Does participating in an undergraduate elementary science methods course make a difference?

Abstract

Beginning with the question, does it make a differencewhat skills are developed or inwhat sequence they are introduced, the results of this study show that science teaching skills associated with personal survival are highly visible in both the expectations of prospective teachers and in what they value from a science methods course. It is equally clear that as they become confident in their personal science knowledge base, and competent in translating this into instructional plans for children, prospective teachers become aware of the need to deal with more mature concerns of how to effectively manage children in the learning environment. As an introductory science methods course, this focus on the personal concerns of the prospective teachers makes a difference in the confidence with which they approach teaching science.