Teacher Reflection in Teaching Practices - A Methodological Proposal for Its Operationalization

A high self-efficacy in teaching is sometimes used as a kind of litmus test of science teaching practices. However, the connection between self-efficacy and teaching effectiveness is not well established. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the connections between self-efficacy and enacted science teaching of preservice elementary teachers. More specifically, we sought to answer the question: Is preservice elementary teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy correlated to their science teaching practices? To investigate this question, preservice elementary teachers (N = 48) were given the Science Teaching Self-Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) and asked to submit a video of their science teaching which was analyzed using the Local Systemic Change Classroom Observation Protocol (LSC-COP). Because LSC-COP produces ordinal data, the relationship between the STEBI-B and LSC-COP was investigated using the Spearman Rho correlation coefficient. Analysis of these data indicate no significant correlation between self-efficacy and science teaching practices. This study highlights the potential risk of using self-efficacy as a litmus test for positive changes in instruction. Although self-efficacy may not be directly related to science teaching practices in the population of preservice elementary teachers, we discuss ways self-efficacy may indirectly impact teaching practice.

The Framework for K‐12 Science Education details ambitious goals for students' learning of science content and practices. However, this document provides science teachers little guidance about instructional practices that are central to helping students achieve these goals. Research indicates that a teacher's instructional practice can impact student interest and achievement more than advanced degrees or teaching experience and thus, identifying a core set of science teaching practices may be one key to improving science education. Based on a practice‐based theory of teaching, this study used a panel of expert science teachers and university faculty to identify a set of core science teaching practices. The Delphi methodology used in this study engaged the expert panel in three anonymous and iterative rounds of voting and justification of science teaching practices. Nine of the fifty‐one suggested practices met the pre‐determined consensus criteria. Three major themes emerged from the results. First, a majority of practices, like “Engaging Students in Investigations” and “Facilitating Classroom Discourse,” promote an interactive and dialogic science classroom. Second, the discussion among panel members across the three rounds indicates the need to develop a more common language and understanding of science teaching practice. Third, the panel highlighted the important role that on‐going assessment plays in science teaching with practices like “Eliciting, Using, and Assessing Student Thinking about Science” and “Providing Feedback.” This study lays the groundwork for the further decomposition of these core teaching practices and provides the foundation for further empirical research on how these practices are learned and executed by teachers, and their impact on student learning. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 51: 1185–1217, 2014

“Good luck on your first day as an assistant professor, Dr. Tanner! Have a great class!” On the wall above my desk, these words scream out from an otherwise encouraging note that is adorned with many exclamation points. This note has hung on my wall since my very first day as an Assistant Professor of Biology. As I was charging off to teach my first class, a senior faculty member who had been on my hiring committee slipped this note under my office door. In moments of pause years later, I still stare up at that note and breathe a sigh of relief that I had much more than luck to guide me on my first day as a college-level teacher. Although I continue to have much to learn—as all of us do no matter the number of years of teaching experience—I did arrive at the university with both formal and informal training in science education. I had had plenty of exposure to innovative pedagogical approaches, questioning strategies, and techniques for engaging diverse audiences in learning science. As a scientist educator, I had had the privilege of many years of collaboration with outstanding K–12 educators as well as a postdoctoral fellowship in science education. However, my training has been, to say the least, unconventional compared with that of my fellow junior faculty and unique in its preparation in regard to the teaching and learning of my discipline. It will not be news to anyone reading this article that university and college teaching is to a large extent a profession with no formal training. It’s startling but true that the majority of faculty members—and lecturers who often teach large numbers of students—have no formal training in the teaching and learning of their discipline. In fact, the hiring process in university science departments is structured primarily to evaluate a faculty candidate’s ability to be a productive researcher, with success measured in number of publications and magnitude of grant funds raised. Depending on the type of institution, for example, research university, state-level university, or liberal arts college, there may be a component of the faculty interview process that probes a candidate’s teaching ability, for example, requesting a statement of teaching philosophy and requiring the candidate to teach a sample lecture class. However, this sample lecture often screens for gross inadequacies, rather than looking for stellar innovations or pedagogical skills. This lack of formal, accredited training for university and college instructors stands in stark contrast to the requirements for a high school teacher who is charged with the education of students only a year junior to college freshmen. High school teachers in the United States must be credentialed as a secondary science teacher, demonstrate subject matter competency in every subject that they will be teaching, and must continually engage in professional development in the teaching and learning of their discipline throughout their career as a science teacher. With the 2002 federal No Child Left Behind legislation, the onus is upon each precollege science teacher to become “highly qualified” in terms of formal university-level training in science education. However, no such required professional training or measurable standards for teaching are required in institutions of higher education. Many policy documents have suggested standards of teaching practice in postsecondary science education (National Research Council, 1996, 1997; Siebert and McIntosh, 2001), but the extent of implementation of these ideals is unclear and has gone relatively unstudied, although national and regional accreditation boards do look at outcomes, asking colleges and universities to assess what their students have gained from four years of study at their institutions. Nonetheless, there is a striking reversal of accountability that happens when one crosses the precollege teaching to college-level teaching boundary (Table 1). During the K–12 school years, society expects K–12 teachers to be responsible for student learning. Salaries of teachers in many states are tied to student test scores, and poor student performance can potentially invoke penalties. At a college or university, several variables in the educational universe shift. Students are the ones responsible for learning. The evaluation and compensation of college-level teachers is not DOI: 10.1187/cbe.05–12–0132 Address correspondence to: Kimberly Tanner (kdtanner@sfsu.edu). CBE—Life Sciences Education Vol. 5, 1–6, Spring 2006

