Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate a pre-service teacher’s initial implementation of constructivist physics teaching. A case study was used to explore the underlying constructivist-based physics teaching implemented by a non-experienced male pre-service physics teacher, Bass. A mixed-methods research design was used to monitor the development of constructivist classroom environment at different phases. To collect quantitative data, the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) consisting of 5 elements: Personal Relevance (PR), Student Negotiation (SN), Shared Control (SC), Critical Voice (CV), and Uncertainty (UN) was primarily applied to reflect students’ perception toward the pre-service’s classroom learning environment after applying constructivist teaching scheme. The supplementary qualitative data were also obtained from classroom observations and interviews between Bass and the author as a teaching coach. The result showed that the pre-service teacher could reflect certain elements of constructivist physics teaching, especially PR, SN and SC. It was indicated that his physics lessons significantly became more personally relevant to students’ daily life. His students were likely to be more active in class discussion and allowed to question or criticize given class activities. The study contributes to several important implications for future research, particularly in the context of constructivist teaching in developing countries where knowledge concerning science and technology needs to be improved and for the pre-service teacher training program development for the Faculty of Education (Science Teaching) on behalf of Khon Kaen University. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2p506
Highlights
Positive learning environment in classroom is widely accepted as a valuable objective in education (Fraser, 2002; UNESCO, 2003), in the global arena, has proposed thousands of projects to promote science education throughout the world under the belief that the innovation derives from rich science knowledge which allows people to live in a better quality of life with safety and happiness
Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) is used to reflect elements required for improving the level of student-centered scheme
Through the observation and interview, it is found that the pre-service teacher could significantly perform 3 elements: personal relevance (PR), student negotiation (SN), and critical voice (CV)
Summary
Positive learning environment in classroom is widely accepted as a valuable objective in education (Fraser, 2002; UNESCO, 2003), in the global arena, has proposed thousands of projects to promote science education throughout the world under the belief that the innovation derives from rich science knowledge which allows people to live in a better quality of life with safety and happiness. The quality of educational provision is poor and unequally distributed Another critical issue is that teacher-centered and lecture-based instruction has generally dominated in Thai science classrooms. The nation’s education reform is launched to change traditional teaching approach. It aims that science education shall lie with activity-based learning called constructivist learning, which in turn, student-centered instruction shall be raised. Bass was a pre-service teaching physics for students in grade 11 at Demonstration School under the Faculty of Education, Khon Kaen University. He was a fourth-year student in Science Education (Physics Teaching). The author provided research information and conducted an interview with Bass before signing a research consent form to assure that he would follow the research methods by focusing on his teaching attitude and experience
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