Presented are the results of a Delphi study designed to determine the objectives of secondary science methods courses and the concerns of the professors who plan them. The results present, in the order of importance, the three following concerns: (1) planning one or more science lessons, (2) constructing a classroom evaluation scheme, and (3)…

Fifty pre-service elementary education majors were studied prior to student teaching to determine if open-minded majors showed greater promise of being capable of teaching science than closed-minded majors. Rokeach's Dogmatism Scale Form E was used to attain a dichotomy in a 50 member methods class. The areas of concern and instruments used to…

Presented are two of the science modules (from Appendix A), developed for a study at Central Michigan University, focusing on competency-based materials in science methods education for elementary school teachers. The Materials Module is designed to involve the preservice teachers in examining, analyzing and evaluating three elementary science…

Relationships of science attitudes, science content, and process knowledge to initial science teaching behaviors were studied among 25 student teachers of a liberal arts college. The 13-subject experimental group was subjected to an elementary school methods course with emphases upon positive attitudes and process knowledge. The control group was…

Describes a science methods course for preservice teachers centering on field trips. (LS)

The paper describes cooperative school/university science teacher training program that is evolving at Indiana University. It requires approximately four to five semesters of study. (Author/CP)

Attitudes toward science, process skills knowledge and self-concept were all found to be significantly intercorrelated; self concept was the only predictor of achievement. (CP)

Describes an elementary science methods course at Eastern Illinois University designed to interest pre-service elementary teachers in the process of science. Instead of a traditional final examination, students select an open-ended problem and report the results of their investigations. Fifty sample research problems are listed. (JR)

Presents a collection of documents between 1880 and 1971 which is useful in studying broader aspects of the science education history. Bibliography is included. (CC)

Describes a course on alternative conceptions in physics that has been used with preservice students as well as with inservice teachers in Indonesia. Most preservice students progress in mastery of high school level concepts, however, the length of the effects are not known. (LZ)

Surveys of perceptions and attitudes of preservice elementary science teachers regarding their use of telecommunications indicated that they perceived networks as useful tools for enhancing teacher training programs and for supporting their work in the schools. (16 references) (Author/MKR)

Teaching is a complex task shaped by many external and internal influences, including the beliefs held by individual teachers. This study sought an understanding of the impact of field experiences on the beliefs developed by preservice science teachers. The participants were students in an undergraduate science education methods course that…

Whether for use in a special methods course in teaching chemistry or a general methods course in teaching science, this guidebook is designed to assist the methods instructor in the task of fitting the ChemSource materials into the established patterns of the course. Each of three sections contains a number of units that accommodate the patterns…

Seventy-six undergraduate students in an introductory science methods class for prospective teachers were randomly assigned to either a student directed or an instructor directed section. Using analysis of variance, it appeared that neither approach had an overall advantage in the attainment of course objectives, although interaction patterns…

Presented is an attempt (1) to provide operational definitions of the learning objectives that have been clarified through firsthand experience with students in the physical science course for preservice elementary teachers at the University of Washington, Seattle, and (2) to identify some of the problems of intellectual development that have been…