Brian Ferry

Science Centers in Australia Provide Valuable Training for Preservice Teachers

This paper describes an innovation in teacher education designed to increase the confidence of preservice teachers in their ability to instruct elementary children in hands-on science. The program relied on small group teaching experiences at an on-campus interactive science center to provide preservice teachers with controlled instructional experiences. The findings showed that the program at the science center achieved its aims and benefitted the preservice teachers involved. Interview data suggest that working in peer groups was also a significant factor and supports previous research conducted at the San Francisco Exploratorium. Follow-up research is now needed to determine if supportive peer groups of preservice teachers are needed in order to achieve desirable outcomes.

Science Centers and Outdoor Education Centers Provide Valuable Experience for Pre-service Teachers.

ConclusionIt is recognised that data from self-reporting and interviews alone cannot be regarded as conclusive, and that the findings have to be treated with some degree of caution. Nevertheless, it appears that the experiences of pre-service teachers led to an increased desire to instruct children in hands-on science. The findings from the science center support the conclusions of Diamond et al (1987) who suggested that relatively short-term programs at science centers, may be successful in stimulating self-confidence, communication abilities and interest in science. The self-reports and the interview data also suggest that it is likely that these gains will transfer to the classroom.It is vital that teacher educators continually make use of new strategies that help trainee teachers to become more competent and enthusiastic teachers of science. This innovation is one example that had significant outcomes for the pre-service teachers involved, and follow-up studies planned for 1994 should indicate if the outcomes were sustained.

Probing personal knowledge: The use of a computer-based tool to help preservice teachers map subject matter knowledge

This paper reports on the use of a HyperCardTM-based tool to create and modify concept maps about science related subject matter. The tool was trialed with seventy-one preservice teachers who were planning to teach a science topic to a primary school class. Data gathered from interviews, journals and analysis of concept maps indicated that the concept mapping tool was easy to use because it generated little cognitive load and quickly became transparent to the users. This allowed preservice teachers to focus their attention upon the construction of their maps and to organise their cognitive frameworks into more powerful integrated patterns. It was also found that the process of concept map construction may enhance preservice teacher thinking about effective teaching.

Developing on-line tools to support learners in problem-solving activities

In recent years, research has focused on understanding how learners can benefit from tools that can assist in the development of informal reasoning skills when constructing arguments in collaborative learning with web-based learning environments. A common approach taken by each of these systems is to use support mechanisms (scaffolding) to facilitate student learning through the development of improved reasoning and argumentation skills. The authors of this paper have been developing computer-based learning environments for the past ten years, and have developed several award winning CD-ROM packages that feature a range of cognitive tools designed to assist learning. The development of these products has provided a rich source of information about learner use of cognitive tools. Our research has shown that two recurring issues keep emerging: 1. There is a need to develop generic cognitive tools that assist learners to understand and solve problems that relate to different knowledge domains. 2. There is a need to help learners to analyse and structure information gathered, when they use cognitive tools. This paper reports on the outcomes of a study into the reasoning and argumentation skills of pre-service education students engaged in problem solving within a computer-based learning environment. The implications for the design of a support framework to assist in this process will also be discussed.

Creating opportunities for preservice and classroom teachers to experience constructivist learning in science: A collaborative project in Australia

Preservice and practicing teachers in many countries of the world were taught science by instructors who employed a transmission model of learning that presented science as set of verifiable facts to transmitted by the teacher to the learner (Anderson & Mitchener, 1994; DEET, 1989). As a result they have little, if any, personal experience with constructivist instructional methods. This study reports on an innovation that allowed preservice and classroom teachers to have personal experience with a constructivist approach to learning science. It was anticipated that such an approach would help them to become more efficient learners and instructors of science (Fostnot, 1989; Novak, 1988).

Applying synchronous methods during the development of an online classroom‐based simulation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the impact of an online simulation that was designed to provide pre‐service teachers with experience in dealing with complex classroom situations associated with the teaching of literacy.Design/methodology/approach – A developmental approach to the research was used. This is also known as “design research” “design experiment” or “formative research” and involved four phases: analysis of the practical problem; development of solutions within a theoretical framework; evaluation and testing of solutions; documentation and reflection to produce “design principles”.Findings – Trials were conducted with five iterations of this software. The findings reveal that the online simulation provides pre‐service teachers with time to think critically about complex classroom situations which rely on the teachers ability to respond to childrens experiences, engage with them in meaningful dialogue and negotiation as well as utilise a range of indirect instructions such as ...

Using on-line discussion to develop preservice teacher understanding of classroom management

This paper describes how a knowledge building community (KBC) of preservice teachers used an on-line discussion forum to develop knowledge about the role of the teacher in modern schools. It traces their initial use of the technology and follows the evolution of its use over a three-year period describing the role of the students and university lecturers in facilitating discussion. The paper then focuses on how members of the KBC used an on-line discussion forum to reflect on and share learning experiences as they developed classroom management strategies.

Strategies of Teachers as Users of Interactive Multimedia.

This study reports the results of an evaluation study of a training process that provided teachers with information about how to use an interactive multimedia package for classroom instruction The ways in which the teachers accessed relevant printed text and hypertext information were mapped and analysed. Search patterns for each information source were tentatively classified into two cognitive strategies labelled as ‘sequential search strategies’ and ‘goal-oriented search strategies’. It was found that the ‘sequential search strategies’ broke down in the non-sequential hypertext environment and users had to be supported by conceptual maps to ensure meaningful outcomes.