scholarly journals VIEWS OF A GROUP OF PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS ON THE USE OF EXPERIMENTAL ACTIVITIES IN SCIENCE TEACHING

2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 525-534
Author(s):  
Elaine A. Colagrande ◽  
Simone Alves de Assis Martorano ◽  
Agnaldo Arroio
Keyword(s):  
Science Teacher ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Science Teacher Education ◽  
Service Science ◽  
Course Work ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Science Teacher Training ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Science Classes

Teachers often consider experimental activities to be fundamental to the teaching of scientific concepts. However, there are different views about their purpose in science classes; these views are linked to teachers' different understandings of the construction of scientific knowledge. It was analyzed the views of 19 pre-service science teachers (PST) on the use of experimental activities in science classes. These PSTs were enrolled in the subject of science teacher training course of a Brazilian federal university. In their course work, the PSTS were organized into groups and they participated in a pedagogical activity during which they reported their views on two experimental scripts. They answered questions about how they would use these experiments in the future. The activity occurred in two stages: the first was before studying texts on the nature of science with an emphasis on the role of experimentation in the foundation of hypotheses; the second stage was after this. The data analysis was performed using the content analysis technique. The results suggest the importance of debates and deep themes in training courses for science teachers, so that experimental activities are not seen reductively and only as ways to motivate classes or to complement theory, but rather as potential aids in the construction of scientific meaning. Keywords: experimental activities, nature of science, teacher education.

scholarly journals Nature of Science (NOS) Being Acquainted with Science of Science (SoS): Providing a Panoramic Picture of Sciences to Embody NOS for Pre-Service Teachers

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Ismo T. Koponen
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Science Teacher Education ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Service Science ◽  
Science Of Science ◽  
Structure And Dynamics

Understanding about nature of science is important topic in science education as well as in pre-service science teacher education. In science education, Nature of Science (NOS), in its different forms of educational scaffoldings, seeks to provide with students an understanding of features of scientific knowledge and science in general, how scientific knowledge changes and becomes accepted, and what factors guide scientific activities. For a science teacher, deep and broad enough picture of sciences is therefore of importance. This study attempts to show that the research field called Science of Science (SoS) can significantly support building such a panoramic picture of sciences, and through that, significantly support NOS. The SoS approaches the structure and dynamics of science quantitatively, using scientific documents (e.g., publications, reports, books and monographs and patent applications) as trails to map the landscape of sciences. It is argued here that SoS may provide material and interesting cases for NOS, and in so doing enrich NOS in a similarly significant way as history, philosophy and sociology of science (HPSS) scholarship has done thus far. This study introduces several themes based on SoS that are of relevance for NOS as they were introduced and discussed in a pre-service science teachers’ course. The feedback from pre-service teachers shows that introducing SoS, with minimal additional philosophical interpretations and discussions, but simply as evidential facts and findings, sparks ideas and views that come very close to NOS themes and topics. Discussions related to nature of science, and specific educational NOS scaffoldings for it, can find a good companion in SoS; the latter providing facts and evidence of thee structure and dynamics of sciences, the former providing perspectives for interpretations.

Exploring Pre-service Science Teachers’ Perspectives on the Nature of Science: A Comparative Study Between China and Canada

2021 ◽  
pp. 209653112096678
Author(s):  
Guihua Zhang ◽  
Yuanrong Li ◽  
George Zhou ◽  
Sonia Wai-Ying Ho
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Science Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching Behaviors ◽  
Preservice Science Teachers

