Elementary Science Teachers Research Articles

A Survey Study on the Current Status of Professionalism of Elementary School Science Teachers in Changsha County

As the main participants in the teaching of science curriculum, the professionalism of elementary school science teachers is very important to the teaching work of teachers, the scientific literacy of students as well as the reform and development of science education. Therefore, the professional literacy of elementary school science teachers in Changsha County was thoroughly researched and analyzed from three aspects: professional affective literacy, professional knowledge literacy and professional ability literacy. Through the questionnaire survey and interviews, it was found that some science teachers have the problems of lack of professional affective literacy, single knowledge structure and low professional ability literacy. These problems are mainly attributed to the teachers’ weak sense of professional development, the limitations of curriculum teaching and implementation ability, the schools’ insufficient attention to the science curriculum, and the insufficient investment in education funding. To address these problems, this paper proposes optimization paths such as clarifying development goals, strengthening practice reflection, deepening the learning and application of the new curriculum standards, raising the importance of science curriculum teaching, and increasing the investment in science education. Through these measures, we aim to enhance the professionalism of elementary school science teachers, improve the quality of teaching, cultivate students’ scientific literacy, and promote the sustainable development of science education.

Identification of Relationship between Meta Cognition and Misconceptions

This study investigates the complex interplay between meta cognition and misconceptions within the educational context, focusing on implications for effective teaching and learning strategies. Aligning with India's National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advocates for a transition from rote memorization to in- depth understanding, this research explores the concurrent presence of misconceptions and meta cognition in elementary science education. Meta cognition, the process of reflecting on one's cognitive processes, and misconceptions, or predefined notions that impede authentic learning, are analyzed through influential frameworks, including those developed by Flavell and Nelson and Narens. The MASRL model by Efklides is also incorporated to understand the interplay of meta cognitive knowledge, control strategies, experiences, task characteristics, and learning outcomes. The study highlights the impact of misconceptions as cognitive barriers and their influence on meta cognition, emphasizing the need for effective educational strategies. The literature review explores existing research on meta cognition and misconceptions, showcasing how meta cognition acts as a cognitive mirror, enabling learners to navigate and rectify misconceptions. This research has significant educational implications, highlighting the importance of cultivating self-directed learning, critical thinking, and evidence- based study strategies to enhance academic outcomes. The study concludes by emphasizing the dynamic interplay between meta cognition and misconceptions, offering insights for educators and researchers to design interventions fostering accurate conceptual understanding in learners.

Supporting elementary preservice teachers' content knowledge for teaching about matter and its interactions

AbstractKnowledge of science content and the ability to translate knowledge into effective teaching is known as teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT). Teachers with developed CKT are able to more effectively determine instructional and assessment activities that will deepen K‐12 students' scientific literacy. However, preservice teachers (PSTs) can have limited opportunities to develop CKT, and little is known about how to support PST CKT development in elementary science teacher preparation. In our work, we developed instructional materials (i.e., “CKT Packets”) intended to support teacher educators (TEs) in developing elementary PSTs' CKT for one content area—matter and its interactions. We facilitated a professional learning community for TEs to support their learning how to implement the materials in their courses. We report on results from a mixed‐methods study using a quasi‐experimental cohort control design with a pretest and posttest to understand differences in PSTs' CKT (N = 250) in eight TEs' science classrooms. Nesting PSTs within their TEs' courses, and controlling for PSTs' prior CKT, engagement time on the assessments, prior coursework, and TE time‐invariant effects, we found preliminary evidence that PSTs achieved greater CKT when TEs implemented more CKT Packets. Salient factors that we hypothesize influenced TEs' productive uses of CKT Packets included disruptions to courses/contexts, TEs' sources of motivation for implementing Packets, TEs' entry points for the alignment of curricular materials with existing topics and pedagogical course emphases, TEs' approaches for first‐time use of curricular materials, and TEs' experiences with the instructional routines of the Packets. We bound our interpretation of results within limitations (e.g., small sample size, quasi‐experimental design) and suggest avenues for new research. Throughout this article, we include implications for TEs, PSTs, educative curricula developers, and researchers working to improve science teaching and learning for students.

