Learning to teach science: Personal epistemologies, teaching goals, and practices of teaching
ARTICLE
Nam-Hwa Kang
TATE Volume 24, Number 2, ISSN 0742-051X Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to understand what personal epistemologies and science teaching goals preservice secondary science teachers of a teacher education program in the USA bring with them to their learning to teach and how they translate such beliefs into actions. A set of essay questions, developed through a pilot study, was used to identify preservice teachers’ personal epistemologies and teaching goals at the beginning of science methods instruction. Classroom observation reports, video recorded teaching episodes, lesson plans and self-video reflections were collected to identify connections between their epistemologies, teaching goals, and practice of teaching. Relational and ontological dimensions of epistemological beliefs were found to be useful for understanding preservice teachers’ personal epistemologies and teaching practices. The data suggests that the participants’ espoused teaching goals were relevant to their personal epistemologies when differentiating naïve personal epistemologies from the sophisticated, and their emerging teaching practices demonstrated shifts in personal epistemologies and potential for further development in teaching practices. Findings indicate sources of how teaching practices are shaped. Implications for teacher education include needs for addressing ways to deal with teaching constraints for constructivist teaching approaches, collaboration with content course instructors, critical reflection on field experience, and developing induction programs that support continuing development of emerging teaching practices.
Citation
Kang, N.H. (2008). Learning to teach science: Personal epistemologies, teaching goals, and practices of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 24(2), 478-498. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved March 19, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/76097/.
This record was imported from Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies on January 29, 2019. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies is a publication of Elsevier.
Full text is availabe on Science Direct: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.002Keywords
- Beliefs
- Constructivism (Learning)
- Educational Objectives
- educational technology
- Epistemology
- Methods Courses
- Preservice Teacher
- preservice teacher education
- preservice teachers
- PRIOR LEARNING
- Protocol Materials
- science
- Science Instruction
- Science teacher education
- science teachers
- Secondary School Teachers
- teacher attitudes
- Teaching goal
- teaching methods