Session R8: Research in Teacher Preparation

Historical Survey of Research in Physics Teacher Preparation

There have been efforts to provide specialized preparation for prospective physics teachers for over 100 years, both in the U.S. and elsewhere. However, systematic research investigations of these efforts are much more scarce, particularly in the U.S. I will review some highlights of research in physics teacher preparation reported in the U.S. and in several other countries as early as the 1920s. The more recent investigations (beginning around 1970) reveal a pattern of teacher preparation practices emphasizing multiple, extended experiences in analyzing physical systems---and making and testing hypotheses of experimental outcomes---by developing and reflecting on laboratory-based physics activities that are often subsequently taught (as simulated ``micro-teaching'' or in actual classrooms), all under close guidance and intensive coaching from expert physics-teacher educators. Outcomes reported include improvements in the quality of experiment design (emphasizing student-generated explanations rather than rote procedures), and in ability to communicate, better awareness of physics teachers' pedagogical knowledge, and improved learning gains by the teachers' students on tests of conceptual understanding.   

Conceptual Model of Physics Teacher Preparation: Developing Habits of Mind and Practice through Apprenticeship in a Community

This talk will describe a conceptual framework aimed at providing a better understanding of the process of physics teacher formation. Literature on teacher preparation suggests that pre-service teachers (PSTs) learn best when they are immersed in a community, which shares a common vision of good teaching and helps PSTs develop requisite knowledge, skills, and dispositions consistent with that vision. However, often due to the time pressures and complexities of classroom environment a teacher cannot afford multiple considerations and deliberations with oneself before every decision. We therefore suggest that good teacher preparation programs should, in addition to the knowledge, skills and dispositions, strive to develop in PSTs productive habits. We group these habits into habits of mind, habits of practice and habits of maintenance and improvement. I will present examples of those and provide suggestions on how to structure physics teacher preparation program to help future physics teachers develop these habits.   

Development and validation of a new survey: Perceptions of Teaching as a Profession (PTaP)

To better understand the impact of efforts to train more science teachers such as the PhysTEC Project and to help with early identification of future teachers, we are developing the survey of \textit{Perceptions of Teaching as a Profession} (PTaP) to measure students' views of teaching as a career, their interest in teaching and the perceived climate of physics departments towards teaching as a profession. The instrument consists of a series of statements which require a response using a 5-point Likert-scale and can be easily administered online. The survey items were drafted by a team of researchers and physics teacher candidates and then reviewed by an advisory committee of 20 physics teacher educators and practicing teachers. We conducted 27 interviews with both teacher candidates and non-teaching STEM majors. The survey was refined through an iterative process of student interviews and item clarification until all items were interpreted consistently and answered for consistent reasons. In this presentation the preliminary results from the student interviews as well as the results of item analysis and a factor analysis on 900 student responses will be shared.