Author(s):
Effective models of science teacher education are needed to support the visions of teaching and learning outlined in the newest standards documents. More specifically, researchers like Thompson et al. (2015; 2019) have called for the development of tools (e.g., planning tools) and practices (e.g., moment-to-moment instructional moves) around which deliberate socio-professional practices can be collaboratively tested and refined to support implementation of the ambitious forms of science instruction. Currently, NGSS-designed curricula exist (e.g., OpenSciEd), however no unit planning tools are broadly available to support preservice science teachers (PSTs) engagement in the educative and collaborative design of their own curriculum. While access to previously designed curricular resources are important for PSTs, we believe planning practices in science teacher education are also needed that rely on the cultural exchange and collaboration by science teaching methods instructors and PSTs comparable to those envisioned for researchers and practitioners who seek to leverage professional and local knowledge of students and communities as part of curricular design. To address this need, over the last two years we have partnered with in-service teachers (ISTs) and PSTs to collaboratively design, pilot, and refine a model-based inquiry (MBI) planning tool for undergraduate PSTs. More specifically, as part of our IUSE-funded design-based research (DBR), we have engaged in cycles of design, piloting, and refinement using our MBI planning tool with embedded heuristics, where heuristics are conceptualized as just-in-time instructional strategies for easing teachers’ cognitive load during decision-making within instructional planning and facilitation. As part of our DBR we investigate and report on the iterative design of our MBI planning tool related to the following research questions: 1) What uncertainty and ambiguity did PSTs experience as they used the planning tool?; 2) How is student opportunity to learn (OTL) characterized in IST’s classrooms when engaging in a unit designed with the planning tool?; and 3) What changes were planned or made based on the emergent PST uncertainty and ambiguity and the characterization of student OTL in the IST’s classroom. For the first two questions, we offer six themes emergent from the data (e.g., identification of the anchoring phenomenon, using the planning tool across different school contexts, etc.). In response to the third research question, we offer multiple changes and revisions to be implemented in the next year of the project based on the findings. In terms of broader impacts, this study can help open up the scholarly conversation about the kinds of knowledge we value with regard to preservice teachers, especially related to how they can be supported in curriculum planning and implementation consistent with the practice turn.
Coauthors
Todd Campbell, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT; Todd Campbell, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
