STEM Career Changers’ Transformation into Science Teachers

Where’s the Science? Exploring a New Science Teacher Educator’s Theoretical and Practical Understandings of Scientific Inquiry

“…Image of self as teacher may also play a role in terms of how one perceives their fit in a career. One study (Snyder et al;, spoke of those transitioning from STEM to teaching careers and how they needed to view this process as a social rebirth rather than social death. In addition, Newberry (2014) mentioned how being resistant to identify as part of a new profession, may delay not only the merging of past and present identities, but also a sense of belonging to that profession.…”

Transformation of Professional Identities From Scientist to Teacher in a Short-Track Science Teacher Education Program

“…Students, especially early on in their education, want well-defined methods of teaching, experience university courses as disconnected, and perceive a gap between theory and practice (Bullough & Gitlin, 2001;Korthagen, 2001;Loughran, 2006). We also recognize expressions of both frustration and confidence from career changers in the studies of Snyder et al (2013) and Williams (2010).…”

“…For individuals who already have a professional career in science, involvement in teacher education represents a transformation from one professional identity to another. As shown by Snyder, Oliveira, and Paska (2013), such a transformation is not a smooth process because it involves inter alia "tensions and rewards of becoming a novice student teacher after being a successful 'expert' in a previous career" (Williams, 2010, p. 639). Snyder et al showed how building a teacher identity involves the development of knowledge and skills but also concerns feelings of disorientation, questions of confidence and meaning, and changed perceptions of social roles.…”

“…Course content does not relate to science or science teaching but presents unfamiliar theoretical perspectives in strong contrast to a (natural) scientist's way of doing and understanding science. Thus, in this context the student teachers' backgrounds as experienced experts are not valued, and the students are reduced to novices in an unfamiliar terrain of teaching, as recognized also in the studies by Williams (2010) and Snyder et al (2013). We understand the rejection phase as a form of defense mechanism (cf.…”

Value and Opportunity for Improvement Science in Evaluation

“…Healthcare and education professionals have a culture of autonomy that can be skeptical of shared learning processes. For practitioners and for evaluators, identity transformation is a dynamic process, which requires critical reflection and can trigger anxiety, apprehension, and unease (Snyder, Oliveira, & Paska, ). Because this work is highly collaborative, it requires facilitative and management skills (such as flexibility and communication) that take time to develop (Schwandt, ).…”