Volume 104 (7), November 2004

Table of Contents

Abstract

Reforming Elementary Science Teacher Preparation: What About Extant Teaching Beliefs?

Julie A. Thomas, Texas Tech University            

Jon E. Pedersen, The University of Oklahoma

A common maxim in the educational profession is that one teaches the way one is taught. Indications are that preservice teachersâ beliefs, attitudes, and practices may be linked to previous experiences. Calderhead & Robson (1991) underscored this concern by asserting that teachers use good teachers as models for developing their own images as teachers. Others have argued that the images held by teachers are used as frames of reference for their own teaching practices. In this article, preservice teachersâ perceptions of themselves as science teachers are examined. The assertion is made that a long history of stereotypical science learning experiences ÷ in elementary school, high school, and college ÷ powerfully impacts the way in which elementary preservice teachers understand the nature of science and come to believe science should be taught. In the current study, the images and perceptions preservice teachers bring to science methods courses (as evidenced in drawings of themselves as science teachers at work) are identified and ways these images and perceptions may have been formed and how they can be reinforced or modified during a science methods course are discussed.

Institutional Norms and Policies That Influence College Mathematics Professors in the Process of Changing to Reform-Based Practices

Amy Roth McDuffie, Washington State University , Tri-Cities     

Anna O. Graeber, University of Maryland

This case study was an investigation of the role of the institutional culture of a university in the process of changing to reform-based practices for two college mathematics professors. A framework is presented for identifying and analyzing institutional norms and policies that are present and those lacking in supporting faculty efforts toward reform. The primary categories considered in the framework are the teaching and learning context, the professional community, and the universityâs reward system. This framework is applied to the cases, and findings indicate that institutional norms in the forms of priorities for how time is allocated to professional responsibilities (as part of the teaching context), and colleagues and administrators who understood and shared the professorsâ goals for reform (as part of the professional community) strongly influenced the professorsâ efforts toward change. Additionally, a reward system that recognized efforts to improve teaching and learning was critical in establishing a culture that promoted change. However, despite the fact that both professors were in the same mathematics department, the nature of the influence of these factors was not uniform. The institutional culture indeed had multiple layers that required examination for each professorâs individual context. The findings help highlight the importance of institutional context for both K-12 and college level teaching and learning. The nature of these influential factors and the institutional layers were discussed for each case, along with implications for other institutions.

Relationships Between Inquiry-Based Teaching and Physical Science Standardized Test Scores

Thomas R. Tretter, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  

M. Gail Jones ,  North Carolina State University

This exploratory case study investigates relationships between use of an inquiry-based instructional style and student scores on standardized multiple-choice tests. The study takes the form of a case study of physical science classes taught by one of the authors over a span of four school years. The first 2 years were taught using traditional instruction with low levels of inquiry (non-inquiry group), and the last 2 years of classes were taught by inquiry methods. Studentsâ physical science test scores, achievement data, and attendance data were examined and compared across both instructional styles. Results suggest that for this teacher the use of an inquiry-based teaching style did not dramatically alter studentsâ overall achievement, as measured by North Carolina âs standardized test in physical science. However, inquiry-based instruction had other positive effects, such as a dramatic improvement in student participation and higher classroom grades earned by students. In additional inquiry-based instruction resulted in more uniform achievement than did traditional instruction, both in classroom measures and in more objective standardized test measures.

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