Models of Science Teacher Identity: The Multiple Representations of Pre-Service Elementary Science Educators

ABSTRACT Experiences in pre-service teacher education can have a lasting effect within the professional life histories of classroom teachers. Investigating the ways in which pre-service elementary teachers (PSETs) represent themselves as science teachers before, during, and after methods course experiences can inform best practices of elementary science teacher pre-service and inservice development as well as further highlight the concerns and objectives of PSETs. Therefore, as a pre-service science teacher educator, I seek to understand the ways in which PSETs represent themselves as future science teachers and the experiences within the methods courses that influence those representations. This study relies on quantitative pre- and post-survey data and qualitative course artifact data completed as part of regular undergraduate course assignments. PSETs representations of self within this study tend to shift from a traditional approach to science teaching toward constructivist, student-centered pedagogical practices and show reduced anxiety toward teaching science and increased science teaching self-efficacy.

A Comparison of Online and Face-to-Face Professional Development for Increasing the Art and Science Content Knowledge of Novice and Experienced Elementary Science Teachers

A Comparison of Online and Face-to-Face Professional Development for Increasing the Art and Science Content Knowledge of Novice and Experienced Elementary Science Teachers

Culturally responsive elementary science teaching: a meta-analysis of current science teaching studies and implications

Culturally responsive elementary science teaching: a meta-analysis of current science teaching studies and implications

Leading Systemwide Improvement in Elementary Science Education: Managing Dilemmas of Education System Building

Reforming instruction is challenging. In this comparative case study of 12 school districts, we investigated the dilemmas that emerged for system leaders as they engaged in system building for elementary science and the approaches leaders took in managing them. We found that system leaders’ efforts to manage their environments contributed to the preferential treatment of literacy and mathematics relative to science. Leaders managed this dilemma using three strategies: (a) integration of science with other subjects, (b) specialization of teachers, and (c) adopting curriculum materials. This study contributes to literature on dilemma management by showing that dilemmas in education system building are school-subject sensitive, emerge in relation to system building for other subjects, and are embedded in school and education systems’ structural/organizational arrangements.

“I Thought That They Were Very Cut and Dry”: Preservice Elementary Science Teachers Learning About and Learning with Models and Modeling

ABSTRACT While recent research has examined students’ and teachers’ understanding of models and modeling, few studies have focused on how teacher educators can support preservice elementary science teachers in envisioning enriched learning processes and outcomes for their students while engaging in modeling practices. Informed by reflective practices through a case-based pedagogy, this qualitative case study investigated how preservice teachers take up learning about and learning with models and modeling practices as a multimodal knowledge-building process and reflect on their understanding of models and modeling in science education. This study is not just about teachers’ understanding of models and modeling; it is about cultivating a broader perspective, acknowledging the multiplicities of modalities that modelers bring to the table in their engagement with modeling practices. Conducted in a science methods course at a southeastern U.S. research university, this study used various qualitative data sources, including teachers’ written reflective responses to a case and commentary about a modeling-based lesson, modeling artifacts, and the video and audio recordings of the modeling-based lesson that was part of their methods course. Discussion of the findings highlights how reflective practices through a case-based pedagogy can expose preservice teachers to a better understanding of what meaningful and equitable modeling practices might look like in classroom settings by showing them what models are for, how they function, who gets to develop models, and whose knowledge contributes to modeling practices while building knowledge in science classrooms.

Leading Elementary School Science: Taking a Multilevel Distributed Perspective to Explore Leadership Practice

Purpose: Most empirical work using a distributed perspective to frame research on leadership practice uses the school as the unit of analysis, focusing on how leadership is stretched over people and aspects of the situation within schools. This study investigates leadership practice for elementary science, using a multilevel distributed framework, to understand the interrelationships among educational leaders operating at various levels—from classrooms, to schools, to educational systems, and, beyond, to the educational sector. Research Methods/Approach: Using an embedded, comparative case study design, we analyzed leadership practice for elementary science reform in 13 school districts in the U.S. as leaders worked to bridge from the Next Generation Science Standards learning ideals to classroom instruction. Data collection included interviews, observations, and documents. Findings: Leading elementary science reform involved three core components of leadership practice: (1) garnering attention for science in a situation that prioritized the instruction of English Language Arts and mathematics; (2) cultivating and channeling essential relationships not only within the system but also in the broader education sector to access the resources needed to (re)build an educational infrastructure for elementary science instruction; and (3) supporting the use of educational infrastructure in everyday practice in schools. Implications: This study makes the case for using a multilevel distributed leadership perspective to frame studies of leadership practice to understand how efforts at different levels interact in shaping the practice of leadership.