Science deals with the world around us, and we understand, experience, and study this world through and with our bodies. While science educators have started to acknowledge the critical role of the body in science learning, approaches to conceptualising the body in science education vary greatly. Embodiment and embodied cognition serve as umbrella terms for different approaches to bodily learning processes. Unfortunately, researchers and educators often blur these different approaches and use various claims of embodiment interchangeably. Understanding and acknowledging the diversity of embodied perspectives strengthen arguments in science education research and allows realising the potential of embodied cognition in science education practice. We need a comprehensive overview of the various ways the body bears on science learning. With this paper, we wish to present such an overview by disentangling key ideas of embodiment and embodied cognition with a view towards science education. Drawing on the historical traditions of phenomenology and ecological psychology, we propose four senses of embodiment that conceptualise the body in physical, phenomenological, ecological, and interactionist terms. By illustrating the multiple senses of embodiment through examples from the recent science education literature, we show that embodied cognition bears on practical educational problems and has a variety of theoretical implications for science education. We hope that future work can recognise such different senses of embodiment and show how they might work together to strengthen the many roles of the body in science education research and practice.

How teachers' changes in their science teaching practices unfold over time remains unclear. We need greater understanding of the processes at work in professional development (PD) and how to sustain those processes that are effective over time. Effective PD processes are seen as those that recognize teacher change is multidimensional—taking an integrated view of the affective, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of teacher change. In this article, we report on what we learned about the teacher change process during a 2‐year preschool PD intervention effort with Head Start teachers that was focused on a science, technology, and engineering curriculum. The present study sought to further address gaps in our understanding of teacher change, by examining in more detail the multidimensional relations among Head Start teachers' beliefs and attitudes toward science teaching and learning (representing the cognitive domain of change) and their science and engineering practices (representing the behavioral domain). Forty‐eight teachers (n = 30 Intervention, n = 18 Control) from a large urban Head Start program in the northeastern US participated in this study. Results revealed that teachers' initial attitudes and beliefs had little effect on their science and engineering practices, whereas their science and engineering practices throughout the time of the project had a significant effect on their later attitudes and beliefs. In addition, teachers' science and engineering teaching practices were related to their ratings of children's overall engagement, though their attitudes toward and beliefs about teaching science were not.

