Preservice Early Childhood Teachers' Sense of Efficacy for Integrating Mathematics and Science: Impact of a Methods Course

Sources of Preservice Early Childhood Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs About Teaching Science: A Phenomenological Study

“…The results demonstrated that mastery experiences had more positive and negative impacts of experiences as a sources of preservice teachers' science teaching self efficacy beliefs. Related with mastery experiences, this finding resonates with other work that states preservice teachers' science method courses and previous science activities or experiences have important and lasting impacts on their beliefs (Avery & Meyer, 2012;Kırık, 2013;Mulholland et al, 2004;Saçkes et al, 2012;Watters & Ginns, 2000). Similarly, findings of the current study also suggest the importance of science method courses and previous science experiences.…”

Towards an understanding of early childhood mathematics education: A systematic review of the literature focusing on practicing and prospective teachers

“…In addition, these prospective teachers recognized how the course changed their understandings of their personal mathematical subjectivity—in other words, what it means to be a “maths-person.” Through using a pair-dialogue approach to instruction, Tsamir et al (2014) noted a positive change in practicing teachers’ self-efficacy related to students’ knowledge, which seemed to diminish the negative correlation between self-efficacy for teaching and student knowledge present at the beginning of the professional development. Moreover, at the conclusion of a mathematics methods course, Saçkes et al (2012) noted an increase in prospective teachers’ efficacy beliefs for integrating science and mathematics, while Gresham (2007) found a decrease in prospective teachers’ mathematics anxiety.…”

Children's Competencies in Process Skills in Kindergarten and Their Impact on Academic Achievement in Third Grade

“…Moreover, despite the growing emphasis on the integration of mathematics and science in the early years (Beatty, 2005;Berlin & Lee, 2005;Saçkes, Flevares, Gonya, & Trundle, 2012;Tu, 2006), there is little effort to prepare teachers in the practice of effective integration of mathematics and science (Furner & Kumar, 2007;Isaacs, Wagreich, & Gartzman, 1997;Jones, Lake, & Dagli, 2003). Therefore, early childhood teachers devote limited time to science and mathematics instruction in early childhood classrooms (Greenfield et al, 2009;Saçkes, 2012;Saçkes et al, 2011), and they rarely attempt to integrate science and mathematics (Cady & Rearden, 2007;Douville, Pugalee, & Wallace, 2003). Limited exposure to integrated science and mathematics activities in the early years might prevent children from appreciating connections and applications that link mathematics and science concepts (Frykholm, 2005) and noticing that mathematics and science involve similar attempts to discover patterns 714 SAÇ KES and relationships and share similar cognitive processes.…”