Development of an instrument and evaluation patter for for the analyisis of chemistry student teachers` diagnostic competence

Abstract

Diagnostics have become one of the central tools for planning teaching which accommodates learners' needs. Changes occurring in the chemistry classroom caused by rising levels of student heterogeneity play a crucial role. Thus, diagnostic processes are seen to be part of the cure. For this reason, chemistry (student) teachers need to understand the possibilities and potential for diagnostics in their classrooms. The present study employs a definition of diagnostic competence by Jäger. He emphasizes three domains: conditional knowledge, technological knowledge and knowledge of change. To achieve such competences, student teachers need to start learning about it during their university training. Since there are only few and mainly quantitative instruments in this field, the present paper describes the development of an instrument and an evaluation pattern for analyzing student teachers` diagnostic competence in chemistry. The instrument is a qualitative approach. It is based upon a written essay and open-ended questions. The evaluation pattern will be in focus. Initial results from the present study will also be discussed.

Exploring Chemistry Student Teachers’ Diagnostic Competence—A Qualitative Cross-Level Study

“…Group 3 was mainly focused on tests as the method of data evaluation. This development of important diagnostic instruments is similar to development results during the pilot study of the questionnaire [59,62]. This tool seems to be the most consciously present among the student teachers in this study.…”

“…Since studies in science education that focus on the evaluation of diagnostic competence are rare, the following research was based on open-ended questions [59]. The questionnaire begins with the task "Write a short essay about diagnosis in chemistry lessons."…”

“…A detailed description of the development of the evaluation pattern is given by Tolsdorf and Markic [59].…”

“…Details about the questionnaire, its development, and the whole evaluation pattern are described by Tolsdorf and Markic [59,62].…”

Development of a Learning Environment to Enhance Preservice Physics Teachers’ Diagnostic Competence in Terms of Students’ Conceptions

“…The need to improve teachers' diagnostic competence in teacher education has resulted in several instructional approaches: Training of diagnostic skills through guided experience in learning labs (e.g., Meister et al, 2020;Steffentorweihen & Theyßen, 2018), through didactics courses connected to internships in school (e.g., Tolsdorf & Markic, 2017) and through video-based training (e.g., Star & Strickland, 2008;Tekkumru-Kisa et al, 2018).…”