This article describes an investigation into the use of self-assessment to facilitate students' learning in teacher education. The study aimed to explore whether there were any changes in students' teaching and learning practice after using self-assessment. Participants comprised 47 students who were enrolled in an in-service teacher education program and who engaged in a self-assessment process by setting goals, recording evidence, and evaluating their teaching performance. Questionnaire and focus group interviews were employed to examine the usefulness of the self-assessment and the possible changes in students' learning. Analysis of the results indicates that students found that self-assessment enhanced their learning during teaching practice, especially in the area of reflective thinking. The self-assessment process helped students to assess the quality of their teaching, and it provided information on which to reflect and plan their next lessons. Students also reported evidence of positive changes in terms of their planning, teaching, and reflection.

While CLIL promotes intercultural awareness, it remains unclear how science teachers incorporate intercultural competence into their classroom practices. This study explores science teachers’ understanding of culture and intercultural competence within a CLIL-based curriculum where English is the medium of instruction. A qualitative method was used, including semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and a brief online binary-response survey to examine science teachers’ perceptions of culture and intercultural competence. New insights emerged, though the overall findings are consistent with previous research. It was observed that most teachers showed increased intercultural sensitivity, awareness of diversity, and perspective-taking, indicating an ethnorelative stance. Curriculum vitae analysis also showed a positive impact of professional background on teachers’ intercultural communicative competence. Interestingly, language was seen both as a barrier and as a cultural tool for global access. Additionally, translanguaging practices were observed. Teachers also recognised the spontaneous use of culturally responsive practices in science teaching, despite limited institutional support and training. Ultimately, this article advocates for critical reflection and the adoption of international educational practices from the perspective of the source culture.

Science teacher education literature has emphasized the importance of prospective teachers’ prior knowledge of their K-12 experiences as a key factor influencing their professional development as future science teachers. The purpose of the study was to identify the teaching practices in prospective teachers’ prior knowledge of science instruction before their enrollment in a science teaching methods course. Constructs from the practice-based theory of teaching, reform-based science instruction, and the pedagogy of poverty framework collectively served as the conceptual lens to focus on teaching practices. Three-hundred and sixty-one prospective teachers took part in this qualitative study. Visual (drawings) and written (narratives) served as the data and thematic analysis was used to identify and categorize teaching practices. The predominant teaching practices were framed by the pedagogy of poverty (68.4%) (giving information and directions). Other teaching practices were framed by a combination of teaching practices (pedagogy of poverty and core science teaching practices) (28.0%) (giving information and directions, engaging students in investigations, and facilitating classroom discourse), and teaching practices that reflected only core science teaching practices (8.0%) (engaging students in investigations and facilitating classroom discourse). Prospective teachers in this study had identified and accepted as knowledge-for-practice from their K-12 experiences a set of limited teaching practices. The findings indicated that prospective teachers’ prior knowledge of science instruction reflected the inclusion and an over reliance on specific teaching practices that contradicted or limited current reforms in science education and imply that they are yet to experience science instruction as stipulated by the current reforms.

This study focuses on how the teacher manages learning media in English classes by comparing the teacher's reflective practices and the contents of teaching modules as official guides. The background of this study departs from the gap between the creativity of the teacher in the classroom and the administrative approach that is reflected in the learning documents. This study uses a qualitative case study design to describe in depth the practice of learning media management in schools. The data collected through in-depth interviews with teacher and document analysis of teaching modules. These two types of data used thematic analysis by applying triangulation methods to ensure the validity of the findings and reinforce the interpretation of the results. The results show that teacher actively choose and modify the media to be more interesting and in accordance with the ability of students, while also preparing alternatives when faced with technical obstacles. In contrast, the teaching module displays only standard media without reflection on their effectiveness or barriers to use. These findings indicate that teacher practice is more innovative than the content of teaching modules that are procedural. The research discussion emphasizes the need to integrate teacher's practical reflections into learning documents so that planning becomes more adaptive, contextual, and responsive to student needs.

