scholarly journals EXPLORING IN-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT GOALS OR PURPOSES OF SCIENCE TEACHING

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 456-470
Author(s):  
Bob Maseko ◽  
Hlologelo Climant Khoza

Research indicates that teachers’ beliefs about goals or purposes of science teaching, as one dimension of science teaching orientations, influence what happens in the classroom. The purpose of this research was to explore the self-reported and enacted goals or purposes of science teaching of four in-service Malawian science teachers using the curriculum emphases concept as a theoretical lens. This research used qualitative case study research design. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were used to explore teachers’ self-reported and enacted goals or purpose of science teaching, respectively. A deductive analysis approach was used to analyze interview and classroom observation transcripts, to understand the teacher’s goals or purposes. Results reveal that while teachers have multiple self-reported goals or purpose of science teaching, most of these are not enacted during teaching in the classrooms. This suggests the topic-specific nature of the goals or purposes. Results also show that all the teachers were not aware of the self-as-explainer goal or purpose of science teaching both during interviews and instruction. These findings are discussed, and implications are proposed for science in-service teacher professional development and pre-service teachers’ training programs. Keywords: science teachers’ beliefs, curriculum emphasis, goals or purposes, science teaching orientations, teacher professional knowledge

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-148
Author(s):  
Jonathon Adams ◽  
Fei Victor Lim

Abstract This paper describes a pilot study exploring how an approach drawing on systemic functional linguistics can inform science teaching. This study is an exploratory effort between researchers from a linguistics background and secondary school science teachers in the Singapore science classroom. The teachers designed activities in the joint construction of texts to support students’ negotiation of meanings and clarification of conceptual understandings. With this, the teachers applied strategies to draw attention to the language of science in their lessons. The study points to the value of the functional literacy approach in science teaching and presents implications on teacher professional learning as well as the role of linguistics in developing disciplinary literacy in students.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burhan Ozfidan ◽  
Baki Cavlazoglu ◽  
Lynn Burlbaw ◽  
Hasan Aydin

Achievements of educational reform advantage constructivist understandings of teaching and learning, and therefore highlight a shift in beliefs of teachers and apply these perceptions to the real world. Science teachers’ beliefs have been crucial in understanding and reforming science education as beliefs of teachers regarding learning and teaching science impact their practice. The purpose of this study was to compare US and Turkish science teachers’ beliefs about reformed learning and teaching science. As an instrument, we used Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) to collect and measure the teachers’ beliefs regarding teaching and learning science education. We used an independent-sample t-test to analyze Turkish and American science teachers’ beliefs about reformed learning and teaching science. In total, 38 science teachers from the US and 27 science teachers from Turkey participated in this study. Results showed that US science teachers’ beliefs about reformed learning and teaching science are statistically higher than Turkish science teachers. The results of this study also indicated that although American and Turkish science education aim similar constructivist views on learning and teaching science, American science teachers hold more reformed beliefs in science teaching and learning than their Turkish colleagues.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 182
Author(s):  
Eric A. Worch ◽  
Emilio Duran ◽  
Lena B. Duran

<p><em>The National Science Teachers Association (2015) recommends that teachers experience science as inquiry as a part of their teacher preparation; however, what assistance can be provided to practicing teachers? This paper describes the results of a professional development program in inquiry science teaching for third through sixth grade teachers and its effects on the participants’ beliefs about the teaching of science. Qualitative data were collected using reflections written by the teachers at the end of the program, lesson summaries completed throughout the program, and observations paired with interviews of teachers implementing inquiry lessons in their own classrooms. The data suggest that the following aspects of the professional development model employed in the study enhanced the participants’ feelings of self-confidence, preparation, and excitement about teaching science to their students: 1) supplying teachers with content/background knowledge, 2) promoting positive experiences with inquiry, 3) providing a chance to implement inquiry lessons in the classroom, 4) facilitating collaboration, and 5) modeling effective teaching strategies. Follow-up studies will include quantitative analyses to further examine teachers’ beliefs, as well as to determine if their beliefs are sustained over time.</em></p>


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-44
Author(s):  
Nilgün Tatar

This study examines pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the images of a science teacher and the science teaching. Besides, how their beliefs are affected from inquiry-based teaching is investigated. Case study method was used. Pre-service teachers had learned science with inquiry and how they teach science with inquiry in the science laboratory. Data were collected through the drawings and semi-structured interviews. Results indicate that most participants had teacher-centered and conceptual belief about the images of a science teacher and the science teaching at the beginning of the study. However, they had student-centered belief at the end of the study. It was remarked that three pre-service teachers who held different beliefs about student/teacher roles and the teaching of science before the study, had some common beliefs after the inquiry-based science laboratory. Based on the results, it can be said that inquiry-based science teaching positively affects pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the images of a science teacher and the science teaching. Key words: belief about teaching, inquiry-based teaching, mental image, pre-service teachers’ education.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-265
Author(s):  
Gladys Ami Allotey ◽  
James J Watters ◽  
Donna King

Ghana is a rapidly developing West African country whose goal is to build a prosperous economy reliant on innovation and technology. Identifying and developing talent in the school system will play a role in achieving this goal; however, there is limited research on the status of gifted education and talent development in Ghana. This study investigated ten Junior High school mathematics and science teachers’ beliefs about giftedness and the strategies they proposed to develop gifted students’ potential into talent. The study drew on data from semi-structured interviews and lesson plans. The findings revealed that teachers had scant knowledge about giftedness and appropriate gifted education strategies. Respondents misconstrued differentiation and acceleration strategies and disregarded their use in developing the gifted. The study highlights the need for the development of a formal policy on gifted education, and the implementation of teacher education programmes that address teachers’ beliefs and knowledge about the gifted and gifted education strategies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Hatice Belge Can

It is important to enhance pre-service science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) during teacher education programs. As an alternative, this research aims to investigate whether participating in a lesson study enriched with content representation contributes to pre-service science teachers’ PCK improvement in the heat and temperature topic. Three pre-service science teachers participated in the study. The study can be localized under the instrumental case study approach. Semi-structured interviews, content representations, observations, and field notes were used as sources of data collection. Results assert that participants’ science teaching orientations did not change a lot, participants improved in terms of knowledge of curriculum and knowledge of learner components of PCK, and participants improved in terms of knowledge of instructional strategies and knowledge of assessment components of PCK excluding subject-specific strategies dimension of the former, and what and why to assess dimensions of the latter. This study has several implications for teacher educators and science education research.


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