Integrating Tech Prep into Science Teacher Preparation

Tech Prep is an emerging educational reform in the United States. Thirty of 37 states responding to a recent survey had some type offormal Tech Prep initiative in place (R. Hayes, 1995 ). Although Tech Prep has received its strongest backing from practitioners in technology education, science teacher educators must prepare teachers for these programs. The problem is that few may be ready. This paper provides an overview of Tech Prep and a model for its integration into the K-12 curriculum. It then discusses implications for science and mathematics teacher preparation.     

Enriching Science and Math Through Engineering

This case study reviewed the collaborative efforts of university engineers, teacher educators, and middle school teachers to advance sixth‐ and seventh‐grade students' learning through a series of project‐based engineering activities. This two‐year project enriched regular school curricula by introducing real‐world applications of science and mathematics concepts that expanded opportunities for creativity and problem‐solving, introduced problem‐based learning, and provided after‐school programming (for girls only) led by engineering students from the local university. This engineering education initiative showed significant impact on students' (1) confidence in science and mathematics; (2) effort toward science and mathematics; (3) awareness of engineering; and (4) interest in engineering as a potential career. With regard to gender, there were no significant differences between boys' and girls' responses. The girls' confidence in their own skills and potential, however, was significantly more positive than the boys' confidence in the girls. These results gave rise to new questions regarding mentor/mentee relationships and the overall effect of “girls only” mentoring.     

A Procedure for Integrating Math and Science Units

During our work with pairs of elementary and middle school lead teachers, one mathematics and one science, we struggled to get beyond activities developed by AIMS and others. This article presents a procedure whereby two teachers engage in a semi-structured professional dialogue to create curriculum experiences which highlight mathematics and science connections.     

Integrating Science and Mathematics Education: Historical Analysis

A number of national science and mathematics education professional associations, and recently technology education associations, are united in their support for the integration of science and mathematics teaching and learning. The purpose of this historical analysis is two‐fold: (a) to survey the nature and number of documents related to integrated science and mathematics education published from 1901 through 2001 and (b) to compare the nature and number of integrated science and mathematics documents published from 1990 through 2001 to the previous 89 years (1901–1989). Based upon this historical analysis, three conclusions have emerged. First, national and state standards in science and mathematics education have resulted in greater attention to integrated science and mathematics education, particularly in the area of teacher education, as evidenced by the proliferation of documents on this topic published from 1901–2001. Second, the historical comparison between the time periods of 1901–1989 versus 1990–2001 reveals a grade‐level shift in integrated instructional documents. Middle school science continues to be highlighted in integrated instructional documents, but surprisingly, a greater emphasis upon secondary mathematics and science education is apparent in the integration literature published from 1990–2001. Third, although several theoretical integration models have been posited in the literature published from 1990–2001, more empirical research grounded in these theoretical models is clearly needed in the 21st century.     

Blended Science: The Rewards and Challenges of Integrating the Science Disciplines for Instruction

This paper provides an overview of blended science instruction, a term used to represent instructional plans by which the science disciplines are connected to each other and occasionally to other school subjects. The central rationales for such instruction, the historical development of blended instructional plans, and a review of the current proponents and forms of such instruction are provided. The primary varieties of blended instruction, including integrated, unified, and coordinated science, are compared and contrasted. Special attention is given to the major recommendations in support of blended science coming from philosophical, psychological, pedagogical, and pragmatic domains. The conclusions section includes some of the challenges facing those who plan an integrated teaching focus.     

Integrating the Study of Trigonometry,Vectors, and Force Through Modeling

In this case study, we have investigated the construction of understanding of the motion of an object down an inclined plane which takes place through the process of model building. This study was conducted in an integrated algebra, trigonometry, and physics class at an alternative public school. The components of the modeling process explored in the study are the action of building representations and relationships from physical phenomena, the use of a simulation environment to explore conjectures, and the iterative process of developing and validating a solution through the use of a multirepresentational analytic tool. Four major results related to student model building emerged from this study. First, students pursued problems with far more diversity in approaches than the problem itself might have initially suggested. Second, this analysis challenges conventional notions of closure and completeness. Third, the integration of the simulation environment provided access to an expert's model that could be used as the students built their own model of the phenomena being investigated. The fourth theme is that of progressive complexity in the student model as a structure that was built over an extended period of time. The implications of these results for both instruction and curriculum are discussed.     

In-Service Teacher Education Through an After-School Hands-On Science Program

An after-school hands-on science program was offered for two years for the purpose of stimulating in-service elementary schoolteachers to increase their use of a hands-on approach to the teaching of science and mathematics. Parents were brought into the after-school classes as active partners in the education of their children. Surveys of parents and teachers yielded judgments of high regard for the effectiveness of the program. This intervention appeared to be of limited value however in bringing unscientifically oriented elementary school teachers up to a high level of proficiency in the hands-on approach to science teaching.     

Teachers Describe Epistemologies of Science Instruction Through Q Methodology

Creating scientifically literate students is a common goal among educational stakeholders. An understanding of nature of science is an important component of scientific literacy in K‐12 science education. Q methodology was used to investigate the opinions of preservice and in‐service teachers on how they intend to teach or currently teach science. Q methodology is a measurement tool designed to capture personal beliefs. Participants included 40 preservice and in‐service elementary and secondary science teachers who sorted 40 self‐referential statements regarding science instruction. The results identified three epistemologies toward teaching science: A Changing World, My Beliefs, and Tried and True. Participants with the A Changing World epistemology believe evidence is reliable, scientific knowledge is generated in multiple ways, and science changes in light of new evidence. The My Beliefs epistemology reflects that scientific knowledge is subject to change due to embedded bias, science is affected by culture and religion, and evolution should not be taught in the classroom. The Tried and True epistemology views a scientific method as an exact method to prove science, believes experiments are crucial for scientific discoveries, absolute truth exists in scientific knowledge, and society and cultural factors can be eliminated from investigations. Implications for preservice teacher education programs and in‐service teacher professional development are addressed.