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Instructional Approach
With these goals in mind, I teach an elementary science methods course in which university students can observe examples of children's thinking and of alternative science-teaching strategies and can reflect upon their own science experiences as well as their efforts to teach according to current National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996). The course in science-teaching methods is taught specifically for California elementary teachers working toward a multiple-subject credential. Prospective elementary teachers enroll in this course prior to the student teaching experience that is the culminating event for their graduation. It is a course offered in contrast to that for in-service teachers, who are actively teaching science, and it emphasizes the importance of providing preservice teachers opportunities to reflect on science teaching prior to their roles as full-time teachers. Using state-of-the-art desktop video editing software and hardware, I assist my preservice science teachers in identifying children's conceptions, I model exemplary practices for science teaching, and I facilitate their reflection on pedagogical choices. In the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University, the faculty are committed to connecting educational theory to actual teaching practices. Hence, I teach the science-methods course in a local progressive elementary school where the preservice teachers have access to mentors and children, and practice implementing technology for the purpose of enhancing science learning. The preservice teachers are each assigned to a school in the district and they meet once per week for six hours at the site of one selected elementary school to observe, plan, develop resources, teach science lessons, and reflect together as a group.
I hope to make an impact on preservice elementary science teachers in three areas: 1) their knowledge of children's prior experiences with and understanding of scientific concepts, 2) their knowledge of a variety of pedagogical strategies for teaching science, and 3) their understanding of their own past experiences as science learners and how these experiences influence their pedagogical choices. Below I describe actual strategies learned from research and experience that have assisted me in moving multiple-subject credential teachers' thinking forward in their considerations of children's thinking and appropriate strategies for teaching science in a manner consistent with National Science Standards (NRC, 1996).
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