Leslie Bradbury

Mentor Advice Giving in an Alternative Certification Program for Secondary Science Teaching: Opportunities and Roadblocks in Developing a Knowledge Base for Teaching

Mentoring is often an important component of alternative certification programs, yet little is known about what novices learn about science teaching through mentoring relationships. This study investigated the advice given by two mentor science teachers to their protégés. Findings indicate that mentors gave more advice related to general pedagogical knowledge than science-specific pedagogical content knowledge. Specifically, there was little to no advice related to the topics of inquiry, the nature of science, or the development of scientific literacy. Implications call for an increase in communication between university teacher education programs and school-based mentors, the development of benchmarks to help guide mentor–protégé interactions, and the importance of a multiyear induction process.

Conceptions of Science Teacher Mentoring and Mentoring Practice in an Alternative Certification Program

Conceptions of mentoring held by six mentors and six beginning science teachers in an alternative certification program were explored qualitatively by means of case studies and phenomenography. Interviews with the six mentors and six beginning teachers produced 379 statements that were grouped into six conceptual categories. The categories of apprenticeship, personal support, and colearning revealed the variation in how mentors and beginning teachers conceptualized school-based mentoring. The conceptions functioned as referents for their mentoring practice. Mentoring as apprenticeship was the dominant conception among both the beginning teachers and mentors. The findings of this study imply that conceptions of mentoring held by mentors and beginning science teachers should be considered when organizing the school-based component of alternative certification programs.

Integrating Service-Learning Pedagogy for Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Science Identity Development

The purpose of this article is to explore how preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) interpreted their service-learning experiences within a pre-methods environmentally focused course and how their interpretations shaped their science teaching identities. Along a continuum of service-learning experiences were events that emphasized science learning, that focused on science teaching, and that were transitional, with elements of both science learning and science teaching. These various service-learning experiences were designed to be “boundary experiences” for professional identity development (Geijsel & Meijers in Educational Studies, 3(4), 419–430, 2005), providing opportunities for PSETs to reflect on meanings in cultural contexts and how they are related to their own personal meanings. We analyzed written reflections and end-of-course oral reflection interviews from 42 PSETs on their various service-learning experiences. PSETs discussed themes related to the meanings they made of the service-learning experiences: (a) experiencing science in relation to their lives as humans and future teachers, (b) interacting with elementary students and other PSETs, and (c) making an impact in the physical environment and in the community. The connections that PSETs were making between the discursive spaces (service-learning contexts) and their own meaning-making of these experiences (as connected to their own interests in relation to their future professions and daily lives) shows evidence of the potential that various types of science service-learning experiences have for PSETs in developing inbound science teaching identity trajectories (Wenger in Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). The findings of this study point to positive outcomes for PSETs when they participate in structured service-learning experiences along a learning to teaching continuum (246).

The Capture: Kidnapping Students’ Interests Using the Guardians of Ga’Hoole

ABSTRACT This project describes a fourth-grade unit that integrated science and language arts using the book The Capture as a focal point. During the unit, students engaged in science activities and language arts lessons that focused on owls. Students conducted investigations that helped them develop a deeper understanding of the adaptations of several owl species. Additionally, the fourth-graders developed their language arts skills for conducting research, using figurative language, and presenting information. Examples of helpful resources and student work are included.

The pedagogical potential of drawing and writing in a primary science multimodal unit

ABSTRACT In consideration of the potential of drawing and writing as assessment and learning tools, we explored how early primary students used these modes to communicate their science understandings. The context for this study was a curricular unit that incorporated multiple modes of representation in both the presentation of information and production of student understanding with a focus on the structure and function of carnivorous plants (CPs). Two science teacher educators and two first-grade teachers in the United States co-planned and co-taught a multimodal science unit on CP structure and function that included multiple representations of Venus flytraps (VFTs): physical specimens, photographs, videos, text, and discussions. Pre- and post-assessment student drawings and writings were statistically compared to note significant changes, and pre- and post-assessment writings were qualitatively analysed to note themes in student ideas. Results indicate that students increased their knowledge of VFT structure and function and synthesised information from multiple modes. While students included more structures of the VFT in their drawings, they were better able to describe the functions of structures in their writings. These results suggest the benefits for student learning and assessment of having early primary students represent their science understandings in multiple modes.

Mentoring in Support of Reform-Based Science Teaching

In this review of research on science teacher mentoring, we discuss mentoring in elementary and secondary schools and its influence on science teachers and their practice. Next, we overview what is known about the professional learning that prepares mentors to support the work of science teachers and ways in which mentoring is able to facilitate science education reform. We conclude the chapter with suggestions for future research on science teacher mentoring that are likely to promote a culture of reform-based science teaching and learning.

Gaining a New Perspective: Co-teaching with Elementary Preservice Teachers

By teaching inquiry-based lessons alongside preservice teachers in elementary classrooms, Leslie Bradbury learned more about the realities of the elementary grade teaching context. To facilitate this process she worked with students to prepare lessons, peer-teach them in the methods class, and co-teach them in elementary school classrooms. Preservice teachers participating in the experience appreciated the ideas that they shared while working with others, the insights that they gained from peer teaching, and the realizations that they came to about preparation. Dr. Bradbury increased her understanding of the developmental level of elementary students, the importance of modeling higher-level questioning, and new uses of instructional technology.