Quality of beginner pre-service teachers' science instruction

Abstract

Teachers' instructional quality is important for students' learning outcomes, but research on beginner middle school pre-service teachers' (PSTs') instructional quality and development is limited. In this case study, we investigated the quality of science instruction for beginner PSTs. All the 21 science lessons of six PSTs during the school practicum in their first year in a teacher education program were video-recorded. Video data were analyzed using categories from the Linking Instruction in Science and Student Impact observation manual. Our analysis focused on crucial aspects of quality science instruction: cognitive activation, discourse features, instructional clarity, and scientific inquiry. Studied as one case, the six PSTs showed surprisingly high scores for categories related to student-centered teaching and practical activities with connections to science concept learning. However, the PSTs only challenged students intellectually to a moderate degree and rarely performed inquiry-based teaching. In addition, their representations of science content varied greatly in terms of quality. The results are discussed and implications for teacher education are outlined.