Planning For The Elicitation Of Students’ Ideas: A Lesson Study Approach With Preservice Science Teachers, Douglas B. Larkin
Dec 2016
Planning For The Elicitation Of Students’ Ideas: A Lesson Study Approach With Preservice Science Teachers, Douglas B. Larkin
Douglas B. Larkin
In an effort to better prepare science teachers to engage in high-leverage practices, this study investigates the choices and rationales of preservice science teachers in planning elicitation strategies and describes how their understandings about the elicitation of students’ ideas changed over time. Four cohorts of preservice science teachers engaged in a cycle of modified lesson study focused on the elicitation of student ideas. Findings suggest that the participants focused on revising the elicitation task to achieve greater task clarity and student participation and to provide more opportunities for individual thinking. One notable outcome of the study is the need for …
Reasoning About Race And Pedagogy In Two Preservice Science Teachers: A Critical Race Theory Analysis, Douglas B. Larkin, Tanya Maloney, Gail M. Perry-Ryder
Dec 2015
Reasoning About Race And Pedagogy In Two Preservice Science Teachers: A Critical Race Theory Analysis, Douglas B. Larkin, Tanya Maloney, Gail M. Perry-Ryder
Douglas B. Larkin
This study describes the experiences of two preservice science teachers as they progress through their respective teacher education programs, and uses critical race theory to examine the manner in which conceptions about race and its pedagogical implications change over time. Using a longitudinal case study method, participants’ conceptual ecologies of race and pedagogy are mapped both before and after student teaching, and each case is analyzed for evidence of conceptual change in these
areas. Findings show that conceptions about race and the pedagogical implications of race changed in ways that likely would have gone undetected in earlier studies because they …
Without The Light Of Evolution: A Case Study Of Resistance And Avoidance In Learning To Teach High School Biology, Douglas B. Larkin, Gail M. Perry-Ryder
Dec 2014
Without The Light Of Evolution: A Case Study Of Resistance And Avoidance In Learning To Teach High School Biology, Douglas B. Larkin, Gail M. Perry-Ryder
Douglas B. Larkin
In this article we present the case of Michael, a prospective high school biology teacher, in order to explore the implications of teacher resistance and avoidance to the topic of evolution. This case is drawn from a year-long qualitative research study that examined Michael’s process of learning to teach high school biology, and describes how his avoidance of evolution in his own education led to further disengagement with evolution in his methods coursework and in his student teaching practice. Paradoxically, his high academic abilities obscured substantive knowledge gaps about evolution, and his content knowledge regarding evolution did not appear to …
Structures And Strategies For Science Teacher Education In The 21st Century, Douglas B. Larkin
Dec 2013
Structures And Strategies For Science Teacher Education In The 21st Century, Douglas B. Larkin
Douglas B. Larkin
In order to determine the ways in which teacher preparation programs will need to change in order to meet the needs of preparing STEM teachers in the near future, it is necessary to ascertain what STEM teacher preparation programs are actually doing in the present. This article presents a comparative analysis of six different science teacher education pathways in order to portray, compare, and contrast the structures and strategies used by each. The central premise is that there is much to learn from what is already being done in this field from the different visions of science teacher education currently …
Misconceptions About “Misconceptions”: Preservice Secondary Science Teachers’ Views On The Value And Role Of Student Ideas., Douglas B. Larkin
Dec 2011
Misconceptions About “Misconceptions”: Preservice Secondary Science Teachers’ Views On The Value And Role Of Student Ideas., Douglas B. Larkin
Douglas B. Larkin
There remains a lack of agreement in the field of science education as to whether student “misconceptions” ought to be considered obstacles or resources, and this has implications for the ways in which prospective teachers think about the value of their students’ ideas. This empirical study examines how fourteen preservice secondary science teachers in four different science teacher preparation programs interpreted the rationale for eliciting student ideas. The findings indicate that the preservice teachers in this study showed an increase in recognizing the importance of student ideas, yet not all took the same view of their role and value in …
