Although student teaching plays a crucial role in teacher preparation programs, limited research has examined the specific features of this experience that positively impact preservice science teachers' (PSTs) questioning competency. This multi-case study contributes to the existing body of research by presenting findings from an initiative in a…

The aim of this study was to determine the professional developments of science teacher candidates over 14 weeks of microteaching practices. The sample for the study was comprised of 9 teacher candidates aged 21-23 who were studying their final year (4th year) in an elementary science education undergraduate programme of an education faculty in…

Teachers' beliefs can be seen as psychological seeds planted in teachers' minds. Teachers' beliefs about effective inquiry-based teaching impact their intentions, instructional designs, and actions required for inquiry-based lessons. This paper discusses how to help Thai preservice science teachers who engaged in their student-teaching practicum…

In today's increasingly linguistically diverse classrooms, all science teachers require expertise in supporting students' language development simultaneous to content-based classroom instruction. Current science-oriented K-12 teaching frameworks and standards promote a vision of learning and doing science that entails engaging students in…

For decades, a student's preparation for licensure to teach has been rather standard with increased time in field placements culminating with a semester of student teaching. During the Spring 2020, this changed for preservice students scheduled to "student teach." Due to COVID-19, schools closed for several weeks and re-opened online.…

A growing quantitative literature finds evidence that student teaching placements predict later outcomes of teacher candidates and their students, but there is little large-scale quantitative evidence about the mechanisms for these estimated relationships. We used data from a survey of STEM teachers in Washington State to better understand how…

Agency has been used as a lens to focus on how educators learn through pedagogical risk-taking, advocacy for curricular reform, and resisting policies that are not focused on the needs of students. We explored the role of agency as 65 preservice science teachers created learning opportunities for themselves during their clinical placements.…

This study analyzed elementary preservice teachers' (PST) participation in an equity-oriented digital clinical simulation administered in a science methods course. Using the Teacher Moments' open access platform, PSTs completed the simulation, To Intervene or Not, about two students from historically minoritized communities who appeared disengaged…

Literature suggests the transfer of understanding the nature of science to instructional practice requires preservice teachers to value teaching about the nature of science. Despite decades of research developing preservice teachers' views of nature of science, there is still a disconnect between their understanding and instructional practice.…

In this study, we document pre-service teachers' (PSTs) opportunities to learn about planning for equitable and ambitious instruction during clinical placements. We also test whether these opportunities vary by the level of participants' perceived congruence between the vision of science teaching supported in their university coursework and the…

Science education reforms aimed at narrowing racial achievement gaps often call for educators to make their instruction more inclusive and relevant to students' lives. Culturally Relevant Science Teaching (CRST) requires teachers to develop students' sociopolitical consciousness (SPC) in science, yet little is known about if and how science…

Research on teacher identity has suggested that being able to envision oneself as a teacher of science is an important part of becoming a teacher of science. Identity is a multifaceted construct and for prospective elementary teachers there are many possible sources for learning about what it means to be a teacher and these sources may tell…

The goal of this study was to explore the influencing factors of pre-service science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for targeted aspects of nature of science (NOS) and nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI) in a 13-month teacher development program, through multiple data sources. The program included a research experience, a course on…

This paper presents the findings of a group of teacher candidates with undergraduate degrees in a STEM discipline who were followed through an intensive 1-year preparation program and their 1st year of teaching. We report on the affordances and challenges participants' discipline knowledge presented to developing pedagogical content knowledge…

Due to the demand for high-quality teachers in the United States, especially in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in teachers early in their teacher education programs can be critical for their becoming effective in the classroom. Employing a multiple-case study design,…