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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 16, Issue 2, Article 5 (Dec., 2015) |
The result showed that the science education courses positively influenced the pre-service teachers’ images about science teaching. Thus, the previous teacher-centered images were changed toward child-centered ones, and their child-centered images were solidified. This result indicates that the science education courses in the both settings had content and methods of science teaching based on constructivist perspectives. By investigating the specific aspects of the courses that influenced the pre-service teachers’ perspectives, the study made some implications for developing early childhood science education courses for pre-service teachers.
Those pre-service teachers who moved their images from the teacher-centered to child-centered were influenced by their changed views on a teacher’s role and their observation of in-service teachers’ teaching science lessons. This result implies that for those pre-service teachers who displayed teacher-centered views before taking a science education course, it should provide not just theoretical perspectives on teachers’ roles but actual experiences of teachers’ roles in science classes, possibly playing a constructivist teacher. It is also noted that observing in-service teachers’ teaching influences the pre-service teachers’ images. This fact suggests that the course should provide the pre-service teachers with opportunities for observing science lessons based on constructivist perspectives through watching videos of exemplary science lessons or visiting those classes such as STEM as in the American course. To do these observations, research is required to investigate ways to promote constructivist science education in early childhood classrooms.
Those pre-service teachers who solidified their previous child-centered images after the courses revealed that in performing the constructivist science activities, the courses provided influenced their solidification of those images. This result indicates that those pre-service teachers who already showed child-centered images should have learning experiences as a constructivist learner, participating in actual science activities. For example, they can conduct a long-term science project for their own scientific inquiries as ECSE provided. They also can do constructivist science activities for young children as part of the course, which was offered in both the ECSE and MST courses.
The teaching experiences influenced both images that were changed or solidified after the course. The course should provide teaching experiences for young children that should include not just planning and performing activities but also analyzing their own lessons with others. Particularly, those who solidified their previous child-centered images indicated the importance of a teacher’s role as an inquirer to promote children’s scientific thinking, not merely asking a question to check if children are doing an activity correctly. They mentioned that they learned about this teacher’s role in considering their own teaching. While planning a lesson, they developed several activities and discussed how these activities related and extended to each other in a subject. After planning and implementing, they analyzed their own teaching. This result implies that teaching experiences for pre-service teachers should emphasize the teachers’ inquiry process about their own teaching and lessons by analyzing and discussing them, not just planning and performing. The teacher as an inquirer is an important part of a constructivist teacher’s role to promote children’s scientific thinking.
The study concludes that pre-service teachers have previous images on science teaching for young children. An early childhood science education course should provide them with opportunities to consider their own images before the course. Given that constructivist education emphasizes individually responsive instruction, the course for constructivist science education should include various teaching approaches that emphasize teaching as inquiry and learning opportunities for responding to their prior images of science teaching.
Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government [NRF-2012S1A2A1A01031209].
Copyright (C) 2015 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 16, Issue 2, Article 5 (Dec., 2015). All Rights Reserved.