Pre-service Primary Science Teachers Research Articles

Evaluating environmental behaviour and commitment of pre-service primary science teachers

AbstractEducation for Sustainability (EfS) is crucial for changes in environmental behaviour (EB), and little is known about the EB of primary school teachers tasked with teaching EfS. This study sought to better understand the EB of pre-service primary science teachers. EB was qualitatively evaluated, characterising teachers’ personal environmental activism and commitment to implement EfS among pupils and their families. Data was collected via two open questionnaires based on the Johari Window (JW) and the Authentic Inner Compass (AIC) models. Both questionnaires referred to EB twice: after exposure to the JW model and via statements from the AIC model, and again after 3 months. Findings show that the JW can reveal EB, while the AIC allowed participants to enrich their descriptions of their values, needs and commitment to EB. All participants agreed it was their duty to address EfS in class, but less than half mentioned this when describing actual behaviour. This study enables in-depth understanding of participants’ EB, including their actions, barriers and concerns, which might precede planning programmes on EfS implementation. As tomorrow educators, PSTs should be the focus of such programmes, which should be part of teacher education curricula.

Exploring the Relationship Between Attitudes of Preservice Primary Science Teachers Toward Integrated STEM Teaching and Their Adaptive Expertise in Science Teaching

The call for the implementation of integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (iSTEM) teaching has been on the rise. This teaching approach helps students to develop innovative skills and meet twenty-first century challenges. However, teachers need to possess positive attitudes toward iSTEM teaching to implement it. Therefore, studying factors that influence these attitudes is important. So far, investigated factors have focused on teachers’ personal and professional experiences. Predisposing and enabling factors related to iSTEM teaching are yet to be investigated. One putative construct that includes predisposing and enabling factors is adaptive expertise (AE) which allows professionals to highly perform in new tasks. Here, we argue that AE in science teaching is linked to teachers’ iSTEM attitudes through its three dimensions: perceived relevance (PR), self-efficacy (SE), and anxiety (Anx). We utilized a cross-sectional survey method to verify the proposed relationship on fourth year preservice primary science teachers (n = 91). They completed two online surveys measuring AE in science teaching and iSTEM attitudes, respectively. Results from multivariate regression modeling indicate a significant positive effect of AE in science teaching was found significantly positive on all three dimensions of iSTEM attitudes. These findings draw teacher educators’ attention to the importance of developing adaptive expertise while preparing iSTEM teaching advocates.

Understanding Identity Development as a Science Teacher Educator Through Shifts in Pedagogical Equilibrium

This article reports research investigating the identity development of a science teacher educator (STE) (Author 1) through the lens of pedagogical equilibrium. Despite previous experience as a secondary science teacher and STE, Jennifer found herself questioning her feelings of legitimacy and relevance when teaching pre-service primary science teachers. Identifying moments of disturbance in her pedagogical equilibrium, and working with a critical friend to analyze her ideas and experiences, she began to develop her professional self-understanding, contributing to improved feelings of credibility, and professional identity development. Emerging from this study, Jennifer experienced two important shifts in her perspective and understanding of her role. The first shift concerned recognizing the different sources that comprised her “authority of experience” as a STE, while the second shift involved learning to see pre-service teachers in her classes as future teachers, rather than students. These shifts in perspective were facilitated through applying self-study as the research methodology. The study provides insights into the identity formation processes of an early career teacher educator, as well as the value of pedagogical equilibrium and self-study for exploring teacher educator identity.

Embracing socioscientific issues-based teaching and decision-making in teacher professional development

ABSTRACT In recent decades, socioscientific issues (SSI) have been emerging from the interrelationship between science, technology, and society. For example, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, related decisions, like whether we need to ask people to use facemasks, is an SSI question being discussed internationally with no right or wrong answer. Controversial issues like SSI and the ability to make informed decisions need to be taught in school, which raises the question of whether teachers themselves are equipped with the skills required to make decisions on SSI. This study aimed to explore whether primary science pre-service teachers could consider multiple subject areas while making decisions on SSI in the context of abortion. Forty-two pre-service primary science teachers (third-year university students) in a genetics and biotechnology course participated in the study. The participants were asked to make decisions about abortion in three genetics-related scenarios and to explain their reasons in written reports. The SEE-SEP (science, environment, ethics/morality, sociology/culture, economy, and policy) model was adopted to explore the reasons behind the pre-service teachers’ decisions. The results showed that their decisions were influenced mainly by science and ethics/morality subject areas. The results further revealed that the participants who supported abortion based their decisions on both scientific evidence and their emotional responses. On the other hand, the pre-service teachers who were against abortion based their decisions on scientific evidence and the aspect of uncertainty. Accordingly, our study recognises the importance of including both science and ethics/morality discussions in SSI-based teaching. The implications for SSI-based teaching and learning are discussed.