Gurol Irzik has provided a masterful review of my anthology Constructivism in Science Education: A Philosophical Examination (Kluwer, 1998) which could well serve as an Introduction to the volume. I of course agree with him that it is important to get the basic philosophical matters clear in the frequently heated and confused exchanges over constructivism in science education. This is what the anthology set out to do, and it is gratifying to read that Irzik thinks it has achieved its aim; or at least that the anthology’s contributors have not further muddied the already muddied epistemological waters of science education. Philosophical questions are thrust upon science educators both from within the practice of science education – What are scientific laws? What is scientific methodology? What is the difference between science and non-science? What constitutes a good explanation? How do scientific models relate to reality? What is the role of values in science? And so on. Students routinely ask these questions of teachers – ‘Miss, if no one has seen an atom how come we are drawing pictures of them?’, and curriculum writers standardly mention some or all of the questions and expect teachers to convey an understanding of them to students. Learning about ‘The Nature of Science’ is a ubiquitious goal of international science programmes. So teachers, and science educators who research teaching practice and who educate teachers, have philosophy thrust upon them from the inside. But philosophy is also thrust upon teachers and educators from the outside. Feminism, multiculturalism, environmentalism, religious interests, the Science Wars – all of these demand more or less explicitly philosophical responses from science teachers and from educators. But teachers and educators are put into an invidious position by these philosophical demands: precious little in their training equips them to answer the questions. Science teachers have little, if any, systematic training in philosophy. The same can be said for science educators: they are standardly trained in the sciences, have teacher training and teaching experience, and usually do their advanced degrees and research in science education. Having even an undergraduate major in philosophy is a rarity among science educators. The number world wide who have post-graduate degrees in philosophy could probably be counted on the fingers

Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam (IPA) adalah salah satu pembelajaran yang penting di Sekolah Dasar (SD). oleh karena itu, perlu meningkatkan motivasi dan hasil belajar siswa dalam prosesnya. Salah satu faktor yang mempengaruhi motivasi dan hasil belajar adalah model pembelajaran. Riset ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh penerapan model pembelajaran kooperatif Team Games Tournament (TGT) dengan motivasi belajar dan hasil belajar IPA siswa. Melalui pendekatan kuantitatif dan dengan desain penelitian eksperimen model one group pretest posttest, data dianalisis menggunakan analisis statistik inferensial dengan uji t data motivasi dan hasil belajar IPA. Data diperoleh dari sampel yang merupakan siswa kelas V SDN 131 Balombong Kabupaten Tana Toraja. Berdasarkan deskripsi dan analisis data menunjukan bahwa terjadi peningkatan motivasi dan hasil belajar IPA siswa setelah diberikan pembelajaran dengan model kooperatif tipe Team Games Tournament (TGT). Selain itu berdasarkan analisis dengan uji t diperoleh nilai signifikan 0.00<0.05 untuk motivasi dan hasil belajar IPA yang menunjukan bahwa terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan dari penggunaan pembelajaran kooperatif tipe Team Games Tournament (TGT) terhadap motivasi dan hasil belajar IPA siswa kelas V SDN 131 Balombong.
 
 A B S T R A C TScience is one of the important learning in Elementary School (SD). therefore, it is necessary to increase student motivation and learning outcomes in the process. One of the factors that influence motivation and learning outcomes is the learning model. This research aims to determine the effect of applying the Team Games Tournament (TGT) cooperative learning model with students' learning motivation and science learning outcomes. Through a quantitative approach and with an experimental research design with one group pretest posttest, the data were analyzed using inferential statistical analysis with t test of motivation data and science learning outcomes. Data were obtained from samples of fifth grade students of SDN 131 Balombong, Tana Toraja Regency. Based on the description and analysis of the data, it shows that there is an increase in students' motivation and science learning outcomes after being given learning with the Team Games Tournament (TGT) type cooperative model. In addition, based on the analysis with the t test, a significant value of 0.00 <0.05 was obtained for the motivation and learning outcomes of science which shows that there is a significant effect of the use of cooperative learning type Team Games Tournament (TGT) on the motivation and learning outcomes of science of grade V students of SDN 131 Balombong.

