science education had had a positive influence on their science teaching experiences. The participants' school science culture, however, had mixed influences on their science teaching. The findings presented within this paper have implications for the direction of research in primary science education, the design and assessment of preservice primary science curriculum subjects and the role of school contexts in the development of primary science teachers.

Student involvement in learning: Collaboration in science for PreService elementary teachers

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Roychoudhury, Anita; Roth, Wolff-Michael

1992-03-01

The present study provided insights regarding the interactions that take place in collaborative science laboratory and regarding the outcome of such interactions. Science laboratory experiences structured by teachers have been criticized for allowing very little, if any, meaningful learning. However, this study showed that even structured laboratory experiments can provide insightful experience for students when conducted in a group setting that demanded interactive participation from all its members. The findings of the present study underscored the synergistic and supportive nature of collaborative groups. Here, students patiently repeated explanations to support the meaning construction on the part of their slower peers and elaborated their own understanding in the process; groups negotiated the meaning of observations and the corresponding theoretical explanations; students developed and practiced a range of social skills necessary in today’s workplace; and off-task behavior was thwarted by the group members motivated to work toward understanding rather than simply generating answers for task completion. The current findings suggest an increased use of collaborative learning environments for the teaching of science to elementary education majors. Some teachers have already made use of such settings in their laboratory teaching. However, collaborative learning should not be limited to the laboratory only, but be extended to more traditionally structured classes. The effects of such a switch in activity structures, increased quality of peer interaction, mastery of subject matter content, and decreased anxiety levels could well lead to better attitudes toward science among preservice elementary school teachers and eventually among their own students.

Addressing Pre-Service Teachers' Understandings and Difficulties with Some Core Concepts in the Special Theory of Relativity

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Selcuk, Gamze Sezgin

2011-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate pre-service teachers' understanding of and difficulties with some core concepts in the special theory of relativity. The pre-service teachers (n = 185) from the Departments of Physics Education and Elementary Science Education at Dokuz Eylul University (in Turkey) participated. Both quantitative and…

Do Science Teachers Distinguish Between Their own Learning and the Learning of Their Students?

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Brauer, Heike; Wilde, Matthias

2018-02-01

Learning beliefs influence learning and teaching. For this reason, teachers and teacher educators need to be aware of them. To support students' knowledge construction, teachers must develop appropriate learning and teaching beliefs. Teachers appear to have difficulties when analysing students' learning. This seems to be due to the inability to differentiate the beliefs about their students' learning from those about their own learning. Both types of beliefs seem to be intertwined. This study focuses on whether pre-service teachers' beliefs about their own learning are identical to those about their students' learning. Using a sample of pre-service teachers, we measured general beliefs about "constructivist" and "transmissive" learning and science-specific beliefs about "connectivity" and "taking pre-concepts into account". We also analysed the development of these four beliefs during teacher professionalisation by comparing beginning and advanced pre-service teachers. Our results show that although pre-service teachers make the distinction between their own learning and the learning of their students for the general tenets of constructivist and transmissive learning, there is no significant difference for science-specific beliefs. The beliefs pre-service teachers hold about their students' science learning remain closely tied to their own.

Analysis of Turkish Prospective Science Teachers' Perceptions on Technology in Education

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Koksal, Mustafa Serdar; Yaman, Suleyman; Saka, Yavuz

2016-01-01

Purpose of this study was to determine and analyze Turkish pre-service science teachers' perceptions on technology in terms of learning style, computer competency level, possession of a computer, and gender. The study involved 264 Turkish pre-service science teachers. Analyses were conducted through four-way ANOVA, t-tests, Mann Whitney U test and…

The Impact of a Course on Nature of Science Pedagogical Views and Rationales: Comparing Preservice Teachers in Their First versus Second Experience

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Kruse, Jerrid W.; Easter, Jaclyn M.; Edgerly, Hallie S.; Seebach, Colin; Patel, Neal

2017-01-01

This study explored changes in preservice teachers' (PSTs) nature of science pedagogical (NOSP) views and nature of science (NOS) rationales using pre- and post-course written responses as well as interview data. Through systematic analysis, themes were generated and compared to the NOS literature. Comparisons between pre- and post-course data…

Persistence and withdrawal by students in a preservice science and mathematics teacher education course

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Tulip, David F.; Lucas, Keith B.

