Elementary Science Simulations to Advance Undergraduate Elementary Teacher Preparation

未来的小学教师，也就是所谓的小学教师候选人，将通过大学课程学习如何教授科学。然而，由于小学课堂上对阅读和数学的高度重视，全国各地的教师候选人几乎没有机会实际教授科学。自1963年以来，未来的医生一直通过临床模拟来练习他们的医学知识和技能，在那里他们与经过精心培训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。这个项目利用临床模拟的概念来支持未来的小学教师。研究人员将未来的小学教师安排在六个不同的基础科学模拟中，挑战他们引导标准化学生(经过精心培训的演员，提出与小学生一致的内容错误、问题和/或关注)，以更好地理解基础科学概念。通过这个项目，研究人员将调查未来的教师如何将他们所知道的教授基础科学的知识--从大学课程--转化为他们如何在模拟中教授基础科学概念。对教育界的好处是，基础科学模拟的产生，它们帮助弥合教师准备和教师实践之间的差距的潜力，以及该项目将从调查和产生循证调查结果中学到什么。该项目的资金支持来自NSF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与学，促进了本科教育的改善。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)。虽然国家科学服务体系要求了解科学内容和科学实践，但小学教师候选人几乎没有机会从事与在小学课堂上教授科学相关的实践(Olson等人，2015年)。这项计画将改编长期沿用的临床模拟医学教育方法，以(1)为初级教师候选人提供多个从事基本科学现象教学的机会，以及(2)探讨初级教师候选人是否能发展其能力，以指导学生在特定的NGSS实践中建构基本科学概念的科学解释。评估小学教师候选人的大学基础科学方法课程，通过他们随后在六个基础科学模拟中的互动，研究人员将调查候选人在科学教学效能方面的潜在进步，以及他们构建-并引导学生构建-基本科学概念的能力。这项研究通过仔细检查科学教师准备课程是否以及如何影响教师在向学生教授科学时的日常实践，为更广泛的科学界做出了贡献。这项研究试图确定基础科学模拟如何成为与IUSE计划意图一致的“本科生学习和教学企业的新功能”之一。

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.