The development of science teachers' knowledge on models and modelling: promoting, characterizing, and understanding the process

Models play an important role in science education. However, previous research has revealed that science teachers' content knowledge, curricular knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge about models and modelling are often incomplete or inadequate. A research project was conducted that aimed at promoting and gaining an understanding of the development of beginning science teachers' knowledge in this area. The teachers, who were enrolled in a teacher's training programme, participated in a special course on models and modelling, and conducted a research project in their classes about this theme. The data gathered in this project support the discussion to the extent that both the activities of the course and the conducting of and reflection on their research projects contributed to the development of teachers' knowledge. From the results, we propose some guidelines for educational researchers interested in this area.

[1]  Derek Hodson,et al.  In search of a meaningful relationship: an exploration of some issues relating to integration in science and science education , 1992 .

[2]  Ralph T. Putnam,et al.  What Do New Views of Knowledge and Thinking Have to Say About Research on Teacher Learning? , 2000 .

[3]  Hilary Hollingsworth,et al.  Elaborating a model of teacher professional growth , 2002 .

[4]  Phil Scott,et al.  Research in science education in Europe : current issues and themes , 1996 .

[5]  L. Shulman.  Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform , 1987 .

[6]  Jan H. van Driel,et al.  Teachers' Knowledge of Models and Modelling in Science. , 1999 .

[7]  Jeffrey John Loughran.  Knowledge Construction and Learning to Teach about Teaching , 2005 .

[8]  Rosária Justi,et al.  Science teachers' knowledge about and attitudes towards the use of models and modelling in learning science , 2002 .

[9]  J. Gilbert,et al.  Investigating Teachers’ Ideas about Models and Modelling — Some Issues of Authenticity , 2005 .

[10]  M. Wittrock.  Handbook of research on teaching , 1986 .

[11]  Maher Z. Hashweh.  Toward an explanation of conceptual change , 1986 .

[12]  Kathleen S. Davis.  "Change is hard": What science teachers are telling us about reform and teacher learning of innovative practices , 2003 .

[13]  Rosária Justi,et al.  The use of the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth for understanding the development of science teachers’ knowledge on models and modelling , 2006 .

[14]  Julie R. Korenberg.  Mental modelling , 1995, Nature Genetics.

[15]  John K. Gilbert,et al.  Models in explanations, Part 1 : Horses for courses? , 1998 .

[16]  Norman G. Lederman,et al.  Examining Pedagogical Content Knowledge: The Construct and its Implications for Science Education , 2001 .

[17]  J. Krajcik,et al.  Nature, Sources, and Development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Science Teaching , 1999 .

[18]  Piet Lijnse,et al.  Teacher Development: A Model From Science Education , 1996 .

[19]  L. Shulman.  Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching , 1986 .

[20]  Margarete Kedzior,et al.  Teacher Professional Development , 2004 .

[21]  D. Schoen.  Educating the reflective practitioner , 1987 .

[22]  J. Stenton,et al.  Learning how to teach. , 1973, Nursing mirror and midwives journal.

[23]  P. Grossman.  The Making of a Teacher: Teacher Knowledge and Teacher Education , 1990 .

[24]  Mark Windschitl,et al.  Inquiry projects in science teacher education: What can investigative experiences reveal about teacher thinking and eventual classroom practice? , 2003 .

[25]  Nancy J. Nersessian,et al.  Model-Based Reasoning in Conceptual Change , 1999 .

[26]  W. L. Eikenberry.  The national association for research in science teaching , 1929 .

[27]  Margaret Morrison,et al.  Models as Mediating Instruments , 1999 .

[28]  Ronald N. Giere,et al.  Using Models to Represent Reality , 1999 .

[29]  D. Hodson,et al.  Pedagogical context knowledge: Toward a fuller understanding of what good science teachers know , 2001 .

[30]  N. Verloop,et al.  Exploring language teachers' practical knowledge about teaching reading comprehension , 1999 .

[31]  Laura M. Desimone,et al.  Designing Professional Development That Works. , 2000 .

[32]  L. Darling-Hammond,et al.  Authentic assessment of teaching in context , 2000 .

[33]  Wobbe de Vos,et al.  Public Understanding of Science as a Separate Subject in Secondary Schools in The Netherlands. , 1999 .

[34]  L. Shulman,et al.  Teachers of Substance: Subject Matter Knowledge for Teaching , 2005 .

[35]  Rosária Justi,et al.  Modelling, teachers' views on the nature of modelling, and implications for the education of modellers , 2002 .