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Preservice Teachers (preservice + teacher)
Selected AbstractsValidity Evidence of an Electronic Portfolio for Preservice TeachersEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008Yuankun Yao This study applied Messick's unified, multifaceted concept of construct validity to an electronic portfolio system used in a teacher education program. The subjects included 128 preservice teachers who recently completed their final portfolio reviews and student teaching experiences. Four of Messick's six facets of validity were investigated for the portfolio in this study, along with a discussion of the remaining facets examined in two previous studies. The evidence provided support for the substantive and generalizability aspects of validity, and limited support for the content, structural, external, and consequential aspects of validity. It was suggested that the electronic portfolio may be used as one requirement for certification purposes, but may not be valid for the purpose of assessing teacher competencies. [source] The Stability of General Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety across English and FrenchMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2003M´ximo Rodríguez The present study examined the stability of the general foreign language classroom anxiety construct across English and French. Preservice teachers from two western universities in Venezuela, who were majoring simultaneously in these two foreign languages, participated in the study. The students represented a variety of levels within each language. They completed two Spanish versions (one for each language) of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS; Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). Separate analyses were performed on the full sample and on a restricted sample that included only those students who were at the same level in both languages. The results supported the indirect findings reported by Saito, Horwitz, and Garza (1999) while providing direct evidence suggesting the stability of the construct across English and French. Evidence obtained for overall, within-institution, and within-level comparisons. Furthermore, analysis of psychometric technical aspects of the FLCAS indicated that the scale exhibited high reliability but moderate construct validity. [source] Storytelling as Pedagogy: An Unexpected Outcome of Narrative InquiryCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 2 2007CATHY COULTER ABSTRACT This study examines how the use of narrative research methods can serve as pedagogical strategies in preservice teacher education. In this study, we see the intersection of narrative inquiry and storytelling-as-pedagogy. The two often intersect, but rarely has that intersection been examined in a systematic manner. This study examines data collected as one ESL preservice teacher and one Bilingual preservice teacher were followed from their language arts methods class into student teaching and then their first year of teaching to see how they reflected on, questioned, and learned from their experiences. Incidents where narrative inquiry served as pedagogical tools were examined. Although storytelling-as-pedagogy was not a goal in this study, we found that it was an outcome of utilizing narrative inquiry as a methodology. [source] Charity Basket or Revolution: Beliefs, Experiences, and Context in Preservice Teachers' Service LearningCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 4 2000David M. Donahue Given what one observer calls the "vast disparity of definitions that faculty can bring to service learning,from what is basically the charity basket approach to the revolutionary," service learning can varytremendously, from reading to elderly residents of a nursing home to organizing a boycott of a sneaker company. With such diversity before teachers, what influences them in the way they design service learning? How do preservice teachers, for whom so many ideas about teaching are emerging, make such choices? Two case studies suggest that preservice teachers' beliefs, experiences, and the context where they teach play an important role related to if and how they use service learning. Beliefs and experiences are especially important because, although service learning is often presented as supporting apolitical values,empowerment and responsibility, for example,for which broad consensus exists, such values are also ambiguous and open to interpretation. Teacher educators and advocates of service learning need to acknowledge the ambiguous political nature of service and service learning. By doing so, they have an opportunity to make the political context of teaching explicit for preservice teachers. Such education in service learning for new teachers goes beyond "training" in the logistical and technical details of implementing a new pedagogy to thoughtful reflection on the value-laden act of teaching. [source] Validity Evidence of an Electronic Portfolio for Preservice TeachersEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2008Yuankun Yao This study applied Messick's unified, multifaceted concept of construct validity to an electronic portfolio system used in a teacher education program. The subjects included 128 preservice teachers who recently completed their final portfolio reviews and student teaching experiences. Four of Messick's six facets of validity were investigated for the portfolio in this study, along with a discussion of the remaining facets examined in two previous studies. The evidence provided support for the substantive and generalizability aspects