(Re)engaging Our Ethical Commitments and Becoming Activists in Our Own Backyards

In this manuscript, I provide an example of what activism in your own backyard may look like in institutional contexts using Foucault’s notions of ethics. To this end, I report findings from a two-year study conducted in my own science methods courses with two cohorts of pre-service teachers. Through a critical autoethnographic lens, I recount a synthesis of struggles and successes that illustrate what happens when one’s ethical and professional commitments to work for social justice intersect (collide) with the urgent need to address opp(regre)ssive practices in our own programs. Suggestions for how to be an activist in our own backyards and how to (re)engage our ethical commitments through a praxis of self-care are also provided.

Secondary Science Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Engineering: A Learner Analysis

The purpose of this study was to describe how US secondary science preservice teachers, or those preparing to teach middle and high school science, at one university, perceive engineering and teaching engineering within an epistemological framework of required domain components pre- and post-instruction (intervention) as well as over three cohort years. Their perceptions reveal relevant prior beliefs helpful for designing instruction to address an external need to prepare secondary science teachers to teach disciplinary content ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and science and engineering practices to meet the Next Generation Science Standards. Questionnaires administered pre- and post-instruction (intervention), as well as over three years, asked participants to decide whether various scenarios qualified as engineering and then to provide reasoning. Intervention instruction included whole-class discussions of engineering design practices. The responses to the questionnaire were analyzed for thematic content. The results indicate that the secondary science preservice teachers (n = 43) have a novice understanding of engineering and teaching engineering. They gain an emerging understanding during the secondary science methods courses, consistent in all three years with expanding perspectives from narrow discipline views. As their perceptions are refined, however, there are risks of oversimplification, which may lead to forming misconceptions. The recommendations for designing instruction such as secondary science methods courses and early career professional development include creating opportunities for preservice and early career teachers to explore and challenge their perceptions of engineering design practices integrated within science and engineering practices.

Pre-Service Basic Science Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Attitudes towards Science Teaching

The main purpose of the study was to explore preservice basic pre-service science teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and attitude regarding science teaching. Data were collected by administering science teaching self-efficacy beliefs and attitude towards science teaching instruments to 100 pre-service basic science teachers (92 males and 8females). Descriptive statistical techniques such as mean scores, standard deviations and percentages were used to analyse the data. Results of the study showed that the pre-service basic science teachers have very high level of self-efficacy beliefs and positive attitudes towards basic science teaching. However, the respondents had some reservations about their ability to facilitate hands-on activities and laboratory work in their future science lessons. It was recommended that science tutors should integrate science content into their science methods courses to improve the pre-service teachers’ science content and pedagogical content knowledge.

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

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.