Science Student Teachers Research Articles

Exploring How Creating Stop-Motion Animations Supports Student Teachers in Learning to Teach Science

This article reports on an exploration of teaching and learning through creating rudimentary stop-motion animations set up to identify how learning opportunities involving stop-motion animations can support student learning and science teacher education. Participants were student teachers, volunteers representing both secondary and primary school teacher training courses, from three universities in England. Their discussions while making an animation themselves were recorded. Six of the secondary trainees were later interviewed after having taught using animation during placement in school. Thematic analysis of the content of the recordings and interviews showed that the student teachers view the opportunities that making an animation creates for peer discussion as the most likely to promote learning. Modeling was also seen as beneficial, though no one particular activity or stage in animation creation stood out as being more effective than another. It is the holistic process of representing and re-representing one's scientific knowledge in different modes that made animation creation appear to be so useful in bringing about and supporting learning. With respect to teacher education, the student science teachers reported that making animations themselves supported them in thinking through the process of how, as teachers, they would need to communicate the underpinning science to others. (Keywords: animation, teacher education, science teaching )

Intelligence in relation to attitude of social science and science student teachers

Intelligence in relation to attitude of social science and science student teachers

A PRÁTICA PEDAGÓGICA E A FORMAÇÃO CONTINUADA DE PROFESSORES: REFLEXÕES NUM CONTEXTO MULTIFACETADO

This article presents an analysis of the revealed knowledge concerning the teaching practice in the interaction and mediation process developed by means of chats in the virtual environment Moodle, throughout 2014, involving Science and Chemistry teachers of local schools, undergraduate students and professors of the Chemistry teaching degree course in the Universidade de Passo Fundo - RS. The extension project “Training for Science/Chemistry teachers: round of conversation involving teachers’ knowledge and practices” aims to establish the so called “Triads of Professional (interaction) Training”. This process aims to problematize the knowledge by experience and to allow reflection, an important aspect for the constitution of a teacher’s autonomy and protagonism. Data was analyzed based on a Discourse Textual Analysis. Results indicate that teachers have a being knowledge and a doing knowledge that originate from practice, but that need to be revealed and problematized so that it can produce progress and qualify the teaching action. The interaction process involving the triad is potentially significant for the continuous training.

AHA Moments of Science and Mathematics Pre-service Teachers

ABSTRACTThis research study explored pre-service teachers' (PST) reflections of their student teaching experiences through AHA moments. Participants included 37 pre-service teachers enrolled in mathematics and science student teaching seminars. Qualitative methods were used to analyze PSTs' written and verbal responses to questions regarding AHA experiences. Four themes emerged related to PSTs' AHA moments: a greater awareness of PSTs' identity as teachers, the importance of knowing their students, the realization of inconsistencies in their own and their students' beliefs, and the importance of anticipating students' misconceptions. The potential for using an AHA moment assignment, as presented here, appears to support reflection among PSTs; however, it is not clear these PSTs used judgments and analysis, both integral elements of the reflective process.

Investigation of Factors Affecting Students’ Science Achievement According to Student Science Teachers

Investigation of Factors Affecting Students’ Science Achievement According to Student Science Teachers

Science Student Teachers’ Cognitive Structure on the Concept of “Food Pyramid”

<p class="apa">The current study aims to determine science student teachers’ cognitive structure on the concept of food pyramid. Qualitative research method was applied in this study. Fallacies detected in the pre-service teachers’ conceptual structures are believed to result in students’ developing misconceptions in their future classes and will adversely affect their future teaching performance. The data were collected from 48 science student teachers. A free word association test was used as a data collection instrument. The data collected were subject to content analysis. Analyzing the science student teachers’ responses to the concept of food pyramid on the free word association test, these responses were coded and divided into categories. Based on the categories, frequency and percentages were provided. The data collected through the study were divided into 7 categories, which were stated as follows: -relationship between producer, consumer and decomposer in matter and energy flow-concepts related to nourishment pyramid-definition of food pyramid-energy and matter transfer-producer, consumer and decomposer-elements of ecosystem and ecological factors- scientific disciplines related to food pyramid. When the words provided as answers by the science student teachers to the concept of food pyramid were analyzed, it was noticed that they had more word connections with relationship between producer, consumer and decomposer in matter and energy flow. It can be argued that some students could not produce any sentences and some others could not make meaningful sentences. Moreover, it was determined that they had some misconceptions about food pyramid. Similar research can be conducted with different student groups and for the correction of alternative concepts related to the concept of food pyramid, extra biology courses should be included in undergraduate curriculums.</p>

