Constructing Meaning in a Science Methods Course for Prospective Elementary Teachers e-bog

How do prospective elementary science teachers think? This case study * reveals thinking patterns common to preservice elementary teachers;* identifies their behavioral characteristics while learning to teach science which are not commonly noted in current literature;* provides change strategies to accelerate preservice elementary teachers embracing the holistic, constructivist, inquiry/practice-based paradigm consistent with the standards set by the curriculum.The chapters in this book immerse the reader in a sequence of episodes in this science methods course, and reveal the adventure of turning theory into practice while analyzing student-student/student-instructor interactions and their outcomes in an inquiry-driven, flipped classroom. Strategies presented empower preservice elementary teachers to* implement national and state standards;* change science learning/teaching from "e;business as usual"e; to applying science and engineering practices in the classroom;* make cognitive and behavioral changes required to shift paradigms and eliminate science anxiety;* pass through stages of grief inherent in the loss of dominant mechanistic paradigm.This book will interest a wide readership including science educators;scientists and engineers; administrators, supervisors, and elementary teachers in a clinical education setting; preservice elementary teachers; and anyone seeking to improve STEM education in elementary schools.