Young children express awe and motivation for learning science when interacting with phenomena. For example, children express natural interest when asking questions such as, “Whoa! How does that happen?” Children often ask broad scientific questions in which they need support from teachers on how to connect multidisciplinary scientific ideas. Elementary teachers, however, often experience science instruction from a solely disciplinary perspective. As a result, many elementary teachers struggle in supporting the development of children’s scientific ideas. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) present promise in supporting the development of children’s scientific ideas. In reality, this approach presents many difficulties for elementary school teachers as teacher education programs provide limited opportunities to develop an understanding for scientific practices such as asking questions, designing investigations, analyzing data, and forming evidence-based arguments. In this study, we investigate how guided-inquiry approaches in an integrated Physical Science laboratory curriculum support PSETs’ (n=129) explanations of Chemistry, Physics, and Integrated phenomena. Study participants are majority female (90%) and Hispanic (60%). We use a mixed-methods study with a quantitative focus on measuring PSETs’ change in scientific explanations across pre/post assessments. We conduct a thematic analysis using triangulation of data including instructor feedback, student comments, and classroom observations. Major findings of this study shed light on how PSETs display significant gains in scientific explanation in a Physical Science course with guided-inquiry approaches. It is important to note that PSETs’ gains were dependent on the laboratory instructor. This study will share critical and useful insight for teacher education programs considering the redesign of science laboratory curriculum in alignment with the NGSS.

Providing pre-service elementary teachers opportunities through guided-inquiry to understand why and how scientific phenomena occur

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.