1991-12-01

At a time when recruitment into preservice teacher education courses in mathematics and science is difficult, one strategy to increase the number of graduates is to minimise the number of students who fail to complete their university courses. This study sought to determine factors which distinguish withdrawers from persisters in the first semester of a B.Ed course. Discriminant analysis was employed; a discriminant function employing seven factors resulted in correct classification in 81% of cases. Further analysis distinguishing between dropouts and transferees resulted in two discriminant functions with some common variables.

Uncovering and Informing Preservice Teachers' Prior Knowledge about Poverty

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Mundy, Charlotte Anne; Leko, Melinda Marie

2015-01-01

This study explored 30 preservice teachers' knowledge on issues related to poverty. In an open-ended questionnaire, preservice teachers' perceptions of poverty and how teachers should respond to students from poverty were explored. Results indicated that preservice teachers' knowledge was nonspecific and lacked focus on the relationship among…

Examining Primary Pre-Service Teachers' Perspectives on Teaching Practice Courses

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Basturk, Savas

2016-01-01

The courses "school experience" and "teaching practice" are undoubtedly among the central courses to be received by pre-service teachers who will be future teachers. Through them, pre-service teachers obtain the realistic information about their profession. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine pre-service teachers'…

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

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Casanoves, Marina; González, Ángel; Salvadó, Zoel; Haro, Juan; Novo, Maite

2015-11-01

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.

CoRes utilization for building PCK in pre-service teacher education on the digestive system topic

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Nugraha, Ikmanda

2017-05-01

Knowledge of teachers in learning activities in the classroom has a close relationship with how well and how much students learn. Recently, a promising development in teacher education has appeared that centers on the academic construct of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This study was an exploratory study into a science teacher education program that seeks to build the foundations on which pre-service teachers can begin to build their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The program involved the use of Content Representations (CoRes), which was initially applied as component of a strategy for exploring and gaining insights into the PCK of in-service science teachers. This study involved the researcher and 20 students (third year) in a pre-service teacher education course (School Science I) in science education when the students worked to make content analysis on the digestive system topic. During the course, the students make their own CoRes through a workshop for digestive system topic individually, in pairs and whole class discussion. Data were recorded from students' CoRes, student reflective journals, interviews, and field notes recorded in the researcher's reflective journal. Pre-service teachers' comments from interviews and reflective journals were coded in relation to references about: (1) the effectiveness of variety strategies in building the knowledge bases required to design a CoRes and (2) their awareness and/or development of tentative components of future PCK for a digestive system topic as a result of CoRes construction. Observational data were examined for indications of increasing independence and competency on the part of student teachers when locating appropriate information for designing their CoRes. From this study, it is hoped that the pre-service science teachers are able to build knowledge and then transform it into a form of PCK for digestive system topic for their first classroom planning and teaching to teach digestive system

EXAMINATION OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' ANXIETY LEVELS ABOUT TEACHING PROFESSION

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Ferhat Karakaya

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In this research, it was aimed to determine the levels of occupational anxiety of pre-service teachers' who read science and primary school teacher programs according to various variables. In this research a questionnaire developed by Köklükaya and Yıldırım (2016 which has validity and reliability analyzes was used. Anxiety Scale for Teaching Profession (ASTP was used. The research was carried out with 266 prospective teachers who were educated at Kahramanmaras Sütcü Imam University in the academic year of 2015-2016. Independent t test, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal- Wallis analysis and Tukey significance test were used to determine the statistical significa nce of the obtained data in the research using relational screening model. According to research findings, it was determined that there was no significant difference (p <.05 in the level of vocational anxiety among the teacher candidates according to the degree of willingness to choose the department, grade level and academic achievement score. According to the gender variable, there was no significant difference in the pre-service teachers' who read in the department of primary school teachers', and it was found that the science teachers' professional anxiety levels had a significant difference according to the gender variable.