Video-based measurement of professional vision: Comparison of open and closed formats in the context of instructional support in elementary science education

Video-based measurement of professional vision: Comparison of open and closed formats in the context of instructional support in elementary science education

Development and validation of an instrument investigating elementary teachers’ sense of agency for science instruction

ABSTRACT This paper examines the development and validation of the Survey of Elementary Teachers’ Sense of Agency (SETSA), which investigates elementary science teachers’ sense of agency for teaching science. How elementary teachers express agency is critical to the learning outcomes of youth, particularly because elementary classrooms often serve as foundational sites for science experiences. Yet, elementary science teachers’ sense of agency for teaching science is understudied. Therefore, we developed the SETSA through a rigorous, systematic process. Development and validation of the SETSA occurred in multiple phases. Experts examined initial survey items, which were revised and consolidated into the 49-item SETSA. This was piloted with elementary teachers and the results led to a refined version. This later survey was administered to current teachers in elementary classrooms throughout the United States, with 1680 teachers responding. Analyses supported a robust, 10-factor model, which is consistent with frameworks and constructs in the current literature. Factors included in an elementary teacher's sense of agency for teaching science were: structures, science teacher identity, relationships, emotions, experience, professional vision. Factors included in an elementary teacher's expressions of that agency were: structure negotiation, science teacher identity negotiation, change in teacher practice and teaching with a justice orientation.

Effect of Simulated Learning on Students’ Academic Achievement in Science at Elementary Level

This study was conducted to find out the Effect of Simulated Learning on Students’ Academic Achievement in Science at the Elementary Level. Simulated learning as an innovative method has gained considerable attention nowadays. It involves using technology and virtual environments to replicate real-life scenarios or experiences for educational purposes. The major objectives of the study were to analyze teachers' perceptions of simulated learning and to study the challenges teachers face when using simulated learning in their instruction. The researcher used a descriptive survey design. All the male and female elementary science teachers from the Muzaffargrh and Layyah districts were considered part of the study population. The study sample was comprised of 303 elementary school science teachers who were selected randomly. A 45-item questionnaire was used. The researcher used descriptive and inferential statistical techniques to analyze the collected data using SPSS. The results revealed that teachers generally expressed positive views on the use of simulated learning for the teaching of science. It was recommended that simulated learning activities be aligned with the science curriculum. Guidelines and frameworks should be formulated to facilitate the seamless integration of simulated learning into existing educational frameworks. Teachers should be supported in adapting their teaching methods to fit simulated learning environments.

Development and Validation of a Test Instrument in Assessing the Content Knowledge of Grade 3 Teachers in Science

Abstract. One of the important aspects, apart from the learning environment and teaching and learning resources, is the quality of our teachers. The teachers are the drivers of the curriculum in the classroom. This study aimed at developing and validating a test instrument for assessing the content knowledge of 27 elementary science teachers in Grade 3 Science. Findings revealed that all indicators relative to the characteristics of the assessment tool are highly evident with a weighted mean of 3.87 based on the results of the validation. The assessment tool can be used to effectively assess the science teachers’ content knowledge in Grade 3 science. Moreover, Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.73 for the test items based on the results of the evaluation of the content experts imply that the assessment tool is acceptable in terms of internal consistency. The mean of the content knowledge test scores of 44.07 out of a possible 58 and the item and scale analyses as well as validity checks indicate that the final version of the content knowledge test questionnaire is a good instrument to measure the content knowledge of Grade 3 science teachers. A consistent level of test difficulty and discrimination indices were evident, and the results provided varied points in terms of the interpretation of the test items. The number of retained items and modified or revised items supports the validity and reliability of the test instrument in general.

