Elementary Science Simulations to Advance Undergraduate Elementary Teacher Preparation

未来的小学教师，被称为小学教师候选人，被教导如何通过大学课程教授科学。 然而，由于在小学课堂上对阅读和数学的强调，全国各地的教师候选人很少有机会实际实践教学科学。自1963年以来，未来的医生一直在通过临床模拟练习他们的医学知识和技能，在那里他们与精心训练的标准化患者进行一对一的互动，这些患者描绘了不同的健康问题。该项目利用临床模拟的概念，以支持未来的小学教师。研究人员将在六种不同的小学科学模拟中训练未来的小学教师，挑战他们引导标准化的学生（经过精心训练的演员，他们会提出与小学生一致的内容错误，问题和/或担忧）更好地理解小学科学概念。通过这个项目，研究人员将调查未来的教师如何将他们对基础科学教学的了解-从大学课程-转化为他们实际上如何在模拟中教授基础科学概念。对教育界的好处是产生了基本的科学模拟，它们有可能帮助弥合教师准备和教师实践之间的差距，以及该项目将从调查和产生基于证据的发现中学到什么。 该项目的财政支持来自NSF的改善本科教育（IUSE）计划和罗伯特·诺伊斯教师奖学金计划。 该项目通过改善小学教师候选人的科学教学，为改善本科教育做出了贡献。下一代科学标准（NGSS）概述了对K-12科学内容的明确期望和八种教学实践-例如构建科学解释的实践-以支持内容探索（NGSS牵头国家，2013年）。虽然NGSS要求了解科学内容和科学实践，但小学教师候选人很少有机会参与与小学课堂科学教学相关的实践（Olson等人，2015年）。 本计画将调整长期存在的临床模拟医学教育教学法，以（1）提供小学教师候选人多个机会，从事基础科学现象的教学，（2）探讨小学教师候选人是否有能力指导学生在特定的NGSS实践中构建基础科学概念的科学解释。评估小学教师候选人在他们的大学小学科学方法课程，并通过他们随后在六个小学科学模拟的互动，研究人员将调查候选人在科学教学效能和他们的能力建设的潜在进步-并引导学生走向建设-科学解释的基本科学概念。 这项研究有助于更广泛的科学界仔细研究科学教师准备课程是否以及如何塑造教师的日常实践，因为他们教科学的学生。 本研究旨在确定如何小学科学模拟可能作为一个“本科学习和教学企业的新功能”符合IUSE计划的意图。

Future elementary teachers, known as elementary teacher candidates, are taught how to teach science through college coursework. Yet, due to a strong emphasis on reading and mathematics in elementary school classrooms, teacher candidates across the nation experience few opportunities to actually practice teaching science. Since 1963, future doctors have been practicing their medical knowledge and skills through clinical simulations, where they interact one-to-one with carefully trained standardized patients who portray distinct health concerns. This project utilizes the concept of clinical simulations in support of future elementary teachers. Researchers will situate future elementary teachers in six different elementary science simulations, challenging them to guide standardized students (actors who are carefully trained to present content errors, questions, and/or concerns consistent with elementary school students) toward better understanding of elementary science concepts. Through this project, the researchers will investigate how future teachers translate what they know about teaching elementary science--from college coursework--into how they actually teach elementary science concepts--in simulations. The benefit to the education community is generation of the elementary science simulations, their potential to help bridge the gap between teacher preparation and teacher practice, and what the project will learn from investigating and generating evidence-based findings. Financial support for this project comes from NSF's Improving Undergraduate Education (IUSE) program and the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program. The project contributes to the improvement of undergraduate education by improving the teaching and learning of science by elementary teacher candidates. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) outline clear expectations for K-12 science content and eight instructional practices--such as the practice of constructing scientific explanations--to support content exploration (NGSS Lead States, 2013). While the NGSS call for knowledge of science content and scientific practices, elementary teacher candidates experience very few opportunities to engage in the practices associated with teaching science in elementary classrooms (Olson et al., 2015). This project will adapt the long-standing medical education pedagogy of clinical simulations to (1) provide elementary teacher candidates multiple opportunities to engage in the teaching of elementary science phenomena, and (2) explore if elementary teacher candidates develop in their capacity to guide students in the specific NGSS practice of constructing scientific explanations of elementary science concepts. Assessing elementary teacher candidates in their collegiate Elementary Science Methods coursework, and through their subsequent interactions in six elementary science simulations, the researchers will investigate candidates' potential advances in science teaching efficacy and their ability to construct--and guide students toward constructing--scientific explanations of elementary science concepts. This study contributes to the broader scientific community by carefully examining if and how science teacher preparation coursework is shaping the daily practices of teachers as they teach science to students. This study seeks to identify how elementary science simulations may serve as one of the "new functions of the undergraduate learning and teaching enterprise" consistent with the IUSE program intent.