View
15
Download
2
Category
Tags:
Preview:
Citation preview
What do future teachers need in an introductory
course?Maximizing the value of your introductory
course for future K-12 teachersA workshop at the Earth Educators’ Rendezvous
July 16-17, 2015Anne E. Egger
Some statistics• In 2011, 103,992 students obtained
Bachelor’s degrees in education (compared to 4671 in geosciences)
• About 60% of those degrees are in elementary education
• As of 2002, 83% of practicing elementary teachers had at least 1 semester course in Earth science– Better than chemistry (53%) and physics (62%)…– …but not as good as life science (92%)
• But perhaps even more important…
54% had ONLY one course
Can that one course really prepare someone to teach
about Earth?
How we commonly teach science
How we expect them to teach
What we teach
• Plate tectonics• Minerals• Igneous rocks• Sedimentary
rocks• Metamorphic
rocks• Weathering
• Soil• Deserts• Glaciers• Mountain-building• Volcanoes• Earthquakes• Running water• Etc.
What we expect them to teach
Our introductory courses may be the only opportunity that future
teachers have to learn about Earth, and to prepare to teach the Next Generation Science
Standards. How and what we teach
matters.
How we teach
• In table groups, list all the things you think are most important in the way a science course with lots of future teachers is taught.
• Don’t think about content.• Then choose your top three
strategies.• We’ll make a list at the end.
Some ways to better serve future teachers
• Develop content courses specifically for future teachers that incorporate pedagogy
• Offer special lab or discussion sections
• Pair content and pedagogy courses • Implement course changes that
improve learning for all students and benefit everyone (like universal access)
Collected research on learning
Research on learning
All freely downloadable from the National Academies Press:
http://nap.edu
Key findings for all students
• Students come in to our classes with preconceptions, not blank slates
• Students must have the opportunity to develop a conceptual framework that facilitates retrieval and builds on deep knowledge
• A metacognitive approach helps students monitor their own learning and become better learners
• Promising practices: – Developing (and using) learning outcomes– Engaging students in activities during class, in
groups– Organizing content in scenarios, with context– Get and give feedback with formative assessment
Research on learning
Research on learning
Specific to future teachers:Pedagogical Content Knowledge
…embodies the aspects of content most germane to its teachability: • the most useful forms of representation of the most
regularly taught ideas,• the most powerful analogies, illustrations, examples,
explanations, and demonstrations • an understanding of what makes the learning of
specific concepts easy or difficult• the conceptions and preconceptions that students of
different ages and backgrounds bring with them to the learning
Shulman, 1986
Part of PCK:Geoscientific thinking
• Methods of investigation in Earth science– Observation >> experimentation– Physical and computer-based models
• Habits of mind– Spatial thinking – Temporal reasoning– Geographic facility– Systems thinking
Metacognition and Self-efficacy
Hold that thought.
What we teach
• Compare middle-level NGSS performance expectations to the content in your syllabus.– Quick primer on reading the handout– 10 minutes or so on your own– 20 minutes or so with your group– Summarize your findings– Take a break–We’ll report out when we come back
Recommended