Educating Effective Science Teachers: Preparing and Following Teachers into the Field

Summary

This chapter presents findings from several investigations connected to the preparation of secondary-level science teachers, comparing two secondary science teacher preparation programs (an undergraduate and a graduate program) at a large Midwestern university. The different program designs resulted in a greater use of reform-based science instructional practices by graduate level candidates with science degrees.  Also, it reports on an investigation into common discipline-specific misconceptions (e.g., chemistry, physics/physical science, and life science) held by teachers with a range of science content knowledge for in- and out-of-field teachers.  The science content knowledge of these beginning science teachers, classroom observations of their science lessons, and other factors were used to build a model of their use of inquiry-based instruction, which varied significantly by teacher preparation program. The chapter concludes with a discussion of implications for science teacher preparation program design and implementation, evidence-based teacher certification policy, and recommendations for future research.