Model of Research-Based Education for Teachers

This project is conducting a longitudinal study of the effects of a pre-service elementary science education.  Through overlapping studies on the pre-service teachers (PSTs) and in-service teachers who are graduates of the program, this project is seeking to analyze the impact of three essential dimensions of teacher preparation: inquiry-based science content courses, science methods/practicum courses, and k-12 mentor teachers.

Project Evaluator
Horizon Reseach Inc.
Full Description

This project is conducting a longitudinal study of the effects of an innovative pre-service elementary science education program at Western Washington University which was established with support from an NSF MSP grant.

There are four overlapping studies on the pre-service teachers (PSTs) and in-service teachers who are graduates of the program: (1) Comparing the pedagogical beliefs and skills of elementary PSTs as a function of the number (0-3) of reformed science content courses taken; (2) Comparing the same outcome variables for PSTs placed for student teaching with trained or untrained mentor teachers; (3) Comparing the impact of the science methods/practicum on PSTs who experienced the WWU reformed courses and those who did not; (4) An exploratory case study of the instructional practices of 20 novice elementary science teachers. The research utilizes the following existing instruments. (1) CLASS, the Colorado Learning Attitudes on Science Survey, (2) the Horizon Classroom Observation Protocol, (3) the Teacher Beliefs about Effective Science Teaching (TBEST) survey by Horizon Research Inc. 

The new undergraduate program at WWU has implemented and institutionalized many of the recommendations for best practices in preparing elementary school teachers in science. This project is seeking to analyze the impact of three essential dimensions of teacher preparation: inquiry-based science content courses, science methods/practicum courses, and k-12 mentor teachers.

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