Reliability of Using Piaget's Logic of Meanings to Analyze Pre-Service Teachers' Understanding of Conceptual Problems in Earth Science

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Wavering, Michael; Mangione, Katherine; McBride, Craig

2013-01-01

A dissertation study looking at preservice teachers' alternative conceptions in earth science was completed by one of the authors. The data used for this study from the dissertation were a series of eleven interviews. (Purpose) The authors of this manuscript wanted to provide more in-depth analysis of these interviews, specifically to provide a…

Pre-service teachers' metaphorical perceptions of "physics" as a concept

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Aykutlu, Isil; Bayrak, Celal; Bezen, Sevim

2018-02-01

In this study, the aim is to reveal pre-service biology, chemistry and mathematics teachers' metaphorical perceptions for physics. This study was patterned by employing phenomenology, which is one of the qualitative research methods. Sampling of the study consists of 90 pre-service teachers enrolled at the departments of biology, chemistry, and mathematics education at the faculty of education of a state university in Ankara. A metaphor form was prepared to determine pre-service teachers' mental metaphors for the physics concept. Then, it was determined that a total of 80 pre-service teachers generated 34 different metaphors for physics concept. As a result of the study, 34 metaphors generated by pre-service teachers for "physics" concept were gathered under seven different categories. Also, it was determined that pre-service teachers express most frequently "life" (26,25%) and "a difficult to solve problem"(21,25%) which take place in conceptual categories.

Reflections of Preservice Information Technology Teachers Regarding Cyberbullying

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Akbulut, Yavuz; Cuhadar, Cem

2011-01-01

The current phenomenological study addressed the reflections of preservice information technology (IT) teachers regarding their cyberbullying or victimization experiences. Fifty five preservice IT teachers at a Turkish teacher training institution were offered a lecture with the purpose of awareness-raising on cyberbullying, which was followed by…

Preservice Teachers and Self-Assessing Digital Competence

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Maderick, Joseph A.; Zhang, Shaoan; Hartley, Kendall; Marchand, Gwen

2016-01-01

This study compares matched surveys of subjective self-assessment and objective assessment on seven domains of digital competence for preservice teachers at a large Southwest public university. The results, consistent with earlier studies, confirm that the participating preservice teachers inaccurately self-assessed their digital competence. The…

Scale development for pre-service mathematics teachers ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The purpose of this study is to develop a scale to determine pre-service mathematics teachers' perceptions related to their pedagogical content knowledge. Firstly, a preliminary perception scale of pedagogical content knowledge was constructed and then administered to 112 pre-service mathematics teachers who were ...

WebQuest experience: Pre-Service secondary maths and chemistry teachers

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Erdoğan Halat

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine the impact of developing WebQuests on the attention, confidence, relevance and satisfaction, or motivation, of pre-service secondary mathematics and chemistry teachers in the instructional technologies and material design course. There were a total of 67 pre-service teachers, 32 pre-service secondary mathematics teachers and 35 pre-service secondary chemistry teachers involved in this study, which took place over seven weeks. The pre-service teachers in both groups designed their WebQuests suitable for the level of high-school students. The researcher used a questionnaire in the collection of the data to find the motivational level of the participants. It was given to the participants by the researcher before and after the instruction during a single class period. The paired-samples t-test, independent samples t-test and ANCOVA were used in the analysis of the quantitative data. The study showed that designing WebQuests had more effect on the attention, confidence and relevance of the pre-service chemistry teachers than of the pre-service mathematics teachers. However, in general, although developing WebQuests had positive effects on the motivational levels of both pre-service secondary maths and chemistry teachers, there were no statistically significant differences found in relation to the motivational levels of both groups.

A Research-Based Science Teacher Education Program for a Competitive Tomorrow

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Clary, R. M.; Hamil, B.; Beard, D. J.; Chevalier, D.; Dunne, J.; Saebo, S.

2009-12-01

A united commitment between the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences at Mississippi State University, in partnership with local high-need school districts, has the goal of increasing the number of highly qualified science teachers through authentic science research experiences. The departments of Geosciences, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Physics offer undergraduate pre-service teachers laboratory experiences in science research laboratories, including 1) paleontological investigations of Cretaceous environments, 2) NMR studies of the conformation of tachykinin peptides, 3) FHA domains as regulators of cell signaling in plants, 4) intermediate energy nuclear physics studies, and 5) computational studies of cyclic ketene acetals. Coordinated by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, these research experiences involve extensive laboratory training in which the pre-teacher participants matriculate through a superior education curriculum prior to administrating their individual classrooms. Participants gain valuable experience in 1) performing literature searches and reviews; 2) planning research projects; 3) recording data; 4) presenting laboratory results effectively; and 5) writing professional scientific manuscripts. The research experience is available to pre-service teachers who are science education majors with a declared second major in a science (i.e., geology, biology, physics, or chemistry). Students are employed part-time in various science university laboratories, with work schedules arranged around their individual course loads. While the focus of this endeavor is upon undergraduate pre-service teachers, the researchers also target practicing science teachers from the local high-need school districts. A summer workshop provides practicing science teachers with a summative laboratory experience in several scientific disciplines. Practicing teachers also are provided lesson plans and ideas to transform their classrooms into

Preservice Teachers' Beliefs about Inclusive Education: What Should Teacher Educators Know?

