| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
|
|
This is a limited free preview of this book. Please buy full access.
6. If students show change in their understandings of inquiry on paper, do they also demonstrate their ability to teach using this method? Comparisons were made among written lesson plans, belief statements about teaching in their researched-based frameworks (RBFs) and Science Teaching Philosophies (STPs) to actual videotapes of the students’ teaching using simple correlation.
Significance of the Study
The NSES (NRC, 1996) document stressed the need for students to learn inquiry processes and to learn content through inquiry as well as for teachers to teach using an inquiry approach. Both the NSES and the American Association of the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) Project 2061 called for students, therefore also teachers, to have a basic understanding of scientific inquiry. Inquiry was the sole topic in the book Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards: A Guide for Teaching and Learning (NRC, 2000).
According to the NRC (2000), John Dewey crusaded in the early 1900s with his push toward learning through an inquiry process. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) reports reflected the need for our curriculum to cover fewer topics more in depth, rather than many concepts superficially. Although we have known of inquiry pedagogy for decades, there has been little change made in our K–16 classrooms (Deters, 2004; Hackling et al., 2001). These writings and studies reflect the need for our preservice science teachers to be able to teach their future science students to learn science processes and content using an inquiry approach. The analysis of the preservice teachers in their secondary science methods courses may assist future methods instructors in their endeavor