The goal of this study was to examine the two related links of research to teaching practice and teaching practice to research that pre-service elementary teachers made during an action research project focusing on a conceptual-change teaching experience with elementary school students. Data were collected from the final written reports from 144 groups of students. Analysis of the data by the process of grounded theory showed that the majority of students (96%) were able to link current educational research successfully to their teaching practice while fewer students (16%) were able to link their teaching practice back to the research base. Many students (30%), however, found new knowledge in the form of identifying new misconceptions or finding previously reported misconceptions with new populations or confirming prior research. Preliminary results (n = 17) based on the changes to the course showed significant improvement.

Pre-service teachers encounter many different mentor teachers during the teaching practicum process. While some teachers give sufficient coverage to early childhood science education, some do not. This research aimed to explain effective mentoring attributes and practices of the mentors which preferred by pre-service pre-school teachers during science teaching activities throughout the teaching practice lessons. The study was designed in line with the Q-methodology. The participants of the study were 39 pre-service teachers. Quantitative data were collected with the Q measurement tool developed by the researchers to describe the mentoring attributes and practices in science teaching. In addition, qualitative data were collected and analyzed through an open-ended questionnaire. The results obtained in the study revealed that pre-service pre-school teachers preferred the mentoring attributes and practices, in which they could get support at the point of personal development in science teaching. In addition, it was found that the same pre-service teachers were less likely to prefer the mentor who gave feedback and tried to be a role model while science teaching. Keywords: effective mentoring, mentor teachers, pre-school education, science teaching

This study focuses on a particular type of knowledge which is referred to throughout as tacit knowledge and has been identified as a personal form of knowledge, which plays a key role in the practice and professional development of teachers. In the context of initial teacher education tacit knowledge is important to consider as what student teachers are learning and how they are learning it is of current, pressing concern to initial teacher education in England. The role of and access to tacit knowledge in student teacher learning were investigated using a case study approach employing stimulated recall interviews wherein mentors were asked to reflect upon their teaching and explain their teaching actions. Stimulated recall interviews involved student teachers taking on the role of interviewer. Thematic analysis of data revealed that student teachers probed key teaching episodes and encouraged mentors to reveal complex decision making which may otherwise have remained undisclosed. Main findings show that both student teachers and experienced teachers see tacit knowledge as useful in the learning to teach process. Interviews reveal that observable teaching actions had complex underlying reasoning and this was elicited via objective-led dialogue between student teacher and mentor, post-teaching. Student teachers were able to independently select teaching events to examine further, and were able to understand their mentor’s actions and judgements more deeply as a result of stimulated recall interviewing. The implications arising out of this study include a need for change to observation and debriefing practices in school, with student teachers and mentors becoming more aware of the value and purpose of tacit knowledge. The benefits of student teachers being instrumental in initiating and asking questions which can elicit experienced teachers’ tacit knowledge are clear; and findings show the potential for student teachers to become more pivotal in their own learning. Where stimulated recall interviews were used mentors were encouraged to reveal embedded reasoning underpinning their classroom practice.

Research in the field of education plays a pivotal role in developing evidence-based practices in teaching and improving the quality of education. However, research conducted in recent years has highlighted the unwillingness of teachers to benefit from scientific studies. This study set out to assess whether Research Evidence-Based Practices in Science Teaching (EBPST) influences the teaching practices of student teachers and their attitudes towards education research. Mixed methods research design was used in this study. The study was conducted through Quasi-experimental methods and focus group interviews. The data were collected with the "Teachers Attitude Scale towards Educational Research (TASTER)" and focus group interviews. Participants of the study included 106 third-year undergraduate student teachers. The experimental group applied EBPST during their teaching, while the control group applied existing traditional teaching at primary schools. The Quantitative findings showed that student teachers in the experimental group had significantly increased positive attitudes towards educational research when compared with student teachers in the control group. In addition, qualitative findings revealed that several factors negatively and positively influence the understanding and use of educational research for student teachers on the applicability of EBPST. Considering the results of this study, student teachers' EBPST effect on improving their attitudes, understanding, and the use of educational research in teaching.