CAREER: Teaching Elementary School Science as Argument (TESSA)

学校科学中对科学探究的重新重视已经将注意力从作为探索和实验的科学转移到作为论证和解释的科学(NRC，1996，第113页)。对学校科学辩论的兴趣增加源于有可能让学生参与真实的科学实践，将知识置于其原始背景中，帮助学生了解科学和科学实践，并让学生参与反思和理性活动，以支持有意义的科学学习。不幸的是，学校科学中的辩论实践很少，在小学和高中就更是如此。现实情况是，大多数初级小学教师没有以这种方式学习科学，也不太可能拥有所需的主题、教学理解和能力，以支持儿童优先考虑证据和论点作为他们科学学习经验的一部分。TESA项目正在调查一个电子学习环境的发展，旨在支持初级教师学习科学内容和学习教授科学。这些资源包括论点表达部分(即帮助未来教师构建循证论点作为其科学学习的一部分的工具)和作为论点部分的教学科学(即明确将未来教师的科学学习经验与以证据和论点为主的方式向儿童教授科学的教学知识和能力的发展联系起来的工具)。TESA资源正在整合到面向未来小学教师的科学课程和科学方法课程中。在这些背景下，我们正在研究未来的教师如何使用电子资源，以及这些资源如何协调参与者的发展，因为他们学习将科学作为辩论来教授。这些设计研究的结果将为Tessa资源的修订以及课程作业和活动的修改提供信息。此外，该项目正在调查初任教师学习的两个方面：(A)初任教师在参与构建基于证据的论点时如何学习科学概念和学习科学知识，以及(B)初任教师在向儿童教授科学时如何学会优先考虑证据和论点。侧重点的差异反映了教师知识的差异(即学科知识与特定学科的教学方法)。这些学习研究跟踪了初任教师一段时间的情况，从一门专门的生命科学课程，到一门科学方法课程，后者是密集的实地实习计划的一部分，最后进入他们教学的头几年。这一领域的持续研究将有助于发展关于学习将科学作为论点教授以及电子资源如何支持教师发展的实质性理论。这项工作是在科学教育研究生的帮助下进行的，他们正在接受关于科学师范教育和适合研究教师学习的研究方法的培训。

Renewed emphasis on scientific inquiry in school science has shifted attention from science as exploration and experiment to science as argument and explanation (NRC, 1996, p. 113). Increased interest in argumentation in school science stems from the potential to engage students in authentic scientific practices, situate knowledge in its original context, help students learn about science and scientific practices, and engage students reflective, sense-making activities that support meaningful science leaning. Unfortunately, argumentation practices in school science are rare, even more so in elementary school that high school. The reality is that most beginning elementary teachers have not learned science in this way and are unlikely to have the subject matter and pedagogical understandings and abilities needed to support children in giving priority to evidence and argument as part of their science learning experiences.The Teaching Elementary School Science as Argument (TESSA) project is investigating the development of an electronic learning environment designed to support beginning teachers in learning science content and learning to teach science. These resources include an argument articulation component (i.e., tools for assisting prospective teachers in constructing evidence-based arguments as part of their science learning) and a teaching science as argument component (i.e., tools that explicitly connect prospective teachers' science learning experiences to the development of pedagogical knowledge and abilities for teaching science to children in ways that give priority to evidence and argument). TESSA resources are being integrated into science courses and science methods courses for prospective elementary teachers. In these contexts, we are examining how prospective teachers use the electronic resources and how the resources mediate participants' development as they learn to teach science as argument. Results of these design studies will inform the revision of TESSA resources, as well as modifications to course assignments and activities. In addition, the project is investigating two aspects of beginning teachers' learning: (a) how beginning teachers learn science concepts and learn about science as they engage in constructing evidence-based arguments, and (b) how beginning teachers learn to give priority to evidence and argument when teaching science to children. The differences in foci reflect distinctions in teacher knowledge (i.e., subject matter knowledge versus subject-specific pedagogy). These learning studies track beginning teachers over time, from a specialized life science course, to a science methods course that is part of an intensive, field-based, internship program, and finally into their first years of teaching. Continued research in this area will contribute to the development of substantial theory about learning to teach science as argument and how electronic resources support teacher development. This work is being undertaken with the assistance of science education graduate students who are receiving training in both science teacher education and research methods appropriate for studying teacher learning.