Children's concepts: Tools for transforming science teachers' knowledge
✍ Scribed by M. Gail Jones; Glenda Carter; Melissa J. Rua
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 130 KB
- Volume
- 83
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0097-0352
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This study examined the roles that students' science concepts play in promoting teachers' professional growth. Two cohorts of teachers (N ϭ 26 and 30) participated in the study as part of a constructivist-based graduate course on elementary and middle school science methods. A modified learning cycle was used during course instruction as a framework for teachers to explore sound, light, and electricity. Data on teachers' pedagogical and conceptual growth was obtained from pre-and postconcept maps, journal reflections, and portfolios. Results of the concept map analysis showed that teachers' maps became more integrated and cohesive as seen in the increase of crosslinks, hierarchies, and relationships drawn for each science topic. The journals and portfolios showed that students' science knowledge served as discrepant events that evoked teachers' dissatisfaction with their own content knowledge and motivated them to reconsider their pedagogical practices. Students' concepts also served as change agents, resulting in changes in teachers' views of their roles and instructional behaviors.