Using an Attribution Support Tool to Enhance the Teacher Efficacy of Student Science Teachers

To increase the teacher efficacy of student teachers, they need positive classroom experiences: mastery experiences. These mastery experiences have to be created by the student teachers themselves. Therefore, student teachers need a tool to better understand problematic teaching experiences and help them create positive classroom experiences. Nine student biology teachers used this attribution support tool when reflecting on multiple lessons taught in classes they considered difficult. They scored their lessons and filled in a teacher efficacy questionnaire after each lesson. The results show that teacher efficacy increased and the number of failures during the lessons decreased; on average, the self-awarded marks per teacher per lesson increased, indicating an increase in mastery experiences. Therefore, the attribution tool seems to be a promising tool for student teachers to enhance their teacher efficacy and to support reflection on problematic teaching experiences.

Student Science Teachers’ Ideas about the Degradation of Ecosystems

<p class="apa">The aim of this research is to investigate student science teachers’ opinions about the causes of degradation of ecosystems and the effects of such degradations on the environment. This research focuses on the following questions: What kind of descriptions do student science teachers ascribe to the reasons of degradation in ecosystems? What are the effects of ecosystem degradations on the environment? What are the misconceptions in relation to degradations in ecosystems? A total of 130 participating students, who were studying to become science teachers at Faculty of Education of Necmettin Erbakan University in Turkey, participated in this study. To reveal the participating students’ opinions about the reasons for degradations in ecosystems and their effects on the environment, they were asked to answer two open questions: (1) What are the reasons for degradations in ecosystems? (2) What are the effects of degradations in ecosystems on the environment? The participants were asked to answer these two questions. Data obtained from the questions were analyzed and the frequencies of the answers were classified in different categories. Moreover, these included some misconceptions such as ‘the greenhouse effect can lead to skin cancer’ and ‘ozone layer depletion leads to global warming’. The findings are compared with related literature and suggestions are presented.</p>

Science Teacher Education in the Twenty-First Century: a Pedagogical Framework for Technology-Integrated Social Constructivism

Changes in our global world have shifted the skill demands from acquisition of structured knowledge to mastery of skills, often referred to as twenty-first century competencies. Given these changes, a sequential explanatory mixed methods study was undertaken to (a) examine predominant instructional methods and technologies used by teacher educators, (b) identify attributes for learning and teaching in the twenty-first century, and (c) develop a pedagogical framework for promoting meaningful usage of advanced technologies. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via an online survey, personal interviews, and written reflections with science teacher educators and student teachers. Findings indicated that teacher educators do not provide sufficient models for the promotion of reform-based practice via web 2.0 environments, such as Wikis, blogs, social networks, or other cloud technologies. Findings also indicated four attributes for teaching and learning in the twenty-first century: (a) adapting to frequent changes and uncertain situations, (b) collaborating and communicating in decentralized environments, (c) generating data and managing information, and (d) releasing control by encouraging exploration. Guided by social constructivist paradigms and twenty-first century teaching attributes, this study suggests a pedagogical framework for fostering meaningful usage of advanced technologies in science teacher education courses.

Investigating Science Student Teachers’ Ideas about Function and Anatomical Form of Two Human Sensory Organs, the Eye and the Ear

The purpose of this research was to determine science student teachers’ level of knowledge about the anatomical structure of two sensory organs, the eye and the ear, in addition to vision and hearing processes. Conducted with 86 science student teachers, research utilized drawing methods and open-ended questions as data collection instruments. The results showed that when science student teachers’ answers with regard to vision and its structures compared with their answers concerning hearing and its structures, their success rate was higher for hearing and its structures. Even though students were sufficiently informed about the anatomical structures constituting eyes and ears, it was observed that a significant percentage of the students were incompetent with regard to their understanding of how seeing and hearing takes place and correctly showing the anatomical structures constituting both eyes and ears on a schema. Human organ/organ system education may contribute to an increase in teaching capacity.

What are Their Beliefs? What is Their Approach in Practice? What is the Profile of Their Science Teachers and Professors?

This qualitative study was conducted with six senior student teachers in the field of science to examine the beliefs of student science teachers, their classroom practices, and the profile of their junior high science teachers and the professors in the education department. The data from this study were collected through individual interviews and observations as well as DASST-C. According to the findings of the study, five of the student teachers held to a conceptual model, one held to an exploratory mental model. When the junior high science teachers of these student science teachers were examined, it was found that four employed an explicit approach, one used a conceptual approach and one had an exploratory approach. When the views of the student teachers’ professors in the department of education were examined, most of the faculty members had a teacher-centered approach, but the most popular faculty members employed a student-centered approach. Therefore, we see that the beliefs of the student teachers about the learning-teaching process were passed on from their junior high science teachers and the professors in the education department.