of validity, and limited support for the content, structural, external, and consequential aspects of validity. It was suggested that the electronic portfolio may be used as one requirement for certification purposes, but may not be valid for the purpose of assessing teacher competencies. [source] Theory Meets Practice: A Case Study of Preservice World Language Teachers in U.S. Secondary SchoolsFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 1 2006Article first published online: 31 DEC 200, Brigid M. Burke This case study looked at the transition of preservice teachers from world language education methods courses at a major U.S. university to a 5-week field experience in secondary school classrooms. Data included lesson plans and self-critiques of two lessons implemented during the field experience, world language teaching philosophies the preservice teachers wrote, e-mail correspondence between the preservice teachers and their supervisor reflecting on the field experience, a final reflection paper, and responses to an open-ended survey after completion of the field experience. Analysis of the data served to identify three teacher profiles: the communicative (CLT) teacher, the grammar-translation teacher, and the hybrid teacher (a mix of the two other profiles). The article concludes with discussion of the findings and their implications for university methods courses, field experiences, and professional development. [source] Cross-cultural Comparisons of Online CollaborationJOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 1 2002Kyong-Jee Kim This study investigated two interconnected conferences formed by students and instructors from two different cultures,Finland and the United States,to discuss case situations or problems in school observations, in order to examine cross-cultural differences in online collaborative behaviors among undergraduate preservice teachers. A conference for Korean students in the following semester was added and analyzed for more diverse cross-cultural comparisons. In terms of the first part of this study, computer log data indicated that there were more cross-cultural postings in the Finnish conference by U.S. students than Finnish visitors within the U.S. conference. In addition, student postings made up nearly 80 percent of these discussions. Qualitative content analyses of computer transcripts were conducted to compare their collaborative behaviors with the conferences. Results revealed some cross-cultural differences in the participants' online collaborative behaviors. Korean students were more social and contextually driven online, Finnish students were more group-focused as well as reflective and, at times, theoretically driven, and U.S. students more action-oriented and pragmatic in seeking results or giving solutions. The U.S. and Finnish students spent much time sharing knowledge and resources and also providing cross-cultural feedback. Findings indicate that instructors who facilitate online collaboration among multicultural students need to be aware of cultural differences in the learners' online collaborative behaviors, and such differences need to be taken into account to foster online collaboration among culturally diverse learners. Some data from post-collaboration questionnaires, student interviews, and videoconferencing further informed these findings. [source] Confronting assumptions, biases, and stereotypes in preservice teachers' conceptualizations of science teaching through the use of book clubJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 9 2009Felicia Moore Mensah Abstract This study focuses on the structure and theoretical foundations of the book club for promoting multicultural understandings in science teacher education. The book club was defined as an informal, peer-directed group discussion that met regularly to discuss an ethnographic, multicultural text regarding issues pertinent to science teaching and learning in urban classrooms. Twenty-three preservice teachers (PSTs) enrolled in a 16-week elementary science methods course at a large urban university participated in the study. From the qualitative analyses of PSTs' written reflections and researcher journal notes, five themes which emphasize Individual, Collaborative, and Collective learning are presented. These findings highlight how the book club structure and theoretical foundation fostered critical, reflective inquiry and served as a method for effecting ideological change which is needed in order to embrace issues of diversity in urban science education. Implications for science teacher education concerning the relevancy of pedagogical strategies, the use of multiple theoretical perspectives, and the book club as a strategy in teacher education and urban education are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 1041,1066, 2009 [source] Preservice elementary teachers' views of their students' prior knowledge of scienceJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 4 2008Valerie K. Otero Abstract Pre-service teachers face many challenges as they learn to teach in ways that are different from their own educational experiences. Pre-service teachers often enter teacher education courses with pre-conceptions about teaching and learning that may or may not be consistent with contemporary learning theory. To build on preservice teachers' prior knowledge, we need to identify the types of views they have when entering teacher education courses and the views they develop throughout these courses. The study reported here focuses specifically on preservice teachers' views of their own students' prior knowledge and the implications these views have on their understanding of the formative assessment process. Sixty-one preservice teachers were studied from three sections of a science methods course. Results indicate that preservice teachers exhibited a limited number of views about students' prior knowledge. These views tended to privilege either academic or experience-based concepts for different aspects of formative assessment, in contrast to contemporary perspectives on teaching for understanding. Rather than considering these views as misconceptions, it is argued that it is more useful to consider them as resources for further development of a more flexible concept of formative assessment. Four common views are discussed in detail and applied to science teacher education. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 497,523, 2008 [source] The use of a computer simulation to promote scientific conceptions of moon phasesJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 3 2008Randy L. Bell Abstract This study described the conceptual understandings of 50 early childhood (Pre-K-3) preservice teachers about standards-based lunar concepts before and after inquiry-based instruction utilizing educational technology. The instructional intervention integrated the planetarium software Starry Night BackyardÔ with instruction on moon phases from Physics by Inquiry by McDermott (1996). Data sources included drawings, interviews, and a lunar shapes card sort. Videotapes of participants' interviews were used along with the drawings and card sorting responses during data analysis. The various data were analyzed via a constant comparative method in order to produce profiles of each participant's pre- and postinstruction conceptual understandings of moon phases. Results indicated that before instruction none of the participants understood the cause of moon phases, and none were able to draw both scientific moon shapes and sequences. After the instruction with technology integration, most participants (82%) held a scientific understanding of the cause of moon phases and were able to draw scientific shapes and sequences (80%). The results of this study demonstrate that a well-designed computer simulation used within a conceptual change model of instruction can be very effective in promoting scientific understandings. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 346,372, 2008 [source] Proliferation of inscriptions and transformations among preservice science teachers engaged in authentic scienceJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 4 2007Eddie Lunsford Abstract Inscriptions are central to the practice of science. Previous studies showed, however, that preservice teachers even those with undergraduate degrees in science, generally do not spontaneously produce inscriptions that economically summarize large amounts of data. This study was designed to investigate the production of inscription while a group of 15 graduate-level preservice science teachers engaged in a 15-week course of scientific observation and guided inquiry of two organisms. The course emphasized the production of inscriptions as a way of convincingly supporting claims when the students presented their results. With continuing emphasis on inscriptional representations, we observed a significant increase in the number and type of representations made as the course unfolded. The number of concrete, text-based inscriptions decreased as the number of graphs, tables and other sorts of complex inscriptions increased. As the students moved from purely observational activities to guided inquiry, they made many more transformations of their data into complex and abstract forms, such as graphs and concept maps. The participants' competencies to cross-reference ultimate transformations to initial research questions improved slightly. Our study has implications for the traditional methods by which preservice science teachers are taught in their science classes. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 538,564, 2007. [source] One course is not enough: Preservice elementary teachers' retention of improved views of nature of scienceJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 2 2006Valarie L. Akerson This study examined the views, and the retention of these views, of 19 preservice elementary teachers as they learned about nature of science (NOS). The preservice teachers participated in a cohort group as they took a science methods course during which they received explicit reflective instruction in nature of science. Through Views of Nature of Science version B (VNOS-B) surveys and interviews it was found that most preservice teachers held inadequate ideas of nature of science prior to instruction, but improved their views after one semester of instruction in the science methods course. However, 5 months after instruction, the graduate preservice teachers were again interviewed and it was found that several of the students reverted back to their earlier views. The results are interpreted through Perry's scheme, and implications and recommendations for elementary science teacher education are made. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 194,213, 2006 [source] Preservice teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of using particle models in teaching chemistryJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 8 2005Onno De Jong In this article, we describe the results of a study of the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of preservice chemistry teachers in the context of a postgraduate teacher education program. A group of preservice teachers (n,=,12) took part in an experimental introductory course module about the use of particle models to help secondary school students understand the relationship between phenomena (e.g., properties of substances, physical and chemical processes) and corpuscular entities (e.g., atoms, molecules, ions). The module emphasized learning from teaching by connecting authentic teaching experiences with institutional workshops. Research data were obtained from answers to written assignments, transcripts of workshop discussions, and reflective lesson reports, written by the participants. The outcomes of the study revealed that, initially, all participants were able to describe specific learning difficulties, such as problems secondary school students have in relating the properties of substances to characteristics of the constituent particles. Also, at this stage, all preservice teachers acknowledged the potential importance of using models of molecules and atoms to promote secondary school students' understanding of the relationship between phenomena and corpuscular entities. After teaching, all preservice teachers demonstrated a deeper understanding of their students' problems with the use of particle models. In addition, about half of the participants had become more aware of the possibilities and limitations of using particle models in specific teaching situations. Through learning from teaching, the preservice teachers further developed their PCK of using particle models, although this development varied among preservice teachers studied. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 947,964, 2005 [source] Folk theories of "inquiry:" How preservice teachers reproduce the discourse and practices of an atheoretical scientific methodJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 5 2004Mark Windschitl Despite the ubiquity of the term "inquiry" in science education literature, little is known about how teachers conceptualize inquiry, how these conceptions are formed and reinforced, how they relate to work done by scientists, and if these ideas about inquiry are translated into classroom practice. This is a multicase study in which 14 preservice secondary science teachers developed their own empirical investigations,from formulating questions to defending results in front of peers. Findings indicate that participants shared a tacit framework of what it means to "do science" which shaped their investigations and influenced reflections on their inquiries. Some facets of the participants' shared model were congruent with authentic inquiry; however, the most consistent assumptions were misrepresentations of fundamental aspects of science: for example, that a hypothesis functions as a guess about an outcome, but is not necessarily part of a larger explanatory system; that background knowledge may be used to provide ideas about what to study, but this knowledge is not in the form of a theory or other model; and that theory is an optional tool one might use at the end of a study to help explain results. These ideas appear consistent with a "folk theory" of doing science that is promoted subtly, but pervasively, in textbooks, through the media, and by members of the science education community themselves. Finally, although all participants held degrees in science, the participants who eventually used inquiry in their own classrooms were those who had significant research experiences in careers or postsecondary study and greater science-content background. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 481,512, 2004 [source] Learning to teach science for all in the elementary grades: What do preservice teachers bring?JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 9 2002Elaine V. Howes Implicit in the goal of recent reforms is the question: What does it mean to prepare teachers to teach "science for all"? Through a teacher research study, I have encountered characteristics that may assist prospective elementary teachers in developing effective, inclusive science instruction. I describe these strengths, link them to requirements for teaching, and suggest how science teacher educators might draw on the strengths of their own students to support teaching practices aimed at universal scientific literacy. My conceptual framework is constructed from scholarship concerning best practice in elementary science education, as well as that which describes the dispositions of successful teachers of diverse learners. This study is based on a model of teacher research framed by the concept of "research as praxis" and phenomenological research methodology. The findings describe the research participants' strengths thematically as propensity for inquiry, attention to children, and awareness of school/society relationships. I view these as potentially productive aspects of knowledge and dispositions about science and about children that I could draw on to further students' development as elementary science teachers. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 845,869, 2002 [source] Preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of moon phases before and after instructionJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 7 2002Kathy Cabe Trundle This study focused on the conceptual understandings held by 78 preservice elementary teachers about moon phases, before and after instruction. Participants in the physics groups received instruction on moon phases in an inquiry-based physics course; participants in the methods group received no instruction on moon phases. The instructive effect of two different types of preinstruction interviews also was compared. The instruction on moon phases used in the study is from Physics by Inquiry by Lillian McDermott. In the study, the method of inquiry followed a qualitative design, involving classroom observations, document analysis, and structured interviews. Inductive data analysis identified patterns and themes in the participants' conceptual understanding. Results indicate that without the instruction, most preservice teachers were likely to hold alternative conceptions on the cause of moon phases. Participants who had the instruction were much more likely to hold a scientific understanding after instruction. The instruction appears to be more effective in promoting a scientific understanding of moon phases than instruction previously reported in the literature. It also appears that using a three-dimensional model or making two-dimensional drawings during the preinstruction interviews does not have instructive value. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 633,658, 2002 [source] Knowledge about Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A comparison of in-service and preservice teachersPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 5 2004Julie M. Kos Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood disorder, yet relatively little research has assessed teachers' knowledge of this disorder or how teacher characteristics affect such knowledge. There also is a dearth of research comparing in-service and preservice teachers' knowledge about ADHD. The aims of this study were (a) to investigate the relationships between various teacher characteristics and teachers' knowledge about ADHD, and (b) to compare perceived and actual ADHD knowledge across in-service and preservice primary-school teachers. Participants included 120 primary-school teachers and 45 final-year education undergraduates who were asked to complete a questionnaire. Two of the five hypotheses were supported: (a) that knowledge would be significantly correlated with experience in teaching a child with ADHD and (b) that in-service teachers would obtain higher scores than preservice teachers on the actual knowledge (about ADHD) questionnaire. Implications stemming from this research include ensuring that teachers receive more training about ADHD and greater exposure to students with ADHD in the classroom. Overall, this study highlighted that deficits in teachers' knowledge about ADHD are common for both in-service and preservice teachers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 517,526, 2004. [source] The interactive effects of personal traits and guided practices on preservice teachers' changes in personal teaching efficacyBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2006Yu-Chu Yeh Personal teaching efficacy is associated with a teacher's effectiveness in the classroom. To enhance this efficacy in a computer-simulated training program, both personal traits and guided practices need to be considered concurrently. In this study, it was hypothesised that the interactive effects from the coupling of personal traits with guided practices would be a reliable predictor of the degree of improvement in personal teaching efficacy during computer-simulated training. One hundred and seventy-eight preservice teachers completed an interactive teaching experience via the Computer Simulation for Teaching General Critical-thinking Skills in which guided practices were integrated via specially designed teaching sequences and loops. The findings suggest that intrapersonal intelligence, critical-thinking dispositions and a judicial thinking style are related to self-awareness, analytical learning and reflective thinking and that in this study, these personal qualities seemingly interacted with guided practices, which resulted in reflective teaching and mastery experience. This, in turn, may very well have brought about improvement in the preservice teachers' personal teaching efficacy during the computer-simulated teaching. [source] Teaching nature of science explicitly in a first-grade internship settingJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 4 2006Valarie L. Akerson This case study focused on a preservice teachers' (Morgan) efforts to explicitly emphasize nature of science (NOS) elements in her first-grade internship classroom. The study assessed the change in first grade students' views of the inferential, tentative, and creative NOS as a result of the explicit instruction. Morgan held appropriate views of NOS, had the intention and motivation to teach NOS, and had a supporting experience explicitly emphasizing NOS embedded in physics content to peer college students. Data sources included weekly classroom observations of explicit NOS science lessons taught by Morgan, interview of Morgan to determine that her views of NOS were informed and that she would have the NOS content knowledge to teach in line with recommended reforms, and interviews of the first-grade students pre- and postinstruction to determine the influence of Morgan's instruction on their views of observation and inference, the tentative NOS, and the creative and imaginative NOS. Data were analyzed to determine (a) the approaches Morgan used to emphasize NOS in her instruction, and (b) students' views of NOS pre- and postinstruction to track change in their views. It was found that Morgan was able to explicitly emphasize NOS using three teacher-designed methods, and that the influence on student views of the inferential, tentative, and creative NOS was positive. Implications for teacher development are provided. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 377,394, 2006 [source] | |||||||||||||