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Garriott, Pamela Pruitt; Snyder, Lynne; Miller, Maurice

2003-01-01

Examined preservice teachers' beliefs about inclusive education for students with mild disabilities. Surveys of 239 undergraduate and graduate students indicated that while many preservice teachers held positive attitudes toward inclusive education, nearly half considered the special education classroom to be the optimum placement for students…

Preservice Mathematics Teachers' Perceptions of Drama Based Instruction

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Bulut, Neslihan

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of pre-service mathematics teachers related to drama-based instruction. For this purpose, effects of a drama-based mathematics course on senior class pre-service mathematics teachers' knowledge about drama-based instruction and teacher candidates' competencies for developing and…

Preparing Preservice Teachers to Incorporate Geospatial Technologies in Geography Teaching

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Harte, Wendy

2017-01-01

This study evaluated the efficacy of geospatial technology (GT) learning experiences in two geography curriculum courses to determine their effectiveness for developing preservice teacher confidence and preparing preservice teachers to incorporate GT in their teaching practices. Surveys were used to collect data from preservice teachers at three…

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Metacognitive Knowledge about Their Instructional Practices

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Yerdelen-Damar, Sevda; Özdemir, Ömer Faruk; Ünal, Cezmi

2015-01-01

This study aims to investigate pre-service physics teachers' metacognitive knowledge about their teaching practices. The participants included six pre-service physics teachers. A taxonomy of metacognition for teaching was developed to analyze the level of pre-service physics teachers' metacognitive knowledge about their teaching practices.…

Visual Literacy in Preservice Teachers: a Case Study in Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Gallardo, José Reyes; García Fernández, Beatriz; Mateos Jiménez, Antonio

2017-07-01

In this study, we explore the competence of preservice teachers (n = 161) in labelling and creating new cross-sectional human diagrams, based on anatomy knowledge depicted in longitudinal sections. Using educational standards to assess visual literacy and ad hoc open questions, results indicate limited skills for both tasks. However, their competence is particularly poor creating diagrams, where shortcomings were observed not only in visual literacy but in content knowledge. We discuss the misconceptions detected during these assessments. Visual literacy training should be strengthened for these students, as it is a skill that is especially important for future teachers to use in learning, assessing, and reflecting on content in science education. This is particularly important in preservice teachers since they should be fluent in the use of visual teaching tools in teaching anatomy and other content in the biology curriculum.

Pre-service Teachers' Subject Knowledge of and Attitudes about Radioactivity and Ionising Radiation

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Denys Colclough, Nicholas; Lock, Roger; Soares, Allan

2011-02-01

This study focussed on secondary school (11-18 years) pre-service teachers' (n = 73) knowledge of and attitudes towards risks associated with alpha, beta, and gamma radiations. A multi-method approach was used with physics, chemistry, biology, and history graduates undertaking the one-year initial teacher training, Post Graduate Certificate in Education course at a university in central England. A novel research tool, involving interviews about real concrete contexts and first-hand data collection with radioactive sources, was employed to gain insights into a sub-set of the sample (n = 12) of pre-service teachers' subject knowledge of and attitudes towards risk. The subject knowledge of all the pre-service teachers was also measured using a Certainty of Response Index instrument; multiple-choice questions with associated confidence indicators. Although the physicists displayed the higher levels of knowledge, they also demonstrated limitations in their knowledge and held misconceptions such as irradiation being confused with contamination. Physics graduates hold more rational attitudes and a greater willingness to accept risk while the attitudes of graduates in the other subject disciplines are more disparate. These findings raise questions about the extent to which pre-service science and history teachers have the knowledge necessary to teach this topic. The article concludes with discussion of the implications these findings have for initial teacher training, continuing professional development needs for teachers already in the profession, and curriculum developers.