Author(s):
For the nation to remain competitive in a global economy driven by technology, knowledgeable and effective science teachers are needed to prepare a large and competent STEM workforce. While teacher educators and policy makers certainly have strong views about how to best prepare the STEM teaching workforce, little is known about which program attributes result in the best outcomes. Our nationwide study of the strengths and weaknesses of 1,700 pre-service teachers (at 115 institutions), entering the STEM teaching workforce examines which experiences are associated with subject-matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in life, physical, and earth and space sciences. High levels of these two kinds of teacher knowledge have been shown to predict large student gains in science classrooms. Yet, it is unknown when teachers acquire this kind of knowledge. Does it happen prior to college, during college science courses, in science methods courses, while student teaching, or only after years of classroom teaching? In addition, the strength of identity as a teacher of science determines how much valuable classroom time is committed to the teaching of science at the elementary school level and science teacher retention at the middle and high school level. We measure science teacher identity and model its acquisition. The project has the potential to contribute to improving the training of pre-service science teachers by identifying the most promising features of undergraduate pre-service programs for future implementation. It will gauge the contribution of subject-matter coursework, methods courses, and extra-curricular activities to the formation of effective and enthusiastic K-12 teachers at the pre-college teachers of science.
Coauthors
Gerhard Sonnert, Harvard University and Susan Sunbury, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