Développement de la conceptualisation dans l’activité de conception d’étudiants-stagiaires en EPS durant l’année de formation en alternance

Cette recherche, inscrite dans le champ de la didactique professionnelle en référence au cadre théorique de la conceptualisation dans l’action, vise à rendre compte du développement de la conceptualisation dans l’activité de conception d’étudiants-stagiaires en EPS durant leur année de formation en alternance. Elle s’attache plus précisément à identifier les principales modifications des principes opératoires et intersubjectifs qui organisent leur activité lorsqu’ils conçoivent les situations d’enseignement-apprentissage. Deux étudiants-stagiaires de master 2 ont participé à cette étude. Ils ont été filmés à deux reprises, au début et à la fin de l’année. Chaque séance a été suivie d’un entretien d’auto-confrontation. Le traitement des données a consisté à identifier les principaux organisateurs de l’activité, c’est-à-dire les principes tenus pour vrais qui orientent et guident leurs actions. Les résultats témoignent d’une évolution différenciée sur l’année de formation. Les principes organisateurs, partagés par les deux étudiants en début d’année, et témoignant de la prégnance des prescriptions véhiculées en formation (un enseignant concepteur de tâches centrées sur les apprentissages scolaires) disparaissent à la fin de l’année, pour l’un des étudiants, au profit de principes mobilisés pour le contrôle de la classe. Pour le second en revanche, l’idéal du centre de formation, bien que redéfini, reste présent. Suite à l’analyse des deux cas et de la mise en évidence des difficultés similaires rencontrées, nous suggérons de considérer ces dernières comme des points d’ancrage à partir desquels il est possible d’identifier les conditions susceptibles de transformer les pratiques. Nous proposons alors quelques pistes pour former les stagiaires en formation à la conception des situations.

Dilemmas in examining understanding of nature of science in Vietnam

Scholars proved nature of science (NOS) has made certain contributions to science teaching and learning. Nonetheless, what, how and how much NOS should be integrated in the science curriculum of each country cannot be a benchmark, due to the influence of culture and society. Before employing NOS in a new context, it should be carefully studied. In assessing views of NOS in Vietnam, a developing country with Eastern culture where the NOS is not consider a compulsory learning outcome, there are several issues that researchers and educators should notice to develop an appropriate instrument that can clearly exhibit a NOS view of Vietnamese. They may include: time for the survey; length, content, type, and terms of the questionnaire; Vietnamese epistemology and philosophy; and some other Vietnamese social and cultural aspects. The most important reason for these considerations is that a Vietnamese view of NOS and NOS assessment possibly differs from the Western ideas due to the social and cultural impact. As a result, a Western assessment tool may become less effective in an Eastern context. The suggestions and implications in this study were derived from a prolonged investigation on Vietnamese science teacher educators and student teachers of School of Education, at Can Tho University, a State University in Mekong Delta region, Vietnam.

English

The current study aims to determine science student teachers’ cognitive structure on the concept of food chain. Qualitative research method was applied in this study. Fallacies detected in the pre-service teachers’ conceptual structures are believed to result in students’ developing misconceptions in their future classes and will adversely affect their future teaching performance. The data were collected from 48 science student teachers. A free word association test was used as a data collection instrument. The data collected were subject to content analysis. Analyzing the science student teachers’ responses to the concept of food chain on the free word association test, these responses were coded and divided into categories. Based on the categories, frequency and percentages were provided. The data collected through the study were divided into 8 categories, which were stated as follows: energy flow- producer, consumer, decomposer organisms- food chain and food pyramid relationship- ecologic factors- matters used in energy flow- terms related to vitality-deterioration in food chain- the characteristics of the population. When the words provided as answers by the science student teachers to the concept of food chain were analyzed, it was noticed that they had more word connections with energy flow and in terms of the elements that compose food chain. Moreover, it was determined that they had some misconceptions about food chain. Similar research can be conducted with different student groups and for the correction of alternative concepts related to the concept of food chain, Extra biology courses should be included in undergraduate curriculums.    Key words: Food chain, free word association test, misconception, cognitive structure.

Student Science Teachers’ Ideas of the Digestive System

The aim of this research is to reveal the levels of understanding of student science teachers regarding the digestive system. In this research, 116 student science teachers were tested by applying the drawing method. Upon the analysis of the drawings they made, it was found that some of them had misconceptions such as ‘the organs of the digestive system have no relationships with each other’ and ‘it is an open-ended structure by which oral nutrients arrive at the stomach’. Additionally, it was concluded that some of them had insufficient knowledge. The importance of the findings was analysed in detail in the light of literature information. Suggestions for how to eliminate these problems were provided.

