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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 18, Issue 1, Article 8 (Jun., 2017) |
Science fairs have been accepted as in-school activities for long years (Dionne, Reis, Trudel, Guillet, Kleine, & Hancianu, 2012) as they might provide appropriate environments for students to create their own study questions, develop methods to find solutions to these questions, and discuss findings in order to increase their curiosity towards science (Chen, Lin, Hsu, & Lee, 2011). The calls of Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council [NRC], 2012) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) for developing the skills of students to design scientific experiments, and to carry out and to examine experiments draw attention to the necessity of creating effective science fair environments. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA, 1990) also states that well-organized science fairs transform project development and research process into a learning experience and these kinds of experiences increase the interest in science (as cited in Blenis, 2000).
Through creating opportunities for students to share their research with their friends, teachers, and scientists, science fairs provide students with the opportunity to form new information and to increase their interest in scientific activities. Then, they develop their scientific process, inquiry, and communicative skills, and get prepared for their future professional life (Abenarty & Vineyard, 2001; Schmidt, 2014). For instance, Finnerty (2013) conducted a study on the views of teachers in order to examine the possible advantages of participating in science fairs for secondary school students. As a result, the participating teachers stated that students had deeper comprehension about science, that their inquiry skills were developed, and their interest in science and career in science was increased.
Science fair opportunities for prospective teachers also have definite advantages. The literature suggests that informal science environments are useful resources in teacher preparation (see Avraamidou, 2014). In a study by Avraamidou (2015) on prospective teachers’ views about the role of informal science environments (including science fairs) in science teaching and learning, it was suggested that prospective teachers positively perceived such environments. The participants pointed that through engaging in science fairs, they developed ownership of their learning as well as content knowledge, and they also had fun. Accordingly, engaging in well-designed informal science approaches can help prospective teachers better understand the value of science and science teaching. Then, creating environments that gather teacher educators, teachers, prospective teachers, and students is considered as one of the options to develop the interest and motivation of prospective teachers towards science teaching and increasing student interest in science.
Situated perspective of learning theory developed by Lave and Wenger (1991) suggests that participation and interaction in a community of practice situated in authentic activities may bring learning (Borko et al., 2007; Lave & Wenger, 1991). Accordingly, learning is a function of context and activity. Through social participation and relationships called legitimate peripheral participation, learners move from the periphery to the centre of the community where learning occurs (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Smith, 1999). Situated perspective is believed to help teachers gaining cognitive flexibility which help them develop adaptation skills to transfer their knowledge to changing situations (Shulman, J., 1992) which brings about learning (Lundeberg et al., 1999). Then, providing teachers/prospective teachers opportunities to develop instructional skills in a community of practice situated in authentic activities may help them learn to teach more effectively and gain broader perspectives. At this point, science fair activities might be one of the alternatives.
The importance and aim of the study
Science fairs are common practices in European countries and its popularity is increasing in other regions (Bultitude, McDonald, & Custead, 2011). Even though their use is increasing currently in our country, the absence of sufficient studies regarding the effect of science fairs on PSTs is observed. Thus, it was thought that science fairs should be organized in Turkey even on a small scale which may attract teachers and students. This would encourage researchers, educators, and/or teachers to organize science fairs at advanced levels. Apart from teaching activities suggested in curricula, science fair practices may show the relationship between science and daily life, make crucial contributions to the science education of both prospective teachers and students, and reinforce their interests and motivations.
Moreover, in this study, while the literature suggests that informal science environments –including science fairs- are useful resources in teacher preparation (Avraamidou, 2014), it was aimed to determine PSTs’ opinions and suggestions regarding science fairs, because it was thought that understanding PSTs’ expectations, opinions, difficulties, and suggestions regarding science fair could bring about new alternatives to develop more effective activities for teacher preparation. It is believed that taking PSTs’ opinions about their difficulties and their suggestions regarding science fair practices into consideration would be useful while preparing seminars on science fair practices within the scope of teacher training programs.
In core of this discussion, the present study aims to determine the expectations and opinions of PSTs as well as their suggestions regarding science fair practices. Therefore, the present study attempts to find answer to the question, “What are the expectations, opinions, and suggestions of PSTs regarding science fair practices?”.