Purpose: The Nature of Science (NOS) is an important component of scientific literacy. Science teachers’ Views of the Nature of Science (VNOS) directly affect their teaching behaviors. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore science teachers’ VNOS and find ways of improvement. This study was designed to comparatively investigate preservice science teachers’ VNOS between China and Canada. Design/Approach/Methods: The study employed a survey design to explore how Chinese and Canadian preservice science teachers understood the seven different aspects of NOS. Findings: Data showed that preservice science teachers in China and Canada both hold a modern view about science education. The level of Chinese and Canadian participants’ understanding of NOS was above the relatively naive level. Chinese teachers had better macro-understanding toward science education but their micro-mastery was insufficient. While the Canadian participants had a better understanding of the NOS than their Chinese counterparts. Originality/Value: Based on the research results and the experience of science education and teacher education in Canada, we suggested that there is a need to reconstruct the preservice science teacher education curriculum in China and promote the transformation in the science teacher educational system.

scholarly journals DO LABORATORY ACTIVITIES CONTRIBUTE TO A CONTEMPORARY CONCEPTION OF SCIENCE IN INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING?

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (32) ◽  
pp. 983-995
Author(s):  
K. VALENCIA ◽  
V. SANJOSÉ ◽  
T. TORRES
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Training ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Service Science ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Laboratory Activities ◽  
Science Teacher Training ◽  
Undergraduate Programs

In this study, It was analyzed the implementation of laboratory activities in the pre-service science teacher’s training and how they contribute to the construction of a contemporary epistemic vision of the nature of science. A cross-sectional study was developed in two different undergraduate programs of pre-service science teacher training in a university in Colombia of. We analyzed the way laboratory activities are developed in nine science subjects of physics, chemistry, and biology, apart from the first to the eight semesters of the curriculum (10 semesters in total). Results indicate that the laboratory activities focused on the development of pre-defined techniques and procedures, giving little prominence to creativity, doubt, discussion, planning, and application, even though they are also characteristic activities of scientific work. This kind of laboratory activities does not seem to favor th e construction of a contemporary conception of the nature of science in future science teachers.

scholarly journals Building Community in Triads Involved in Science Teacher Education: An Innovative Professional Development Model

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Science Teacher Education ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Service Science ◽  
The Impact

This article describes a pre-service and in-service science teacher joint professional development pilot project. It is intended to strengthen the community and facilitate professional growth for triad members involved in the professional development of pre-service science teachers. Through a summer workshop and follow-up monthly meetings, this project connected the clinical experiences of the pre-service teachers with the joint professional development of both the pre- and in-service teachers. A mixed-methods research design was used to investigate the impact of this project. Results indicated that this model was successful in aligning with characteristics of effective professional development derived from national standards documents and professional development literature. Additionally, through engaging pre- and in-service teachers in the co-creation of modules, which were subsequently enacted in classrooms, collaborative positioning occurred whereby the pre- and in-service teachers were found more equally sharing and co-negotiating responsibilities in the classroom. This article describes the need for this project and provides an in-depth description of each component of the project enacted, as well as additional findings supportive of its effectiveness.

scholarly journals Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Views of the Nature of STEM

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 356-366
Author(s):  
Chatree Faikhamta ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science Teacher Education ◽  
Service Science ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
The Impact

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education plays an important role in teaching and learning for the 21st century. Science teacher education is making great efforts to prepare STEM teachers for modern classroom practice and enable them to adapt their STEM knowledge and practices to the needs of students’ contexts. However, before developing STEM teaching practices, it is important for pre-service teachers to understand the “nature of STEM” (NOSTEM). This study explored pre-service teachers’ views of the NOSTEM from both individual and integrative perspectives. The sample consisted of 428 Thai pre-service science teachers who were enrolled in science teacher-education programs. A NOSTEM questionnaire comprising Likert-type items and open-ended questions was used as a research tool. The findings indicated that pre-service teachers had inadequate understandings of NOSTEM definitions, epistemological perspectives, and the impact of culture and society on each STEM discipline. Each STEM discipline has its own characteristics, but the disciplines are similar in terms of their usefulness, processes, and required knowledge. In terms of the integration of STEM, technology uses the application of science, mathematical knowledge, and engineering processes to create tools and utensils. This paper discusses the implications of this study for science teacher-education programs and developing STEM teachers.

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