Felicia Moore Mensah

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Development of Self-Efficacy and Confidence to Teach Science: A Case Study.

This study examines the self-efficacy of one preservice elementary school teacher (Kasey) during and after her participation in Science in Childhood Education—a 16-week, elementary preservice science methods course. The case study of this teacher is situated in the context of the class as a whole. This is accomplished through interviewing the one teacher and examining artifacts and observations of the entire class. The results of these experiences are studied to determine what changes have taken place in the participants’ self-efficacy in science teaching as well as the one preservice teacher in greater detail. Because self efficacy is influential to student learning, the results of this study have significant implications for the design of elementary teacher education programs and the support of elementary teachers in teaching science.

Theoretically and Practically Speaking, What Is Needed in Diversity and Equity in Science Teaching and Learning?.

This article discusses how issues of diversity and equity are addressed in the preparation of science teachers who are charged with teaching diverse students in schools. Highlighting examples from my own teaching and research and other studies in education, I frame this article in terms of a broad application of theory in science teacher preparation to classroom practices in order to address science achievement and equity for diverse students. I also discuss the relevance of my argument for in-service professional development.

Positional Identity as a lens for Connecting Elementary Preservice Teachers to Teaching in Urban Classrooms

Using qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, this study explores positional identity as a lens for understanding elementary preservice teachers’ discourse around identity and science teaching. The three preservice teachers in the study were enrolled in a 16-week science methods course. At the conclusion of the course, they agreed to participate in this study to explore early understandings of positional identity and science teaching. The findings suggest that positional identity is a useful lens for understanding the complex ways in which preservice teachers discuss who they are, and how they view self and teaching.

Retrospective Accounts in the Formation of an Agenda for Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice for Science Education

As a science educator, I promote a social justice agenda grounded in multiple theoretical perspectives, centered on the teaching and learning of science in urban classrooms. In this chapter, I articulate a vision for the preparation of teachers in science and address fundamental issues in preparing teachers for diverse urban classrooms. I also express this vision for the work of the NARST organization. As an organization, our individual and collective work must underscore broader social, political, economical, institutional, and cultural issues across various strands of research and teaching toward educating all students and supporting our cooperative work as science educators.

The Influence of Cultural Factors on HIV/AIDS Education in Ivorian Schools.

This qualitative study focuses on culturally embedded beliefs about the teaching and learning of HIV/AIDS topics in the Ivory Coast. We aim to analyze and describe factors influencing the implementation of the HIV/AIDS curricula in Ivorian sixth-grade classrooms. With continuous spreading of AIDS in the Ivory Coast, education about HIV/AIDS has to increase; therefore, an urgent need to document, evaluate, and disseminate Ivorian perspectives on what is understood as valuable HIV/AIDS knowledge to prioritize such content in the curriculum is needed. Multiple qualitative methods were collected: individual interviews with 39 teachers, 63 sixth-grade students, eight school administrators, 20 community elders as well as field notes, and document analysis. By promoting HIV/AIDS curricula that is responsive to and inclusive of youth cultural beliefs and aligning teaching practice to Ivorian youth cultural interests, there is a chance that HIV/AIDS education could lead to safer sexual behaviors among Ivorian youth.

NARST Equity and Ethics Committee: Mentoring Scholars of Color in the Organization and in the Academy

In this chapter, we consider the particular needs of scholars of color in the academy from a variety of standpoints. Recognizing that labels such as marginalized, underrepresented, minority, diverse, and scholars of color can be problematic, we hope to push on the ways the “problem” of underrepresentation gets framed, the challenges and possibilities scholars of color navigate, and how organizations like NARST can work to support the career trajectories of scholars of color in the academy. We describe our work as members of the NARST Equity and Ethics Committee to develop the preconference workshop. We discuss what we have tried, what some of the challenges have been, how the work contributes to building a community of scholars, and implications for future work.

Metalogue: Critical Issues in Teaching Socio-scientific Issues

Brotman: Despite numerous links to complex SSI, the topic of reproduction has not been a frequent focus of SSI research. This chapter vividly illustrates the potential for topics related to reproduction to engage students in the kind of thinking promoted by the SSI movement. It was refreshing to see that students responded positively to the reproduction unit, and that it prompted them to become more aware of their own and others’ beliefs, to more deeply understand these issues, to see these issues as personally relevant, and to reflect upon the interplay between science, society, and ethics. I would like to further explore the question of what aspects of this reproduction unit made it largely successful, as well as what recommendations for improving the unit the author and others might suggest. More specifically, I would like to raise questions about two aspects of the curriculum: the learning activities and the approach of the teacher.

Who Do I Look Like? Diversity in Self, Family, and Others

ABSTRACT In this introductory, hands-on, multicultural genetics lesson for elementary students, the author describes an activity used to engage learners in understanding diversity in self, family, and others. Students make connections between traits within their family and learn a few basic concepts about inheritance. At the end of the lesson, the author provides extension activities for interdisciplinary connections.

The Content-Language Tension for English Language Learners in Two Secondary Science Classrooms

Investigating the use of native languages (L1) in secondary science remains an unaddressed need in global scientific literacy. While past research in this area has largely focused on primary school students, more clarity is needed on the role of secondary school students’ L1 use in the classroom as the language of science becomes more specialized at a higher level. This chapter details two studies investigating L1 use in secondary science classrooms in New York and Singapore. The study employs qualitative and quantitative methods, including surveys, interviews, observation, and audio recording of student discourse. We find that the L1 can be used for learning scientific content, but is seen by some students as a hindrance to the acquisition of the majority language. This is seen when comparing in-class native language use and data from surveys and interviews. We propose that this reflects a content-language tension that exists in many linguistically diverse science classrooms. This tension highlights competing goals of content learning and acquisition of the majority language. We conclude with a discussion of implications for addressing scientific literacy on a global scale.

Drawings as Identity Data in Elementary Science Teacher Education

Gaining insight and understanding of identity through drawings in science teacher education began with looking at pre and post drawings of the ideal elementary science teacher in the development of the DESTIN, or “Drawing-the-Elementary-Science-Teacher- Ideal Not” procedure (Mensah, 2011). From those drawings, meaning was made about elementary preservice teachers’ past experiences in science education. In so many ways the images revealed stereotypes of science and science teachers, and the images of such were carried into their teacher education program.