Pre-service Chemistry Teachers’ Representations and Perceptions of the Epistemic Core: A Thematic Analysis

Abstract

The chapter illustrates some outcomes of a teacher education intervention designed to promote pre-service teachers’ learning of the epistemic core which includes the aims and values, practices, methods and knowledge of chemistry. The purpose is to demonstrate what is likely to be observed when the epistemic core ideas are infused in chemistry teacher education. Thematic outcomes are discussed relative to the target themes that were promoted in the teacher education sessions, such as the definition of aims and values in science, types of scientific practices, diversity of methods and coherence between forms of knowledge and growth of knowledge. Example outcomes from three chemistry pre-service teachers are used to provide evidence for how the teacher education intervention influenced pre-service teachers’ representations and their perceptions as captured in their visual and verbal communication. The outcomes are reported through a qualitative and in-depth description. Pre-service teachers were able to express the key themes introduced in the sessions, and they creatively used analogies to situate and communicate their understanding.