Learning Environment and Attitudes Associated with an Innovative Science Course Designed for Prospective Elementary Teachers

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of an innovative science course for improving prospective elementary teachers_ perceptions of laboratory learning environments and attitudes towards science. The sample consisted of 27 classes with 525 female students in a large urban university. Changing students_ ideas about science laboratory teaching and learning and creating more positive attitudes towards science were accomplished by using a guided open-ended approach to investigations, together with instructors who used cooperative learning groups to create a supportive environment. Ideas and attitudes prior to the course were assessed using a questionnaire focusing on the students_ previous science laboratory courses, and these were compared to data collected at the end of the course. Students reported large and statistically significant improvements on all seven scales assessing the laboratory learning environment and attitudes towards science. The largest gains were observed for Open-Endedness and Material Environment (with effect sizes of 6.74 and 3.82 standard deviations, respectively). An investigation of attitude-environment associations revealed numerous positive and statistically significant associations in both univariate and multivariate analyses. In particular, the level of Instructor Support was the strongest independent predictor of student attitudes at two levels of analysis.

Primary teachers' attitudes toward science: A new theoretical framework

“…Both positive and negative feelings are addressed in the studies we reviewed (see Table 1). As with the construct of personal attitude, these feelings can be categorized as either enjoyment in teaching science (Hartshorne, 2008;Harty et al, 1991;Haury, 1989;Johnston & Ahtee, 2006;Koballa, 1986;Liang & Gabel, 2005;Martin-Dunlop & Fraser, 2007;McDevitt et al, 1993;Pedersen & McCurdy, 1992;Ramey-Gassert et al, 1996) or anxiety about teaching science (Carleton et al, 2008;Hartshorne, 2008;Harty et al, 1991;Haury, 1989;Koballa, 1986;Liang & Gabel, 2005;McDevitt et al, 1993;Palmer, 2001;Pedersen & McCurdy, 1992;Ramey-Gassert et al, 1996).…”

“…Many of the studies in our review of concepts, however, investigated the attitudes of preservice teachers who had no teaching experience but who had taken science courses as part of their vocational training. Even though these studies claim to investigate attitudes toward teaching science, the items used often question the enjoyment of science classes, rather than enjoyment derived from teaching science (Martin-Dunlop & Fraser, 2007;Palmer, 2001).…”

“…The studies addressed in this review underscore this observation. The majority of the studies provided no appropriate definition for the concept of attitude (Appleton, 1995, Appleton & Kindt, 1999Atwater et al, 1991;Carleton et al, 2008;Cobern & Loving, 2002;Coulson, 1992;Eurobarometer 38.1, 1992;Evans & Durant, 1995;Haney et al 1996;Harty et al, 1991;Hartshorne, 2008;Haury, 1989;Jarret, 1999;Jarvis & Pell, 2004;Johnston & Ahtee, 2006;Koballa, 1986;Liang & Gabel, 2005;Martin-Dunlop & Fraser, 2007;McDevitt et al, 1993;Mulholland & Wallace, 1996;Palmer, 2001Palmer, , 2004Pedersen & McCurdy, 1992;Ramey-Gassert et al, 1996;Shepardson & Pizzini, 1992;Yates & Goodrum, 1990;Yilmaz-Tuzun, 2007;Young & Kellogg, 1993;Young, 1998). Some of these studies gave a coarse definition of attitude without specifying the various dimensions of the construct.…”

Instructor-Student Interpersonal Interaction and Student Outcomes at the University Level in Indonesia~!2009-08-15~!2009-01-08~!2010-03-09~!

“…To date, only a few studies of the learning environment have been *Address correspondence to this author at the Key Centre for School Science and Mathematics, G.P.O. Box U1987, Curtin University of Technology, Australia; Tel: +61 8 9266 7896; Fax: +61 8 9266 2503; E-mail: B.Fraser@curtin.edu.au undertaken at the university level for example [13][14][15][16][17] and only one has been carried out in Indonesia [18]. A possible obstacle to such research at the university level could be the lack of suitable instruments.…”

Attitude toward Science Teaching of Spanish and Turkish In-service Elementary Teachers: Multi-group Confirmatory Factor Analysis

“…The perception of these factors by the in-service teachers reflects their beliefs that several external factors make their science teaching hard or easy. Context factors affect attitudes toward science / science teaching (Ergül, 2009;Martin-Dunlop & Fraser, 2008;van Aalderen-Smeets & Walma van der Molen, 2013).…”