Multiple Perspectives for the Study of Teaching

Author(s):  
Sara Salloum

This chapter outlines a framework that characterizes science teachers’ practical-moral knowledge utilizing the Aristotelian concept of phronesis/practical wisdom. The meaning of phronesis is further explicated and its relevance to science education are outlined utilizing a virtue-based view of knowledge and practical hermeneutics. First, and to give a background, assumptions about teacher knowledge from a constructivist and sociocultural perspective are outlined. Second, the Aristotelian notion of phronesis (practical wisdom) is explicated, especially in terms of how it differs from other characterizations of practical knowledge in science education and how it relates to practical-moral knowledge. Finally, the authors discuss how the very nature of such practical-moral knowledge makes it ambiguous and hard to articulate, and therefore, a hermeneutic model that explores teachers’ practical-moral knowledge indirectly by investigating teachers’ commitments, interpretations, actions, and dialectic interactions is outlined. Implications for research and teacher education are outlined. Empirical examples are used to demonstrate certain points. A virtue-based view of knowledge is not meant to replace others, but as a means to enrich the understandings of the complexity of teacher knowledge and to enhance the effectiveness of teacher educators.

2015 ◽  
pp. 569-593
Author(s):  
Sara Salloum

This chapter outlines a framework that characterizes science teachers' practical-moral knowledge utilizing the Aristotelian concept of phronesis/practical wisdom. The meaning of phronesis is further explicated and its relevance to science education are outlined utilizing a virtue-based view of knowledge and practical hermeneutics. First, and to give a background, assumptions about teacher knowledge from a constructivist and sociocultural perspective are outlined. Second, the Aristotelian notion of phronesis (practical wisdom) is explicated, especially in terms of how it differs from other characterizations of practical knowledge in science education and how it relates to practical-moral knowledge. Finally, the authors discuss how the very nature of such practical-moral knowledge makes it ambiguous and hard to articulate, and therefore, a hermeneutic model that explores teachers' practical-moral knowledge indirectly by investigating teachers' commitments, interpretations, actions, and dialectic interactions is outlined. Implications for research and teacher education are outlined. Empirical examples are used to demonstrate certain points. A virtue-based view of knowledge is not meant to replace others, but as a means to enrich the understandings of the complexity of teacher knowledge and to enhance the effectiveness of teacher educators.


2021 ◽  
pp. 209653112096678
Author(s):  
Guihua Zhang ◽  
Yuanrong Li ◽  
George Zhou ◽  
Sonia Wai-Ying Ho

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.


Author(s):  
Betzabé Torres-Olave ◽  
Paulina Bravo González

AbstractIn this paper, we discuss the role of dialogue in two layers; first, in relation to two self-organised communities of science teachers in which we participated and, second, our process of coming together during our PhDs to analyse these communities, a dialogue about the dialogue. Regarding the first layer, there is much to learn from science teachers and science teacher educators when they are organised in sites of learning that can be spaces of hope, beginnings, and becoming, as is illustrated in the case of these two self-organised communities. Regarding the second layer, we discuss the value of dialogue and the possibilities it offers to develop ideas for science education in a way that might be democratising, emancipatory, and offering counter-narratives in a neoliberal Chile. By engaging in this dialogue revisiting the practices of our communities, we gained a sense of agency within the field of science education. However, we realised that we need to move towards a critical view within our communities, and more contextual and transformative science education by translating these sites of hope to our educational praxis today. For us, this relates both to developing a collective view of how to make science education provide pedagogical conditions and experiences for critical and engaged citizenship and thinking how we can act and engage with different settings in solidarity. One way of moving towards this is by developing a political knowledge of our disciplines through a collective scientific conscientisation. Our communities are the departure points to achieve this.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Felicia Moore Mensah ◽  
Iesha Jackson

Background/Context The disparity between the race and ethnicity of teachers and students is expected to increase as our nation and classrooms continue to become more racially, ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse. It is extremely important to think about not only the educational needs of such a diverse student population within schools but also who will teach these students. However, when looking at subject-matter specificity for the retention of Teachers of Color, such as science teachers, the picture becomes extremely serious when we understand teachers’ paths into and out of science and teaching. Purpose The purpose of the study is to analyze the experiences of preservice Teachers of Color (PTOC) enrolled in an elementary science methods course as they gain access to science as White property. Our analysis provides evidence that PTOC can break the perpetual cycle of alienation, exclusion, and inequity in science when they are given opportunities to engage in science as learners and teachers. In addition, we also offer insights regarding the role science teacher educators may play in preparing teachers and especially TOC for urban schools. Setting/Research Design The context of this study was a graduate-level preservice elementary science methods course at a large urban university in New York City. Multiple data sources included pre-post surveys, semester observation journals, final course papers, and a post-course questionnaire. Utilizing constructivist grounded during the initial phase of analysis and themes from critical race theory (CRT), our unique voices of color and positionalities allowed us to interpret the data from a CRT perspective and arrive at findings relevant to making science inclusive to PTOC. Conclusions/Recommendations In order to push the field of science teacher education toward social justice issues of access, opportunity, and enjoyment, efforts must focus on increasing representation of Teachers of Color in science education. The transformation of science teacher education to grant equitable learning experiences for Teachers of Color is needed. Further research on the experiences of science Teachers of Color, as well as Faculty of Color and their relationship with students, is highly encouraged. Both teacher preparation and science education must be open to interrogate and reveal structural forms of race, racism, and power that manifest through curriculum, structure, and pedagogy that cause alienation and exclusion for Teachers of Color. Therefore, we encourage science teacher educators to examine their own course curriculum, structure, and pedagogy through self-study and refection. Overall practices in teacher preparation must empower rather than impede progress toward important goals of CRT, and this may be achieved through building stronger relationships with PTOC and Faculty of Color across teacher preparation courses in support of these goals.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Shironica Karunanayaka ◽  
Chandana Fernando ◽  
Vajira de Silva

The concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) is a major breakthrough in education, which promotes sharing, adaptation and contextualisation of course content. Promotion of using OER can be very cost effective, since development of new course content would be both expensive and time consuming. However, awareness raising and capacity building of teachers and learners is crucial, in order to exploit the full potential of OER.The Faculty of Education at the Open University of Sri Lanka, initiated a research project to create an Online Learning Environment (OLE) on OER for science education, witha view to raise awareness, develop competencies and enhance adapting, adoption and creation of OER by teachers. This is developed in Moodle Learning Management System, as a supplementary material for science teachers enrolled in a distance mode professional development programme. The research team, together with a group of science teachers and teacher educators, who are their students, is engaged in this action research conducted in several stages: analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. This paper discusses the first three stages, concerning the following objectives: to identify sources of OER for science education, to make key design decisions of the OLE, and to design and develop the OLE on OER for science education.The analysis of need, learner, task and context, resulted in making decisions on information, instruction, interaction and interface design. Some initial design decisions are: Structuring of information on finding, using and creating OER related to teaching science, while making it relevant and meaningful for teachers; Use of exploratory instructional strategies enabling teachers to select OER; Incorporate frequent interactions encouraging teachers to adopt, adapt, create and share OER; and Use of different media elements to make the visual layout motivating. A prototype will be pilot tested with science teachers with a view to revise and improve the OLE on OER. Allowing student teachers/teacher educators to work collaboratively with their instructors, as a team, enable both parties to face challenges together, in this novel experience of designing and developing an OLE on OER.


Author(s):  
Cornelis de Groot ◽  
Jay Fogleman ◽  
Diane Kern

How student teachers might benefit from using their mobile technologies during teaching experiences is a timely question for teacher educators. This chapter describes efforts to use the TPACK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) to investigate how students use iPad computers during their student teaching and design appropriate supports. A design-based approach (Sandoval & Bell, 2004) was used over two years with two cohorts of student teachers (N=60). Descriptions of the use of the TPACK framework in this endeavor and findings from surveys and field notes about how and to what degree mobile technology can facilitate activities and interactions in planning, teaching, reflecting, and sharing are included. The case is made for co-learning and co-constructing by student teachers and teacher educators of the various TPACK domains of teacher knowledge in the context of mobile technology. Implications for developing supportive learning environments for 21st century student teachers are also discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Dahlin ◽  
Edvin Østergaard ◽  
Aksel Hugo

This paper is a phenomenological critique of some of the basic notions informing much of the researchin and practice of science education (SE) today. It is suggested that the philosophical grounds of S Eare in need of three “reversals of primacy”: the ontological primacy of the perceptual lifeworld must replace that of abstract scientific models; the epistemological primacy of attentive practice must replace that of conceptual cognition; and the pedagogical primacy of cultivating competencies must replace that of imparting ready-made knowledge. Four arguments for a phenomenological approach to SE are presented and some consequences for the training of science teachers are discussed; some of which are already being implemented at the science teacher education of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-201
Author(s):  
Ahmet Altindag ◽  
Hunkar Korkmaz Korkmaz

The goals of this descriptive study were to determine Turkish preservice science teachers’ views on an ideal teacher education system. The sample consisted of 137 preservice teachers including 74 females and 63 males. The questionnaire was based on the open-ended questions and was developed to investigate an ideal teacher education system components as perceived by the preservice science teachers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. The results of this study shown that the Turkish preservice science teachers defined an ideal teacher education system components in the following: the personality of the teachers, the teacher educators as possessing professional knowledge, teacher education curriculum, and professional development process. These results and implications are discussed in the context of increasing expectations for demanded highly qualified teachers under provisions of the teacher education studies.   Keywords: Teacher Education; Primary Science Teachers; Ideal Teacher Education


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 732-747
Author(s):  
Jianqiang Ye ◽  
Dimei Chen ◽  
Lingxin Kong

In order to explore the development of research of science teacher(RST), 904 articles from the Web of Science (WoS) core set based on bibliometric methods through R software were analyzed in this research. Specifically, it examined the co-occurrence relations of countries/regions, major journals, most cited references, and hot keywords from the macroscopic, mesoscopic and microscopic level of RST. The results showed that the core strength of RST is mainly from traditional industrialized countries such as the United States, Australia, and Britain. And some top journals in science education (such as Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Science Education) has to pay more attention on RST, it may also appeal to lots of top journals in general teacher education (such as Journal of Teacher Education, Teaching and Teaher Education). The research on science teachers was guided by several educational theories about teacher research, such as the teacher epistemological belief, reflective practice, and PCK. Moreover, theories in science education such as scientific literacy, scientific conceptual change also becomes the theoretical basis for science teachers’ teaching practice and scientific inquiry instructing. The knowledge, key competences, dispositions, and professional development of science teacher are the main keywords and hot topics in the field of RST. Keywords: science teacher research, bibliometric analyses, Web of Science.


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