How Preservice Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Understanding of Inquiry Influences Their Lesson Planning and Enactments in Science

• In Event: Roundtable Session 56
  In Roundtable Session: The Impact of Preservice and In-Service Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge on Science Lesson Designs and Implementation

Abstract

On-going science education reform efforts highlight the importance of engaging students in a dynamic process of constructing their own knowledge through engaging them in inquiry-based processes (NRC,2012). Since the 90s, inquiry has been advocated as the central strategy for science teaching (NRC,1996). According to NRC (2000), inquiry includes five essential features: (1) engaging learners in scientifically oriented questions, (2) learners giving priority to evidence in responding to questions, (3) learner formulating explanations from evidence, (4) learner connecting explanations to scientific knowledge, and (5) learner communicating and justifying explanations. These features have been widely used as a framework to help teachers understand and enact inquiry-based instruction in their classrooms (Seung, et al,2014; Forbes,2011).

Authors

• Loucas T. Louca, European University Cyprus

• Thea Skoulia, University of Cyprus

• Zacharias C. Zacharia, University of Cyprus