Ethiopian Preservice Primary Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Mentoring in Science Teaching

ABSTRACT This study explores Ethiopian preservice primary science teachers’ perception of mentoring practices. Using a survey design, the Amharic translation of Mentoring for Effective Primary Science Teaching (MEPST) was administered to 239 graduating preservice science teachers, enrolled in four teacher education colleges. In addition, we interviewed 20 students, using semi-structured interviews, to better understand their perceptions of mentoring practices. For the survey, the analysis combined confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and other relevant statistic to ensure the psychometric properties of MEPST-Amharic and to explore their perception of mentoring practices respectively. The fit indices were χ2 = 1184.287, df = 514, TLI = .905, CFI = .913, RMR = .074, RMSEA = .074 (p < .001) and a reliability value of.979. These verify that MEPST-Amharic has both factorial validity and internal consistency reliability. Most student indicated they (about 80%) did not benefit much from their teaching practices. The study also found that the mentors’ personal traits were unsupportive of mentees professional development. Majority of mentees were not introduced to the necessary policy and school documents. The professional knowledge of mentees was not reinforced with timely guidance and constructive feedback. Student responses also showed that mentors lacked personality of primary science teacher, thus, they found challenging to model their mentors’ science teaching. Moreover, the supports and feedbacks gained from mentors focus on class and time management issues and lesson plans respectively. To improve the mentoring practices, it is necessary to give mentors trainings in science-specific mentoring skills to make them an effective science teacher and mentor. Personal attributes and pedagogical knowledge of mentors should be emphasized.

Focus, Explore, Reflect and Apply (FERA) Learning Model: Developing Science Process Skills for Pre-Service Science Teachers

The purpose of this study is to describe the application of Focus, Explore, Reflect, and Apply (FERA) learning model in improving science process skills for a pre-service science teacher in primary school. The stages of learning using the FERA learning model consist of four stages, namely focus, explore, reflect, and apply. The sample of this study was the students in the Primary School Teacher Education Study Program at STKIP Sebelas April Sumedang. This research was conducted using Quasy-Experimental method with Non-equivalent Control Group Design. The effectiveness of the treatment was obtained by giving the pretest and posttest to each class one time. The research data was processed by analyzing N-gain, normality test, and average difference using the Wilcoxon and Man Withney U tests. The results showed that the experimental class and the control class had significant mean differences between the science process skills data on pretest and posttest. This shows that learning using the FERA model is more effective in improving science process skills for pre-service primary school science teachers.

Investigating the Preservice Primary School, Mathematics and Science Teachers’ STEM Awareness

Today’s life requires individuals to be prepared for complex world environment, to make complex decisions, and to have critical thinking skills related to everyday life issues at hand. STEM education is thought to be the glorious solution to thrive in a global knowledge driven world. Teachers are key elements for successful STEM education. Present study aims to investigate the preservice primary school, mathematics and science teachers STEM awareness. Quantitative research methodology guided the present study. Cross-sectional survey type which collects information from a sample that has been selected from a predetermined population was used. Stem Awareness Scale, a five point Likert type instrument developed by Buyruk and Korkmaz (2016), was used to measure preservice teachers STEM awareness. Data was collected from 558 (371 female, 187 male) preservice teachers enrolled in three different teacher preparation programs. The results of this research demonstrates that there is no significant interaction effect for gender and department variables however there is significant difference among different department students STEM awareness preservice science teachers’ and preservice primary school teachers STEM awareness scores have similar mean values and also outnumbers the preservice mathematics teachers’ STEM awareness.

Pre-service Primary Science Teachers’ Abilities for Solving a Measurement Problem Through Inquiry

This article presents a qualitative descriptive-interpretive study about the abilities of pre-service primary science teachers (PPTs) to solve a measurement problem put to them as an activity of scientific inquiry. The participants in the study were 23 PPTs receiving training in science teaching, organized into small groups to solve the proposed problem. The data were collected through reports they prepared from a script with open-response questions that referred on the one hand to the planning, development and conclusions obtained with the scientific inquiry and on the other to promoting the PPTs’ metacognitive reflection regarding the difficulties encountered, the lessons learned and their proposals for improvement for future activities on similar measurements. The information was analysed in three phases to increasingly refine the coding of this. The results revealed that, overall, the PPTs were able to complete the scientific inquiry with a fairly acceptable degree of efficacy. A discussion of the results emphasizes the usefulness of the procedural-type scientific inquiry activities to initiate PPTs in their approach to inquiry-based science education.

