Idea and action: Action research and the development of conceptual change teaching of science

Understanding of Earth and Space Science Concepts: Strategies for Concept‐Building in Elementary Teacher Preparation

“…Unfortunately, most preservice teachers have never personally experienced learning science content through conceptual change methods (Stofflett & Stoddart, 1994;Tabachnick & Zeichner, 1999;Thorley & Stofflett, 1996). According to Stofflett and Stoddart (1994), because many teacher candidates came from traditional didactic instruction and previously completed limited science related courses, their science content knowledge could not be expected to be strong enough for them to teach science.…”

“…Many preservice teachers have difficulty in using their new conceptual change experiences in creating new conceptual change lessons for their students (Meyer, Tabachnick, Hewson, Lemberger, & Park, 1999;Stofflett & Stefanon, 1996;Tabachnick & Zeichner, 1999). Tabachnick and Zeichner (1999) analyzed the action research that was conducted by teacher candidates in their field experiences after they completed the conceptual change methods course.…”

“…Tabachnick and Zeichner (1999) analyzed the action research that was conducted by teacher candidates in their field experiences after they completed the conceptual change methods course. The researchers found that most of the preservice teachers began to think about their students' prior knowledge and what the students learned at the end.…”

Novice and expert teachers' conceptions of learners' prior knowledge

“…Whether the methods courses have focused on particular instructional strategies such as conceptual change (Martens & Crosier, 1994;Shymansky, 1992;Tabachnick & Zeichner, 1999), or offered a diverse set of constructivist instructional practices (Erickson et al, 1994;Northfield, Gunstone, & Erickson, 1996;Salish, 1997) few beginning teachers are able to make effective use of them. As science teacher educators we continue to search for research findings and methods courses that close the gap between what science teacher educators know to be good practice and what novice teachers are able to do in their classrooms.…”

Collaborative curriculum design to increase science teaching self-efficacy

“…However, implementation seems likely to be even more difficult for pre-service teachers compared to in-service teachers, because the preservice teachers are often more concerned with classroom management (Davis, Petish, & Smithey, 2006). Some studies have shown a relation between having concerns about discipline and classroom management, and engaging in practices that are less reform-oriented (Appleton & Kindt, 2002;Tabachnick & Zeichner, 1999). Appleton and Kindt (2002) described the importance of supportive colleagues for encouraging beginning teachers to enact challenging or risky activities: in a study with nine early-career teachers they found that the teachers were encouraged to try out new ideas by talking them through with other teachers.…”