Student Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching and Learning Science before and after a Science Methods Course

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the beliefs about science teaching and learning that student teachers construct prior and after a coursework in science teaching methods. The subjects of this study included 45 elementary student teachers attending the College of Educational Sciences at the Hashemite University, Jordan. All students were enrolled in their first science methods course during the fall semester of the academic year 2001/2002. The Draw-A Science- Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C) instrument, that measures students’ illustrations of themselves as “a science teacher at work”, was administered to the student teachers during the first meeting of their science methods course, and at the end of the course. Analysis of the illustrations revealed that most student teachers depicted less traditional student-centered elements of teaching and classroom images at the end of the course. The results support proper training of science teachers in order to improve their beliefs and practices of teaching and learning science for a systematic long lasting reform.