Lynn A. Bryan

Development of Professional Knowledge in Learning to Teach Elementary Science.

The purpose of this research was to understand how preservice elementary teacher experi- ences within the context of reflective science teacher education influence the development of profession- al knowledge. We conducted a case analysis to investigate one preservice teachers beliefs about science teaching and learning, identify the tensions with which she grappled in learning to teach elementary sci- ence, understand the frames from which she identified problems of practice, and discern how her experi- ences played a role in framing and reframing problems of practice. The teacher, Barbara, encountered ten- sions in thinking about science teaching and learning as a result of inconsistencies between her vision of science teaching and her practice. Confronting these tensions between ideals and realities prompted Bar- bara to rethink the connections between her classroom actions and students learning and create new per- spectives for viewing her practice. Through reframing, she was able to consider and begin implementing alternative practices more resonant with her beliefs. Barbaras case illustrates the value of understanding prospective teachers beliefs, their experiences, and the relationship between beliefs and classroom actions. Furthermore, the findings underscore the significance of offering reflective experience as professionals early in the careers of prospective teachers.

Investigating preservice elementary science teacher reflective thinking using integrated media case‐based instruction in elementary science teacher preparation

To improve the preparation of future teachers, we must come to understand their personal theories about teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate preservice elementary teachers theories about science teaching and learning through their reflections on integrated media case-based instruction, and subsequently to reflect upon and reform our own practice. Students in an elementary science methods course participated in a series of written and oral reflection tasks in response to integrated media instruction. Specifically, they responded to a videodisc case of a first grade teacher teaching a conceptual change unit about seeds and eggs. Considering their responses to the reflection tasks, we constructed a profile of these elementary preservice teachers. This profile consists of their images of themselves as future science teachers, the characteristics of their personal theories of teaching and learning, and the ways in which they frame classroom -problems. Our findings led to reforms in our methods course instruction and have implications for the preparation and continuing education of elementary science teachers.

Reconceptualizing the Elementary Science Methods Course Using a Reflection Orientation.

(1997). Reconceptualizing the Elementary Science Methods Course Using a Reflection Orientation. Journal of Science Teacher Education: Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 153-166.

Promoting Reflection among Science Student Teachers using a Web-based Video Analysis Tool

Abstract Recent efforts to design teacher education experiences using reflection as a philosophical orientation (Abell & Bryan, 1997) have shown that such experiences are influencing the way that teachers think about their practice, specifically teachers’ personal beliefs about teaching and learning. In this paper, we introduce the design and implementation of a video analysis tool that we are using to promote self-reflection and collaborative reflection in capstone courses for student teachers. Our use of this video analysis tool, VAT (VAT.uga.edu/), is based on a theoretically grounded rationale that draws on the parallels between conceptual change teaching (Posner, Strike, Hewson, & Gertzog, 1982) and coaching reflective practice. The description of our VAT implementation in student teaching courses is organized according to the three elements of the parallels between conceptual change learning and reflection in teacher development. In addition, we discuss the central role and necessity of student teachers working through tensions in thinking in the processes of learning to teach and refining one’s practices.

The Monets, Van Goghs, and Renoirs of Science Education: Writing Impressionist Tales as a Strategy for Facilitating Prospective Teachers’ Reflections on Science Experiences

A particularly useful pedagogical strategy for beginning a dialogue with prospective teachers about the ways in which their experiences and beliefs shape their development of professional knowledge is writing impressionist tales. Impressionist tales are a form of autobiography that portrays one highly personal perspective on a significant moment in time. In this pedagogical practice article, we describe our use of impressionist tales, summarize the assumptions underpinning our use of impressionist tales in science methods courses, provide several examples of our students’ tales, and discuss the pedagogical advantages and the teacher educator’s role in using impressionist tales to promote reflective thinking among prospective elementary science teachers.

Learning from Rural Mexican Schools About Commitment and Work

During the last 3 years we have made many visits to two rural Mexican primary schools. As a result of our experiences there, we believe that students sense of responsibility in a school setting depends on the nature of the commitments they make and the work they do in and for the school. We have also learned that certain educational and social concepts expressed in Spanish can enrich our thinking about the social curriculum that teachers and students create in classrooms. In this article we explore the idea of students social work by explaining what we are learning in these Mexican schools and providing examples from selected writings about life in U.S. classrooms.

International Science Educators’ Perceptions of Scientific Literacy

Science educators worldwide are calling for the development of scientific literacy in today’s schools, yet there is little consensus as to what criteria or goals might constitute the attainment of scientific literacy. In this chapter, we explore the diverse meanings international science teacher educators have for scientific literacy as it relates to their own cultural backgrounds and professional practices. We conducted the study in the interest of preserving two types of context: the unique context of a science educator’s life story and the biographical contexts that enrich the meaning of the individuals’ perceptions of scientific literacy. Participants involved in the study included six science teacher educators representing: Guinea; West Africa; South Korea; Japan; New Zealand; Austria; and Colombia. We initiated interviews with participants using several open-ended questions with the intent to elicit conversational responses. We wrote the narratives presented in the study to preserve the insights shared by participants from their unique perspectives, and to avoid imposing an interpretation drawn from our worldview. Ultimately, the chapter highlights the ways in which scientific literacy is reflective of social, cultural and political situations that shape local communities and science teacher education practices.

The intriguing physics inside an igloo

The counterintuitive fact that ice is a good insulator created a `teachable moment for describing the use of discrepant events as a strategy for science instruction and exploring a possible solution to the question, `How warm can the interior of an igloo get?