The Connection Between Forms of Guidance for Inquiry-Based Learning and the Communicative Approaches Applied—a Case Study in the Context of Pre-service Teachers

Recent research has argued that inquiry-based science learning should be guided by providing the learners with support. The research on guidance for inquiry-based learning has concentrated on how providing guidance affects learning through inquiry. How guidance for inquiry-based learning could promote learning about inquiry (e.g. epistemic practices) is in need of exploration. A dialogic approach to classroom communication and pedagogical link-making offers possibilities for learners to acquire these practices. The focus of this paper is to analyse the role of different forms of guidance for inquiry-based learning on building the communicative approach applied in classrooms. The data for the study comes from an inquiry-based physics lesson implemented by a group of five pre-service primary science teachers to a class of sixth graders. The lesson was video recorded and the discussions were transcribed. The data was analysed by applying two existing frameworks—one for the forms of guidance provided and another for the communicative approaches applied. The findings illustrate that providing non-specific forms of guidance, such as prompts, caused the communicative approach to be dialogic. On the other hand, providing the learners with specific forms of guidance, such as explanations, shifted the communication to be more authoritative. These results imply that different forms of guidance provided by pre-service teachers can affect the communicative approach applied in inquiry-based science lessons, which affects the possibilities learners are given to connect their existing ideas to the scientific view. Future research should focus on validating these results by also analysing inservice teachers’ lessons.

Nature relatedness of pre-service teachers

In this research, it was aimed to determine the nature relatedness of pre-service primary school and science teachers regarding various variables. Nature Relatedness Scale (NRS), developed by Nisbet, Zelenski and Murphy (2009) and adapted to Turkish and analyzed, terms of validity by Cakir, Kararslan , Sahin and Ertenpinar (2015), was used as data collection instrument. The research was carried out with 363 pre-service teachers in Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University in the academic year of 2015-2016. The relational screening model was used in the research, in which and, statistical significance of the obtained data was determined through independent t test, one-way variance analysis Kruskal-Wallis analysis and Tukey meaningfulness tests. Research findings have indicated a; difference among the participants’ nature relatedness in relation to gender, education, and grade level. However, no significant was difference found between having taken the environment lesson, membership to natural organizations, participation in natural activities nature relatedness of pre-service teachers.

Use of Biographical Recount of Famous Scientists to Enhance Scientific Literacy for New Pre-Service Primary Science Teachers at the Lebanese University

The preparation of scientifically literate citizens able to use science in their daily life is becoming a major goal in science education. In light of this, Boujaoude (2002) developed a framework to investigate the balance of scientific literacy themes within the Lebanese school science curriculum. He reported the neglect of “science as a way of knowing” in the Lebanese science curriculum and national textbooks. The purpose was determining the perception of pre-service primary science teachers, at the Lebanese University- Faculty of Education, of science and scientists, and examining their scientific literacy according to BouJauode (2002) framework. In addition, the study investigated whether the use of biographical recounts of famous scientists would enhance scientific literacy, and promote science as “a way of knowing” in classrooms. It was found that participants perceived science mainly as a body of knowledge, and that the implementation of the biographical recount activity exposed them to other aspects of science, and helped them enhance their scientific literacy.

Pre-service Science and Primary School Teachers' Identification of Scientific Process Skills

The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of pre-service primary school and science teachers' identification of scientific process skills. The study employed the survey method, and the sample included 95 pre-service science teachers and 95 pre-service primary school teachers from the Faculty of Education at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University in Turkey. All participating students were in their third year. A 24-question Scientific Process Skills Test was employed as the data collection tool. Students were asked to choose the correct answer for each question and specify which scientific process skills were measured with the answer. The analysis of the students' answers involved tabulating the correct answers given for each question and students' answers concerning the scientific process skill measured by the answer along with their frequencies. The analysis indicated that pre-service science teachers gave more correct answers than pre-service primary school teachers in the first section of the study, which made them more successful overall. Considering that the second section of the test included questions about acquisitions, the pre-service teachers, who were from two different departments, provided similar answers, and no significant difference was found. Furthermore, the pre-service teachers from both departments used many skills interchangeably.

Pre-Service Primary Science Teachers’ Understandings of the Moon's Phases and Lunar Eclipse

The aim of this study was to explore pre-service primary science teachers’ understandings of the moon's phases and lunar eclipse. The survey approach was used as the research method. The sample consisted of one-hundred and five first year pre-service primary science teachers. As a tool for data collection, a test composed of six open-ended questions that drew on the scholarly literature, developed by the researchers, was used. The data from students’ responses was analyzed descriptively. The statistical analysis indicated that the chi square statistics calculated is significant at a level of 0.05, suggesting that the observed frequencies’ differences among various levels of understanding are not due to chance. The findings showed that pre-service primary science teachers’ understanding of the moon's phases and lunar eclipses was rather weak and that they hold common misunderstandings, suggesting that traditional instruction approaches are not enough to achieve meaningful, conceptual learning and must be replaced with alternative approaches.

