Using a Simulated Student Interaction to Support Elementary Science Preservice Teacher Learning

• In Event: 34.045 - Issues in Preservice Teacher Education

Abstract

One emerging approach for gauging and supporting beginning teachers’ abilities is simulated interaction pedagogy. Similar to simulated patient interviews in medicine, this approach involves a preservice teacher interacting with an individual following a standardized protocol around a particular set of skills. This study investigates a simulated student interview designed to characterize preservice elementary teachers’ abilities to engage students in analyzing data and constructing evidence-based claims in science. The preservice teachers showed strengths like creating clear representations and areas for improvement like using sufficient evidence for a claim. The simulated student interactions highlighted nuances when compared to the lesson plans, including differences in the teachers’ engagement of students in the intellectual work. The findings have implications for teacher educators.

Authors

• Anna Maria Arias, Illinois State University

• Elizabeth A. Davis, University of Michigan