NSF Award
1743831
This conference seeks to address a persistent challenge for pre-service teacher education programs, that is, how to align what occurs in the preparation of elementary teachers related to science with the expectations set forth in state standards for science. The project will provide support to stakeholders across the state of Oklahoma to come together in a workshop to generate ideas related to changing the elementary teacher preparation curriculum in science. Participants will include science and education faculty at the University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma City metropolitan area elementary school teachers and administrators, and various state and local non-profit agencies and organizations, such as the Oklahoma State Department of Education. At least four additional institutions of higher education (3 private and one public) with elementary teacher preparation programs, will participate as well. A synthesis document of discussions and consensus outcomes, will be produced and disseminated beyond workshop participants to the Oklahoma Academy of Science, the Oklahoma Science Teachers, and more, as well as published on the College of Mathematics and Science website. The process by which this statewide effort achieves it intents will be documented to inform other like-minded state efforts. This endeavor to provide support for influencing the undergraduate preparation of elementary teachers in science is supported by the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program of the National Science Foundation.<br/><br/>This project will convene a one-day workshop among university, school district, and non-profit entities to come to consensus on the essential science content and pedagogical approaches necessary for elementary teachers to implement the state science standards. Recorders will serve to document both the shared vision related to the preparation of pre-service teachers in science emanating from the workshop, as well as the process by which this outcome was obtained. This project will create or reinforce new partnerships among university content experts, elementary educators, and stakeholders (local and state non-profit curriculum developers such as public utilities, and zoos and museums) who provide resources to elementary teachers. The shared vision document will provide the basis for development or revision of instructional approaches and materials that can first be introduced in pre-service education programs and then used to teach the necessary content and pedagogical approaches consistent with state standards and best practices. These materials can then be used by the nascent elementary teachers in their classrooms as they support students in learning science in their early years. This workshop will identify the appropriate foundational content knowledge and pedagogically sound curriculum approaches that will provide future elementary educators with an experience of phenomenologically nature-based elementary education. This will allow for the better engagement of students in science education and will also generate a better understanding of the resources available for science educators in utilizing natural world examples, as well as identify cross-disciplinary strategies. Using the shared vision, university faculty can develop university courses specifically for elementary teachers. This has important intellectual merit as the potential exists to provide high-quality, scientifically literate elementary teachers for the schools across the state while also impacting university science and engineering faculty's understanding of the needs of area elementary schools. The overarching intent of this effort, the understanding of science through attainable, comprehensible "real world" examples by pre-service teachers and their students has the potential to broaden participation and allows students to be excited about learning science. The partnerships created among university scientists and elementary educators, as well as elementary classroom teachers, administrators and stakeholder non-profit entities, through this seminal workshop and the generation of a shared vision for the science preparation of pre-service elementary teachers, also has the potential to serve as the seed of future collaborations.
