What do prospective teachers know about the sort of activities that are helpful in learning science? A progression of learning during a science methods course

Prospective elementary teachers may enter their teacher education program having experienced science more as a collection of definitions and facts than in ways that support rich engagement with scientific phenomena. As a result, their visions of themselves as science teachers may not align with the most recent understandings about how to teach science to support student learning. Science methods courses are settings that have the potential to shift prospective teachers’ visions of science teaching. We used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach with collection of survey data followed by interviews with selected participants. We analyzed how prospective elementary teachers’ visions of science teaching shifted over the course of a one-semester science methods course and what experiences they felt most influenced their visions of teaching science. We found that the visions of science teaching shifted towards or maintained alignment with the principles of science teaching introduced in the science methods course. Additionally, the prospective teachers identified model science activities and explicit connections between these activities and how students learn science as having influenced them in terms of how they thought about teaching science.

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Leveraging Technology to Develop Pre-Service Teachers’ TPACK in Mathematics and Science Methods Courses

Cases on Educational Technology Integration in Urban Schools ◽

10.4018/978-1-61350-492-5.ch027 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 170-182

Author(s):

Kate Popejoy ◽

Drew Polly

Keyword(s):

Student Learning ◽

Content Knowledge ◽

Methods Course ◽

Science Methods ◽

Methods Courses ◽

Science Methods Course ◽

Science Concepts ◽

Science Methods Courses ◽

Mathematics And Science

These two cases address issues related to using technology as a tool to develop pre-service teachers’ Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) in mathematics and science methods courses. The chapter assumes the following scenario and overarching case study question: You and your colleagues are the course instructors of a mathematics and a science methods course. Your pre-service teachers typically lack content knowledge in mathematics and science. Further, you must also address pedagogies and how to use technology as a tool to support student learning of mathematics and science concepts. What activities can you create to simultaneously develop knowledge of content, pedagogies and how to teach with technology?

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Pre-Service Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Attitudes toward Learning and Teaching Science in a Content Course

STEM Education ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-7363-2.ch075 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 1397-1415

Author(s):

Cindi Smith-Walters ◽

Heather L. Barker

Keyword(s):

Traditional Approach ◽

Teaching Science ◽

Methods Course ◽

Learning Science ◽

Science Methods ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Attitudes Toward Learning ◽

Science Efficacy ◽

Teaching Content ◽

Science Methods Courses

Science teaching is approached with hesitation by many PreK-8 teachers. This chapter explores the research on attitudes toward science and learning science as well as the perceived science efficacy of elementary pre-service teachers. It also describes a content-based, pedagogically rich life science course for pre-service preK-8 teachers that incorporates active and interactive teaching techniques in lieu of the traditional science methods course. Using evidence from this project and other research studies, the chapter argues for the inclusion and modeling of these approaches when preparing teachers of science and proposes that this non-traditional approach for teaching content-based courses for preparing teachers be considered in place of traditional science methods courses.

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