Prospective Teachers' Prior Knowledge of Science Instruction in Informal Settings: A Place-Based Education Analysis

• In Event: 77.036 - Culturally Relevant and Culturally Responsive Approaches to Teaching STEM for Diverse Populations

Abstract

This study investigated prospective teachers’ prior knowledge of science instruction in informal settings using the place-based education framework. Analysis of drawings and narratives from 186 participants indicated that their prior knowledge (1) had content focused on the ecological aspects of a place, and (2) provided students with direct and guided experiences of the natural phenomenon within the place but did not (1) connect the contexts of school, and the ecological, social and cultural contexts of the informal setting, and (2) provide students with a culturally responsive and critical approach to science education. This study indicated that the place-based education framework can provide frames to view prospective teachers’ prior knowledge as complex scripts for teaching science in informal settings.

Authors

• Karthigeyan Subramaniam, University of North Texas

• Sumreen Asim, Indiana Univ. Southeast

• Pamela E. Harrell, University of North Texas

• Christopher Sean Long, University of North Texas