Becoming a Science Teacher Educator

• In Event: Exploring the Intersections of Self-Study, Science Teaching, and Science Teacher Education

Abstract

Purposes
This paper will explore the complexities of becoming a science teacher educator.

Perspectives / Theoretical Framework
Higher education institutions seem to assume tacitly that the combination of a graduate degree and prior experience teaching science at any level will be sufficient preparation for teaching science teachers. Labaree (2000) argues that teacher education is the only form of professional practice that is more demanding than teaching, because teacher education programs must “provide ordinary college students with the imponderable so that they can teach the irrepressible in a manner that pleases the irreconcilable, and all without knowing clearly either the purposes or the consequences of their actions” (p. 231). Problematically, “the profession of teaching is seen to be relatively easy” (p. 231) and “good teaching looks even easier” (Loughran & Russell, 2007, p. 218).

Science teacher educators in particular might feel the competing challenges of ensuring that teacher candidates have conceptual understanding of science content in addition to knowledge of how to teach that content. Reflection-in-action may also serve as a source of knowledge, particularly if the new teacher educator engages in self-study with a critical friend.

Methods and Data Sources
The authors conducted self-studies of their developing pedagogies of teacher education within their institutional contexts. Qualitative data were collected from journals and recorded interviews with critical friends (Costa & Kallick, 1993). Author 1 approached the analysis as bricolage (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003) and used the principle of constant comparison (Punch, 2009) to add, delete, modify and establish themes until theoretical saturation occurred. Perspectives developed by Bullough and Pinnegar (2001) guided Author 2’s work. Author 3 used guidelines developed by Holly (1989) and Bolton (2005) to analyze her electronic journals. Authors 4 and 5 engaged in collaborative self-study to explore the differences between their pedagogy as science teachers and their pedagogy as science teacher educators. A research assistant filmed their classes to analyse the values manifested in their teaching.

Results
Self-study methodology provided all five authors with the opportunity to understand teaching and learning differently. Author 1, for example, came to understand why many elementary school teachers adopt a “custodial approach to teaching with aims to preserve its traditions and customs” as a result of teaching non-specialist teacher candidates a physical education methods course. Author 2 found that self-study provided her “with opportunities to bridge what her doctoral program could not prepare [her] for”–the complexities of teaching future science teachers. Author 3 expressed a newfound appreciation for “no longer knowing exactly where the sessions are leading or what exactly [her] students are learning about teaching during [her] courses.” Authors 4 and 5 report “learning more about ourselves, beginning to understand the values we promote and how our students perceive them” and “that our often shared values manifest in different ways in our teaching.”

Scholarly significance
This paper argues that self-study methodology makes a significant contribution to how new science teacher educators construct professional knowledge about teaching teachers.

Authors

• Tim Fletcher, Memorial University

• Dawn Garbett, University of Auckland

• Alexandra Olivia Santau, Duquesne University

• Stephen Keast, Monash University

• Rebecca Cooper, Monash University