The Earth Science Storybook Project: An Intervention Strategy for Teaching Science to Pre-service Elementary School Teachers

小学教师对科学的糟糕态度和科学内容知识的不足严重影响了美国幼儿的教育。学科知识不足的教师有时会以虚假或误导的方式教授科学概念，而那些对科学态度不佳的教师可能会将类似的态度传递给他们的学生，或者根本不教科学。地球科学故事书项目(ESSP)是一项旨在改善职前小学教师在为期一学期的大学课程中对科学的态度的“干预”战略。职前教师通过编写一本为K-4学生教授地球科学概念的故事书的过程进行指导。然后，这些故事书由视觉艺术专业的学生进行专业插图，并格式化，以便在互联网上免费分发。这项研究的更广泛的影响应该包括1)提高数百名职前小学教师对科学和科学教育的态度，2)增加女性参与科学的参与，3)博士论文，4)杨百翰大学地质系的长期努力，以促进大学科学教授的教育研究。此外，该项目还包括非常积极的外联和传播战略。例如，学生将被要求在当地一所小学的外展项目中展示他们的故事，这所小学的头衔是第一名，每年有60%的学生流动率。这所学校75%的学生有资格享受免费或降价的学校午餐，60%的学生来自英语不是主要语言的家庭。将在几个学术会议上传播这项研究的结果和相关的教育产品。在一个或多个学术期刊上，在与DLESE和州立教育信息交换所联合的互联网上，在电子邮件列表和五个当地学区的时事通讯中，在杨百翰大学主办的科学博览会上，在州教育协会会议上。

Poor attitudes toward science and inadequate science content knowledge among elementary school teachers significantly detract from the education of young children in the United States. Teachers with inadequate content knowledge sometimes teach scientific concepts in a false or misleading way, while those with poor attitudes toward science might pass on similar attitudes to their students or neglect to teach science at all. The Earth Science Storybook Project (ESSP) is a program designed as an "intervention" strategy to improve the attitudes toward science of pre-service elementary teachers during a one-semester college class. Pre-service teachers are mentored through the process of creating a storybook that teaches an earth science concept for K-4 students. These storybooks are then professionally illustrated by Visual Arts students and formatted for free distribution on the internet. Broader impacts of this study should include 1) the enhancement of attitudes toward science and science education for hundreds of pre-service elementary teachers, 2) the increased involvement of women in science, 3) a Ph.D. dissertation, and 4) a long-term effort in the BYU Geology department to promote educational studies by university science professors. In addition, the project includes very aggressive outreach and dissemination strategies. For example, students will be required to present their stories during an outreach program at a local elementary school, which has Title I status and 60% student turnover each year. 75% of the students in this school qualify for free or reduced price school lunch, and 60% of the students come from homes where English is not the primary language. Dissemination of the results of this study and associated educational products will take place at several academic conferences. In one or more academic journals, on the internet in conjunction with the DLESE and state educational clearinghouses, in e-mail lists and newsletters for five local school districts, at a BYU-hosted science fair, and at the state educational association conference.