Changing children's views of science and scientists through school-based teaching

Implications of the study and conclusion

There has been considerable research about the difficulties primary and early childhood teachers face when teaching science (e.g. Garbett, 2003; Goodrum, Hackling & Rennie, 2001), researchers have neglected to examine how pre-service teachers actually engage with the content and pedagogy for science teaching (see Appleton, 2006). This article focused on a study that explored children's pre-instructional views of science and scientists, and their views following a teaching sequence by pre-service teachers. The format of the school-based unit encouraged the pre-service teachers to plan and implement hands-on, discovery and reciprocal approaches when teaching science. They were able to apply educational theory immediately to a classroom situation.

Implications of the study point to a pro-active model for science teaching that encompasses reciprocity, with teachers actively listening to the children to identify their thinking about scientific phenomena, while the children engage in authentic practical activity. The study, designed from a cultural-historical perspective, found that when the individual child is valued in a communal context, and engages in hands-on science activities that are relevant and authentic, children's views about scientists are challenged as they begin to see themselves as rudimentary scientists. The data collected included children's drawings and comments, and pre-service teachers' reflections. Data analysis suggests that the teaching sequence of hands-on activities provided by the pre-service teachers encouraged change in children's views of scientists.