Section archive - Instruction in Teacher Training

In this paper, the authors explored the perceptions and beliefs about evolution of educators who had completed a science and mathematics education master’s degree. The quantitative and qualitative data indicate some participants did not feel prepared or responsible for teaching evolution content.

The current study explored students’ scientific epistemological beliefs in relation to socio-economic status (SES) and gender. Eight grade Turkish elementary school students participated in the study. The analysis indicated that students with a working mother and educated parents as well as greater number of books at home together with a separate study room are more likely to have tentative views and less likely to have fixed views about science compared to students with unemployed mother, uneducated parents, less books at home, and no separate study room.

The current study reports the use of the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test as diagnostic tool for both preservice teacher beliefs about science teaching and science methods course effectiveness. Results indicated statistically significant shifts in participants’ mental models of science teaching and learning. Post-course more students portrayed student-centered reform minded practices.

The current study investigates how elementary teachers perceive and use engaging oral strategies. The findings reveal that a kindergarten teacher viewed such strategies negatively and employed only a few figurative directives. However, fourth-grade teachers viewed them positively, frequently resorting to a variety of speech figures, parallel repetition and engaging questions. It is argued that teachers’ engaging oral strategies are multifunctional, serving important social and cognitive functions.