Providing a Set of Research-Based Practices to Support Preservice Teachers’ Long-Term Professional Development as Learners of Science Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this research was twofold. The first was to investigate the development of preservice teachers’ knowledge base for science teaching on the rate of reaction topic within the 14‐week content representation (CoRe)‐based mentoring‐enriched practicum course. In this course, CoRe design was used as a form of lesson planning and intensive educative mentoring was provided by teaching assistants. The second purpose was to identify which aspects of the practicum course contributed to preservice teachers’ development. Three preservice chemistry teachers voluntarily participated in the study. Qualitative data sources included CoRe, semistructured interviews, and reflection papers. Both inductive and deductive analyses were applied by triangulating findings from multiple data sources. Results revealed that at the end of the practicum, participants were able to successfully link content with teaching to promote student learning. Their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) developed with its all components coherently integrated with each other. They also started to view the PCK construct as professional pedagogical knowledge. Educative mentoring with the use of an explicit and shared PCK language supported by CoRes, teaching experiences, and the observation of peers were reported as the most valuable aspects in stimulating teacher development. Implications for teachers’ professional growth and research are discussed.

Learning Science Teaching by Taking Advantages of Lesson Study: An Effective Form of Professional Development

“…Another finding of the present study was that pre-service teachers' science teaching orientations shaped up their knowledge of instructional strategy and assessment. This is an evidence that science teaching orientations influence other knowledge components of PCK, which is also supported by research studies (Park & Oliver, 2008;Aydın et al, 2013;Magnusson et al, 1999).…”

“…Specifically, pre-CoRe is the first group task to be prepared before the first research lesson, mid-CoRe is the second one to be prepared before the second research lesson, and post-CoRe is the last one to be prepared before the third research lesson (Figure 1). The revised version of Core (Aydın et al, 2013) was slightly modified by excluding the last prompt (i.e., what materials/equipment are needed to teach the lesson?) and by including "prerequisite knowledge" in the fourth prompt to make an adjustment to the framed model of PCK (Table 1).…”

The Impact of the 5E Teaching Model on Changes in Neuroscience, Drug Addiction, and Research Methods Knowledge of Science Teachers Attending California’s ARISE Professional Development Workshops

“…The literature suggests that teachers make uneven gains in their knowledge base during training, improving in one aspect of teaching more easily than others (Henze et al, 2009;Aydin et al, 2013). The lack of teacher knowledge on how to conduct simple classroom experiments was an interesting finding in this study and is a subject that needs more exploration.…”

“…The literature suggests that the foundation of good science pedagogy is a deep understanding of science content (Aydin et al, 2013). This study examined how science teachers' knowledge of Neuroscience and Drug Addiction, and Research Methods changed through their participation in a 5-day ARISE Institute.…”

Developing Preservice Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge using Cores-Based Activity

“…Teachers with adequate PCK can employ effective instructions to deliver content knowledge in a way to enhance students' meaningful learning. Teachers develop their professional knowledge of teaching from their teaching experiences over time, while novice teachers and preservice teachers might struggle with their limited teaching experience and need support to develop their teaching practices (Aydin et al, 2013;Hume & Berry, 2013). Five-year teacher education programs in Thailand, preservice teachers are required to experience in teaching for one academic year in school, so they need to possessing adequate teacher professional knowledge and developing their teaching practices for a short time.…”