Pre-service primary science teachers' understandings of the effect of temperature and pressure on solid–liquid phase transition of water

The aim of this study was to explore pre-service primary teachers' understandings of the effect of temperature and pressure on the solid–liquid phase transition of water. In the study a survey approach was used, and the sample consisted of one-hundred and three, third year pre-service primary science teachers. As a tool for data collection, a test composed of five open-ended questions was used. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four purposefully selected students. All interview records were transcribed and analyzed with respect to the students' misunderstandings. The results show that there were common misunderstandings in the students' written responses. The statistical analysis indicated that the chi square statistic calculated is significant at a level of 0.05, suggesting that the observed frequency differences among categories are not due to chance. It is believed that the results of the study carry valuable knowledge for researchers and teacher educators.

Do Science and Technology Teachers and Pre-Service Primary Teachers Have Different Thoughts about Concept Maps in Science and Technology Lessons?.

The purpose of this study is to determine the thoughts of primary science and technology teachers, primary class teachers, pre-service primary class teachers and pre-service primary science and technology teachers’ about concept maps. This scale applied the use of basic and random method on the chosen 125 4th and 5th grade primary class teachers who had science and technology courses and primary science and technology teachers from 14 primary schools in Afyonkarahisar. Also, the scale was applied to 150 2nd grade pre-service primary class teachers and 30 1st grade pre-service primary science and technology teachers in a Department of Primary Education from Mustafa Kemal University in Turkey. The general scanning model was used in this study, while t-test, one way ANOVA test, frequency and percentage values were calculated. However, analysis of the qualitative data was done by content analysis. As a result of the research findings obtained in the framework, teachers’ and pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards the use of concept maps is identified as positive. According to gender and class levels, which are independent variables, there are no significant differences of pre-service teachers’ towards using concept maps. According to the branch and seniority, there are important significant differences of teachers’ attitudes towards using concept maps. As a result of the findings from researches, some suggestions are presented. Key words: Concept maps, science and technology, teachers’ and pre-service teachers’ attitudes, pre-service primary class teachers, pre-service primary science and technology teachers.

What are the most important environmental problems according to the pre-service science teachers?

This study aims to determine the obtained information sources about environmental problems of the pre-service primary science teachers who are responsible from science and technology lesson and their perceptions of the most important environmental problems in city where they live, in Türkiye and in the world. In order to perform this purpose, interview form which consists of the multiple choice and the closed-ended questions was prepared by researchers and administered to the fourth-year pre-service science teachers who are studying at Muğla University. These results will be interpreted and recommendations for environmental education will be presented.

Development and Application of a Rubric for Evaluating Students’ Performance on Newton’s Laws of Motion

This study aims to develop and apply a rubric to evaluate the solutions of pre-service primary science teachers to questions about Newton’s Laws of Motion. Two groups were taught the topic using the same teaching methods and administered four questions before and after teaching. Furthermore, 76 students in the experiment group were instructed about the features and use of the rubric and asked to construct a rubric, while 77 students in the control group were not. Students’ solutions were evaluated with the agreed rubric by the instructor, an independent coder and the peers in the experiment class. The effectiveness of the rubric on students’ achievement was examined by applying descriptive statistics and linear regression to scores obtained from both tests. T-test statistics and analysis of variance procedures were also used to analyze the reliability and validity of the assessments made. The results revealed that the developed rubric was used consistently by the instructor and peers and significant correlations (p < 0.001) were found among the scores. The inter-coder reliabilities were 0.98 and 0.93 in the pre- and post-tests with 76 peer coders. A generalizability study showed that the estimates of 16 peer coders on average matched the reliability of single-instructor assessments. It was concluded that the developed rubric was able to highlight the aspects of the problem solutions and helped increase students’ achievement.

Employing Analogies and Models to Engender Conceptual Change in Science Amongst Pre-service Primary School Teachers in Fiji

In this work, we report the use of analogies and models in the training of Fiji pre-service primary school science teachers. The rationale for the study was to evaluate how well this form of pedagogy, developed in a Western context, would transfer to a different cultural setting. An intervention involving extensive use of physical and diagrammatic analogies and physical models was found to improve students' conceptual understanding of fundamental concepts relating to, matter and how it changes. Post-intervention interviews revealed clearer understanding and some participants linked their improved understanding directly to the use of specific analogies and models used in the intervention. The implications of the research for the training of pre-service primary teachers in Fiji are discussed.