Domains of Science Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Primary Student Teachers’ Practice Experiences

This study aims to describe how science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is reflected in the learning experiences of future primary teachers. Questionnaires and focus groups were used and data analysed by domains of PCK - orientation to teaching science, pupils’ thinking about science, instructional strategies for science, the science curriculum and assessment of pupils’ science learning. Most experiences related to general aspects of teaching and learning and less with science-specific factors. The result that some PCK domains are half or less significant could reveal why primary science student teachers do not meet some expectations of supervisors, teachers and pupils.

“Because they want to teach you about their culture”: Analyzing effective mentoring conversations between culturally responsible mentors and secondary science teachers of indigenous students in mainstream schools

Te Kotahitanga is an educational reform project in Aotearoa/New Zealand demonstrated to have significantly impacted the participation, achievement, and retention of indigenous Māori students in secondary schools. In this paper, I share results from a study of culturally responsible mentoring at 4 different schools participating in the Te Kotahitanga reform project. Specifically, I investigated how Te Kotahitanga facilitators (i.e., site-based mentors/instructional coaches) engage novice and experienced science teachers in reflective conversations around culturally sustaining science instruction for indigenous students. I identify four key themes from these mentoring conversations that can serve as a useful framework for culturally responsible mentoring in science. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 1325–1361, 2015.

Crossing the Border: Science Student Teachers Using Role-play in Grade 7

Drama is used to build knowledge and understanding in science as part of a socio-linguistic, constructivist approach. Role-plays, where learners act as analogues for components and processes, help access abstract ideas. However, a problem restricting many science teachers using these approaches has been that they lack sufficient pedagogical knowledge of drama. Our question was, therefore, to what extent do student teachers who are science majors make the necessary ‘pedagogical border crossings’ from drama into their personal pedagogies for science? We observed and recorded the lessons of six volunteers who taught science using drama in grade 7. Our analysis of lesson features that are critical for successful outcomes, based on an adapted version of Tripp's critical incident method, and student teacher interviews show that role-plays can be powerful border-crossing objects between science and the arts. Findings show that some development is needed to link learners’ actions to concepts and provide more suitable analogues and sufficient learner autonomy. We see drama as an important tool in science teaching and suggest conditions necessary for the initial training of science teachers that could make them better users of drama as role-play to teach science.

Attrition of Pre-service student science teachers under the Virtual, Open and Distance Learning mode at Bindura University of Science Education in Zimbabwe

Student science teacher attrition under VODL has been a critical concern in the field of education for many years. Student teacher attrition is another term used for student teacher turnover, which are changes in student teachers’ status from Semester to Semester. Student Teacher turnover may include Student teachers leaving the course, or Student teachers leaving the university. This study sought to find out the major reasons for student teachers’ attrition under the VODL mode of delivery at BUSE through a survey gathering the perspectives of the students who have dropped out of this mode of teaching and learning. The collected data is analysed through the IBM SPSS v. 19. Situational factors are indicated in this study as the major reasons for student attrition under VODL. There is no correlation between the cited reasons for attrition to gender, age or program of study. It is recommended that any intervention mechanisms should put lecturers in the forefront as they are perceived by the former students as the most significant others.

THE RELATION BETWEEN SCIENCE STUDENT TEACHERS’ EDUCATIONAL USE OF WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR COMPUTER SELF-EFFICACY

The rapid increase in the use of Web 2.0 technologies has led to changes in school curricula because they are a powerful tool for developing innovative ways of teaching and learning. These technologies have also changed how teacher education programmes prepare pre-service teachers. Thus, as a predictor, pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy is important for the development of their computer skills. A descriptive research design was employed. The data were collected using a Web 2.0 technologies educational usage scale and a computer-related self-efficacy perception scale. The sample of the study involved 146 (F: 70, M: 76) student teachers in a teacher education course at Ziya Gökalp Education Faculty of Dicle University during the 2011-2012 academic year. The data were analysed using means, t-tests, and one-way ANOVAs. The study revealed that student teachers used Facebook the most frequently to communicate, access class material, hold discussions and form academic groups. Student teachers with Internet access at home used Web2.0 technologies more frequently than those without Internet access at home. The frequent use of Web 2.0 by student teachers provides teachers with the possibility for more student-centred learning activities in the classroom. Key words: science student teachers, teacher education, Web 2.0 technologies.