Supporting Elementary Teacher Candidates’ Understandings of Ambitious, Content-Rich Science Instruction

• In Event: Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: Science Curriculum and Instructional Interventions

Abstract

Preparing elementary teachers to implement ambitious, content-rich science instruction is a challenge for teacher educators. We developed the Supported, Collaborative Teaching Model (SCTM) to facilitate elementary teacher candidates’ understandings of how to teach science. The SCTM provides a low risk environment in which teacher candidates implement ambitious, content-rich science instruction. We provided model lessons that prompted teacher candidates to teach lessons that were more ambitious than what they tended to plan for themselves. However, a tension we had to balance was that providing model lessons impacted their willingness to invest in preparing to teach the lesson. This tension provides an opportunity to consider the conditions needed to support teacher candidates’ understandings of how to teach science.

Authors

• Julie Kittleson, University of Georgia

• Janna Dresden, University of Georgia

• Julianne A. Wenner, University of Georgia