Beginning Secondary Science Teachers' Subject Matter Knowledge: Additional Explorations and Implications

• In Event: Making Sense of Science: Preparing Teachers for Understanding Student Thinking

Abstract

The Next Generation of Science Standards (Achieve, 2012) and the national focus on teacher quality require that science teachers have sound subject matter knowledge (SMK). Unfortunately, is there limited research about what constitutes SMK in science teachers. This study suggests a conceptualization of SMK, and uses it to assess the SMK of beginning science teachers. One assessment is an interview and the other is a conceptual drawing. The results of both assessments reveal that beginning teachers who teach in their major over time have a better understanding of the concept, but that beginning teachers do not understand how concepts are linked to one another. Beginning teachers may benefit from an explicit discussion about SMK and additional research in this area.

Authors

• Julie A. Luft, University of Georgia

• Benjamin Campbell, University of Georgia - Athens

• Ryan Nixon, Brigham Young University

• Kathleen Hill, Bethany College

• Shannon Lynne Dubois, Valparaiso University