Learning to teach primary science through problem-based learning

Abstract

A problem‐based learning framework, which focused on developing preservice teachers' knowledge base for teaching and pedagogical reasoning ability, was developed for an undergraduate preservice science teacher education unit. Only three knowledge base components were considered in the design of the PBL problem scenario, namely science content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, and knowledge of the learner. The pedagogical reasoning model used in this study was based on six aspects: comprehension, transformation, instruction, evaluation, reflection, and new comprehension. The problem was designed so that preservice teachers were required to develop and apply their knowledge, through the use of a pedagogical reasoning process, to a typical primary classroom teaching situation. To ensure all six components of the pedagogical reasoning process could be considered, a peer teaching activity related to the problem was included as part of the unit. The PBL approach was trialed in a second‐year preservice science education subject, which was part of a 3‐year bachelor of teaching program. Participants worked in small groups (three or four) on the problem over a 6‐week period. A case study approach was used to evaluate the knowledge base and pedagogical reasoning components considered by two randomly selected participants in this study. Each preservice teacher considered and developed their knowledge base and pedagogical reasoning in areas that were relevant to their current understanding of primary teaching and student learning. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed. 82:215–237, 1998.

Shaping self‐regulation in science teachers' professional growth: Inquiry skills

“…This finding is important in light of preservice teachers' difficulties in transforming meaningful understanding of subject matter into their planning for instruction and ultimately into teaching (e.g., Parkison, 2009). In this regard, Peterson and Treagust (1998) argued that preservice teachers should not only “develop their knowledge base for teaching, which extends beyond just a knowledge of the subject matter, but they also need to begin developing the ability to make reasoned decisions when using this knowledge and applying it to a teaching situation” (p. 217). This implies that preservice teachers require experiences using various methods to develop the capacity to alternate between and to self‐regulate the declarative, procedural, and conditional aspects of PCK.…”

Probleme Dayalı FeTeMM Uygulamalarının Akademik Başarıya Etkisi

“…In the Science Course Education Program vision, while teachers assume encouraging and guiding roles within the process of learning and teaching, students are responsible from their own learning and assume roles which involve researching source of information, inquiring, explaining, discussing them and turning these into products. In the acquisition of these skills and teaching science subjects, the effectiveness of problem based learning (PBL) has been shown in numerous studies (Çakır and Tekkaya, 1999;Harland, 2002;Kaptan and Korkmaz, 2001;Kaptan and Korkmaz, 2002;Mayer, 2002;Perrenet, Bouhuijs and Smits, 2002;Peterson and Treagust, 1998;Siegel and Lee, 2001;Sifoğlu, 2007;Taşkesenligil and Şenocak, 2005;Teo and Wong, 2000).…”

A Dynamic Food Science Internship Program: Integration of Problem‐Based Learning and Student‐Centered Mentoring

“…Each internship experience was centered around a problem. The PBL scenario was carefully defined in collaboration with an advisor based on 3 knowledge base components: subject matter (science content) knowledge, knowledge of learner (self), and knowledge of educational purposes and values (Peterson and Treagust 1998). Bearing the problem in mind, the students were then asked to actively seek opportunities in the related areas.…”

“…According to the Fourth Principle of the AAHE's Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning, "assessment requires attention to outcomes but also equally to the experiences that lead to those outcomes" (Walvoord and Anderson 1998). Although demonstration of the effectiveness of this internship program suffers from the same methodological limitations of any student outcome studies, we have included the outcome variables of (1) specific skills acquired and (2) knowledge and utilization of activities involved throughout the program using a case study approach (Peterson and Treagust 1998). The students who have completed the internship are first polled to determine how enjoyable and how worthwhile the individual activities have been for them ( Table 5).…”

“…This statement is particularly critical for food science education as new technologies emerge. One approach that enables students to utilize their knowledge and to develop their reasoning skills within a discipline area is problem-based learning (PBL) (Peterson and Treagust 1998). The key principle of PBL is that the problem is encountered first by the students, and the learning that takes place is in response to the students' attempts in resolving the problem.…”