Developing Scientific Literacy in a Primary School

Periódico: International Journal of Science Education

Publicação: Volume 34, Number 1, January 2012, pp. 127-152

Título do artigo: Developing Scientific Literacy in a Primary School

Autores: Kathleen Veronica Smith^a, John Loughran^a*, Amanda Berry^a & Cathy Dimitrakopoulos^a

Published online: 25 May 2011

Abstract

The science education literature demonstrates that scientific literacy is generally valued and acknowledged among educators as a desirable student learning outcome. However, what scientific literacy really means in terms of classroom practice and student learning is debatable due to the inherent complexity of the term and varying expectations of what it means for learning outcomes. To date the teacher voice has been noticeably absent from this debate even though the very nature of teacher expertise lies at the heart of the processes which shape students' scientific literacy. The research reported in this paper taps into the expertise of (participating) primary teachers by analyzing the insights and thinking that emerged as they attempted to unravel some of the pedagogical complexities associated with constructing an understanding of scientific literacy in their own classrooms. The research examines the processes and structures within one primary school that were created to provide conditions to allow teachers to explore and build on the range of ideas that presently inform the scientific literacy debate. The research reports these teachers' views and practices that shaped their actions in teaching for scientific literacy.

Keywords: Scientific literacy, Teacher development, Primary school

DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2011.565088

A Multi-Year Study of the Impact of the Rice Model Teacher Professional Development on Elementary Science Teachers

Periódico: International Journal of Science Education

Publicação: Volume 34, Number 6, April 2012, pp. 855-877

Título do artigo: A Multi-Year Study of the Impact of the Rice Model Teacher Professional Development on Elementary Science Teachers

Autores: Dana Viorica Diaconu^a, Judy Radigan^b, Milijana Suskavcevic^a & Carolyn Nichol^a*

Published online: 20 Dec 2011

Abstract

A teacher professional development program for in-service elementary school science teachers, the Rice Elementary Model Science Lab (REMSL), was developed for urban school districts serving predominately high-poverty, high-minority students. Teachers with diverse skills and science capacities came together in Professional Learning Communities, one full day each week throughout an academic year, to create a classroom culture for science instruction. Approximately 80 teachers each year received professional development in science content and pedagogy using the same inquiry-based constructivist methods that the teachers were expected to use in their classrooms. During this four-year study, scientists and educators worked with elementary teachers in a year-long model science lab environment to provide science content and science pedagogy. The effectiveness of the program was measured using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods that allowed the researchers to triangulate the findings from quantitative measures, such as content test and surveys, with the emerging themes from the qualitative instruments, such as class observations and participant interviews. Results showed that, in all four years, teachers from the REMSL Treatment group have significantly increased their science content knowledge (p < 0.05). During the last two years, their gains in science content knowledge, use of inquiry-based instruction and leadership skills were significantly higher than those of the Control group teachers' (p < 0.01, p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). Three themes resonated in the interviews with participants: science content knowledge growth, constructivist pedagogy and leadership skills.

Keywords: Science education, Inquiry-based teaching, Pedagogical content knowledge

DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2011.642019

Developing a Community of Practice to Support Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Nature of Science Instruction

Periódico: International Journal of Science Education

Publicação: Volume 34, Number 9, June 2012, pp. 1371-1392

Título do artigo: Developing a Community of Practice to Support Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Nature of Science Instruction

Autores: Valarie L. Akerson^a*, Lisa A. Donnelly^b, Morgan L. Riggs^c &Jennifer L. Eastwood^d

Published online: 30 Nov 2011

Abstract

This study explored ‘To what extent will preservice teachers with adequate nature of science (NOS) conceptions and who participate in a community supporting NOS instruction teach NOS in their internship settings?’ Using a combination of focus group discussions and peer feedback, five preservice teachers met with university personnel bi-monthly during their internships to share NOS teaching and assessment ideas and ask questions. Field notes and voice recordings were used to track conversations at focus group settings and videotapes were made of science instruction in each internship setting. None of the preservice teachers had cooperating teachers who taught NOS, yet results showed that all five preservice teachers were able to explicitly teach NOS in their science lessons, albeit in different ways and to different degrees.

Keywords:  Classroom, Elementary school, Nature of science

DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2011.639100

Exploring Opportunities for Argumentation in Modelling Classrooms

Periódico: International Journal of Science Education

Publicação: Volume 34, Number 10, Jul 2012, pp. 1535-1554

Título do artigo: Exploring Opportunities for Argumentation in Modelling Classrooms

Autores: Cynthia M. Passmore^a* & Julia Svoboda^a

Published online: 27 Jun 2011

Abstract

On several levels it can be said that the act of modelling in science is inherently an argumentative act. That is, in virtually all aspects of modelling, from developing a question to judging between competing models that might answer that question, an individual is engaged in persuasive acts. Those acts may be private or public. They may be mental, written or oral, but they are about judging ideas and making sense of them; convincing oneself or others that the ideas and ways of looking at and explaining a phenomenon are useful. These acts are what scientists find exciting. They are what make science intellectually interesting and challenging. Inviting students into this practice is one way to help them learn both the content and process of science. This paper introduces a framework that is attentive to the research on how people learn while simultaneously pushing for curriculum and instruction that engages students in elements of the practice of science. We explore how this framework can be used to foster argumentation by describing the theoretical underpinnings of the framework and using classroom examples to illustrate the utility of the framework for promoting argumentation.

