Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 13, Issue 2, Article 14 (Dec., 2012) Carole Kwan-Ping LEE An evaluation of an elementary science methods course with respect to preservice teacher’s pedagogical development Previous Contents Next

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a science methods course in a mid-west state university in the United States and to see whether the teaching instruction used by the author was appropriate, and how much science knowledge and pedagogy preservice elementary teachers understand. Due to the shortage of teaching time, it is almost impossible to teach all the science knowledge that an elementary teacher should know. Hence, the author must be selective in choosing appropriate teaching materials related to the goals of elementary science education. In the U.S. most of the teacher education programs are four-year degree program (Abell, Appleton & Hanuscin, 2010). Teaching pedagogies are taught not only in science methods course but also in other education classes as well. To use the time wisely and to avoid overlapping of teaching pedagogies, it is essential for the method instructors to understand what curricula are best for preservice elementary teachers. The research questions of this study are focused on:

1. What do preservice elementary teachers learn in the existing science methods course?
2. What teaching components are essential in an elementary science methods course?