Elementary Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Science Quizzes

This study investigated the perception of science teachers about science quizzes at elementary level employing survey method. The population of this study comprised all science teachers working at elementary level in public schools of District Rawalpindi during 2019. The sample consisted of 105 science teachers working in public schools of tehsil Kallar Syedan, District Rawalpindi. A questionnaire was developed by the researcher and validated by experts, which was then administered to the sample. Frequency and percentage of each statement were calculated to analyze the data. The study examined the perception of science teachers about usefulness of quizzes, effect of quizzes on instructor and effect of quizzes on improving academic performance. Findings of the study showed that teachers perceive quizzes as an effective way of improving students’ grades of. Quizzes serve multiple beneficial purposes, including promoting regularity among students, improving study habits, motivating them, fostering, and ultimately increasing both students’ learning and retention. Additionally, administration of quizzes particularly at the start of day can drift learners directly into the topic and provide a quick review of previously learnt material. Regularly scheduled quizzes enable teachers to know whether certain topics need to be taught again or not. It is recommended that work load of teachers be reduced and facilities be provided, particularly to science teachers to conduct frequent quizzes. This, in turn, is expected to enhance students’ performance at end of course exam.

Implementation of Vygotsky’s Constructivism Learning Theory through Project-Based Learning (PjBL) in Elementary Science Education

Implementation of Vygotsky’s Constructivism Learning Theory through Project-Based Learning (PjBL) in Elementary Science Education

Teaching Strategies and the Key Factors Enhancing Teachers' Creativity in Elementary Science Education

Teaching Strategies and the Key Factors Enhancing Teachers' Creativity in Elementary Science Education

Science curriculum-making for the Anthropocene: perspectives and possibilities

ABSTRACT This paper illuminates how science curriculum-making can be reinvigorated to address urgent local and global socioscientific issues that centres place as an interconnected part of larger socio-ecological and socio-technical systems. Given how industrial and capitalistic extractive practices have pushed the planet beyond its complex life-sustaining limits, we draw on theoretical perspectives that recognise schools as complex systems, nested within local, regional, and global social-ecological-technological systems. Science curriculum-making in these systems prompts dialogue regarding knowledge and competencies required to address planetary sustainability, as well as ontological questions connected to systems, relations, and responsibility. Consequently, schools are important places for curriculum enactment practices. Furthermore, teachers, students, administrators, and school community members are enmeshed with local ecologies that are constituted in the cultural, material, and social arrangements found in or brought to a school and its local community. In our work, we draw on a curriculum commonplaces perspective to investigate curriculum-making practices. Specifically, we use empirical data from two cases of elementary and secondary science teachers developing and enacting curriculum and adopt a philosophical-empirical deductive approach illustrative of how to apply complexity theory, systems thinking, and associated ontological and epistemological views to practical reasoning of science curriculum-making for schools.

Exploring a practice‐based approach to elementary preservice science teacher preparation

AbstractThe science methods course model presented here, called an immersed methods course (IMC), engaged preservice elementary teachers in reform‐based science instructional approaches within authentic classroom settings and with elementary students in a guided format. Questions guiding the study were: (1) Did participation in the IMC model impact preservice teachers (PTs') science teaching self‐efficacy? (2) Which science methods course model activities/experiences did PTs identify as the most impactful on their science teaching? (3) How did participation in the IMC model impact PTs' understandings of science teaching? Participants were 138 elementary PTs from a Southeastern United States university. Data were collected from seven course sections over 3 years and included pre/post science teaching self‐efficacy survey data, post written responses, and interviews. Member checking approaches were also used to refine and establish the validity of findings. Researchers completed qualitative data analysis, which was complimented by quantitative statistical analysis. Findings across data sources suggest participation positively influenced PTs' science teaching self‐efficacy and beliefs about the effectiveness of the instructional approaches. Participation also helped PTs apply theories to practice and develop competency using the practices. Findings highlight how the IMC model mitigates constraints associated with current science teacher preparation approaches.

Dutch elementary school teachers’ differentiation practices during Science and Technology lessons

Although differentiation is essential to quality teaching, portraits of how teachers adjust lessons of specific subjects to students' needs are scarce. This study investigated Dutch teachers' differentiation practices in elementary Science and Technology (S&T) education. In a multiple-case design, data obtained from lesson plans, interviews and observations of nine elementary-school teachers were triangulated. All teachers adjusted their lesson's environment and/or process with the aim to support children's learning. Adjustments in product and content were less common and more targeted at fostering children's curiosity or creativity. These findings are discussed in relation to theoretical frameworks and empirical results in other contexts.

Infographics as Supplementary Learning Materials in Teaching Elementary Science

Infographics as Supplementary Learning Materials in Teaching Elementary Science