Keywords: Argumentation, Model-based learning, Inquiry-based teaching

DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2011.577842

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Evaluations of Elementary Students' Scientific Models: An aspect of pedagogical content knowledge for scientific modeling

Periódico: International Journal of Science Education

Publicação: Volume 34, Number 12, Aug 2012, pp. 1931-1959

Título do artigo: Preservice Elementary Teachers' Evaluations of Elementary Students' Scientific Models: An aspect of pedagogical content knowledge for scientific modeling

Autores: Michele M. Nelson^a* & Elizabeth A. Davis^a

Abstract

Part of the work of teaching elementary science involves evaluating elementary students' work. Depending on the nature of the student work, this task can be straightforward. However, evaluating elementary students' representations of their science learning in the form of scientific models can pose significant challenges for elementary teachers. To address some of these challenges, we incorporated a modeling-based elementary science unit in our elementary science teaching methods course to support preservice teachers in gaining knowledge about and experience in evaluating students' scientific models. In this study, we investigate the approaches and criteria preservice elementary teachers use to evaluate elementary student-generated scientific models. Our findings suggest that with instruction, preservice elementary teachers can adopt criterion-based approaches to evaluating students' scientific models. Additionally, preservice teachers make gains in their self-efficacy for evaluating elementary students' scientific models. Taken together, these findings indicate that preservice teachers can begin to develop aspects of pedagogical content knowledge for scientific modeling.

Keywords: Pre-service, Modeling, Primary school

DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2011.594103

Influencing Intended Teaching Practice: Exploring pre-service teachers’ perceptions of science teaching resources

Periódico: International Journal of Science Education

Publicação: Volume 34, Number 12, 03 July 2012, pp. 1883 - 1908

Título do artigo: Influencing Intended Teaching Practice: Exploring pre-service teachers’ perceptions of science teaching resources

Autores: Grant Cooper^a, John Kenny^a* & Sharon Fraser^a

Abstract

Many researchers have identified and expressed concern over the state of science education internationally, but primary teachers face particular obstacles when teaching science due to their poor science background and low confidence with science. Research has suggested that exemplary resources, or units that work, may be an effective way to support primary teachers. This study explores the effect of one such resource on the intentions of pre-service primary teachers to teach science. The resource in question is Primary Connections, a series of learning resources produced by the Australian Academy of Science specifically designed for primary science. Evaluative studies of Primary Connections have indicated its efficacy with practising primary teachers but there is little evidence of its impact upon pre-service teachers. The purpose of this study was to investigate how effective these quality teaching resources were in influencing the intentions of primary pre-service teachers to teach science after they graduated. The theory of planned behaviour  highlighted the linkage between the intentions of the pre-service teachers to teach science, and their awareness of and experiences with using Primary Connections during their education studies. This enabled key factors to be identified which influenced the intentions of the pre-service teachers to use Primary Connections to teach science after they graduate. The study also provided evidence of how quality science teaching resources can be effectively embedded in a teacher education programme as a means of encouraging and supporting pre-service teachers to teach science.

Keywords

Pre-service teacher training, Primary science, PCK, Theory of planned behaviour, Units that work, Primary Connections

DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2012.698762

Balancing Teacher and Student Roles in Elementary Classrooms: Preservice elementary teachers’ learning about the inquiry continuum

Periódico: International Journal of Science Education

Publicação: Volume 34, Number 14, 19 Jun 2012, pp. 2205-2229

Título do artigo: Exposing the Challenges and Coping Strategies of Field-Ecology Graduate Students

Autores: Mandy Biggers^a* & Cory T. Forbes^a

Abstract

Using the National Research Council's inquiry continuum framework, we use a multiple-case study research design to investigate the teacher- and student-directedness of elementary preservice teachers’ planned and enacted science lessons and their pedagogical reasoning about science instruction during a semester-long science methods course. Our specific research questions were (1) What ideas do elementary preservice teachers bring to a science teaching methods course about the inquiry continuum? and (2) How do their ideas about the inquiry continuum change over the course of the semester through engaging in planning, enactment, and reflection upon science instruction? Participants’ course artifacts (journals, reflective teaching assignments, and lesson plan rationales), interviews, and field observations of their enacted science lessons served as data for this study. Findings show that although the preservice teachers began the semester defining inquiry as highly student-directed, their ideas and definitions broadened over the course of the semester to include and embrace more teacher-directed forms of inquiry. Their early science lessons were more student-directed but, as they encountered challenges engaging in inquiry-based instruction and increasingly emphasized students’ learning needs, they began to plan and enact lessons that were more teacher-directed. Teacher education programs need to explicitly emphasize these variations of inquiry as a core component of supporting preservice teachers’ learning to teach science as inquiry.

Keywords: Elementary school, Preservice, Inquiry\-based teaching, Teacher\-direction, Open vs. Guided inquiry, Inquiry continuum

DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2012.694146