Exploring early childhood preservice teachers’ problem-solving skills through socioscientific inquiry approach

Participants of the study

The findings emerged during the investigation of preservice teachers’ responses to their participation in socioscientific inquiry learning approach. The study was designed for the use in a course associated with the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education at a university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The course, Health and Safety, focuses on the issues regarding children’s development: the health and safety components among children. The course exposed the preservice teachers to a variety of health problems that arise from negligence in maintaining health and safety among children. In the past, this course was conducted using a lecture and discussion format in which preservice teachers were lectured on a range of health and safety related issues and they are expected to complete a simple assignment on common childhood illnesses and presented it at the end of the course. The preservice teachers have not been exposed to the authentic problem-solving technique in this course.

This study employed mixed-method methodology and required the researcher working independently on in-class research project for 12 weeks. The preservice teachers participating in the course were 3^rd year students enrolled in Bachelor Degree of Early Childhood education. The 28 preservice teachers (10 male and 18 female) ranged in age from 23 to 25 years old. They have already been awarded with Diploma in Early Childhood Education before pursuing their bachelor degree and have prior experiences teaching in preschool during teaching practicum. Particularly, this study organized preschool teachers to work in a group of five which they conducted researches on the selected socioscientific issues concerning early childhood. This task was considered as part of their continuous assessment with weightage score of 30 percents.

Implementation of the study

At the beginning of the study, the preschool teachers were given authority to decide on the socioscientific issues they wanted to investigate and presented it during the third week of the course. The researcher commented on the suitability of the topic during this presentation. The SSI selected were childhood obesity, pedophilia, childhood immunization, consumption of genetically modified food (GMF) and the use of electronic gadget on children. In respond to the selected socioscientific issues, students were required to conduct scientific investigations that are based on the Alberta inquiry model. The Alberta inquiry model (Alberta Learning, 2004) was integrated to guide the preservice teachers in their inquiry processes (refer Figure 1) due to the appropriateness of the model to the preservice teachers’ level of understanding. The model provides explicit instructions on the skills and strategies that are applied by the students in each phase of the process. Referring to the model consistently provided a guide to the preservice teachers during the investigation, as the model incorporates a step-by-step phase that are easy to be followed by them. There are six major phases that are integral to learning and evaluation, and then a seventh central piece (or phase) that integrates reflection which continually operates throughout the process. The researcher explained the inquiry model during the introduction class at the beginning of the semester and guided the preservice teachers during the course duration.

Figure 1. The Alberta Inquiry Model (Alberta Learning, 2004)

Figure 1. The Alberta Inquiry Model (Alberta Learning, 2004)

All of the information regarding the SSI and inquiry-based learning was posted to the course e-learning portal (refer Figure 2). At the end of this course, the preservice teachers were instructed to share their findings through presentation and to submit their research report.

Figure 2. Snapshot of the e-learning platform for Health & Safety course

Data collection method and data analysis

Data regarding the students’ perceptions were collected continuously on different stages: i) during classroom observations, ii) during presentations, iii) from semi-structured interviews with the students, and iv) from the assessment of the written reports and administration of questionnaire at the end of the study (n=28). The questionnaire, in particular, contained 18 statements linked to a five-point Likert scale namely: strongly disagree [1], disagree [2], not sure [3], agree [4] and strongly agree [5]. The questionnaire was not piloted because it offers primarily limited descriptive data to be used in this particular setting and because of that the data should not be generalized to other settings. Therefore, this study adapted similar procedure from previous studies which involved an in-class research project setting. (e.g. Edwards & Hammer, 2006). Data arising from the responses of the questionnaire were calculated as mean scores and the standard deviation for each item were determined. The students’ written reports and presentations were analyzed by using a problem-solving skills rubric which involve the criteria stated in Table 1.

Table 1. Description of criteria in assessing preservice teachers’ problem-solving skills

No.	Criteria	Description
1.	Identification of problem related to socioscientific issues	Problem or issue to be addressed is clearly identified and explained. Students clearly state the related socioscientific issue
2.	Significance and relevance of issue	Problem identified is relevant and specific to content area. Student appropriately identifies problem that is not too broad or narrow
3.	Gathering of information	Multiple sources of appropriate and relevant information are identified and used (for e.g. interview, survey, document analysis)
4.	Integration of scientific knowledge	Student integrates and applies knowledge gained from this subject to the current issue with new information gained throughout investigation
5.	Interpreting and analysis of information	Student provides a logical interpretation of the findings based on scientific evidence
6.	Presentation of findings	Presentation of the findings is clear and presented in a logical manner
7.	Conclusion	Clearly solve the problem and offer alternative solutions to tackle the socioscientific issue
8.	Reference	Skilled selection and synthesis of reading materials drawn from a wide range of sources including critical evaluation of and appropriate quotations from materials

The interview data was transcribed verbatim. It was subsequently analyzed using qualitative research analysis techniques of open and axial coding in order to categorize and develop themes from information that emerged from the interpreted data (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). This paper reports the findings from five quantitative questions and qualitative questions that revolved around the early childhood preservice teachers’ experiences of applying the socioscientific inquiry approach. Their responses are the core of this study’s findings.

Ethical considerations

Before the commencement of the study, the researcher provided a thorough explanation on the purpose of research to the preservice teachers. All participants volunteered to take part in the study and were assured of their confidentiality and privacy. They were also required to fill an informed consent form as proof of their acceptance and availability for the interview.