Aps-ajp-11-1001-Book indb
Summary of “Pedagogical content knowledge and preparation of high
Download 231.88 Kb. Pdf ko'rish
|
6404f97bd5c2c-teacher-education-in-physics
Summary of “Pedagogical content knowledge and preparation of high
school physics teachers,” Eugenia Etkina, pp. 103–128. This paper describes some key pedagogical practices of the Rutgers University Physics/Physical Science Teacher Preparation program. The program focuses on three aspects of teacher preparation: knowledge of physics, knowledge of ped- agogy, and knowledge of how to teach physics (pedagogical content knowledge – PCK). Three elements of the program work together to produce well-qualifi ed physics teachers who remain in the profession: course work, clinical practice, and a post-graduation learning community. The program has been in place since 2001 and has been steadily graduating an aver- age of 6 teachers per year. The retention rate of high school teachers who have been through the program is about 90%. The philosophy, structure, and elements of the program can be implemented either in a physics department or in a school of education. The paper provides details about the program course work and teaching experiences and suggests ways to adapt them to other local conditions. The main premise of the program is that for high qual- ity physics instruction a teacher should be skilled in physics concept knowledge and also be familiar with the processes through which physicists build and apply knowledge. In addition, she/he should know how people learn. Finally, an especially critical aspect of teacher knowledge is the knowl- edge of how to help students master concept knowledge and the processes through which it is constructed, in a pedagogi- cally appropriate environment; this is known as “pedagogi- cal content knowledge” (PCK). PCK is what distinguishes a content expert from an effective teacher of the same subject matter. Figure 1 below shows the complex nature of teacher knowledge. The physics teacher preparation program at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is tailored to the specifi c certifi cation requirements of the state. In NJ, all high-school teachers are required to have a major in the subject they are teaching or a 30-credit coherent sequence in that subject (with 12 credits at the 300-400 level). They must also pass the appropriate licensure exam(s). Because of these requirements, the program at Rutgers is a graduate-level program. The Rutgers Graduate School of Education (GSE) has had a mas- ter’s program in teacher preparation for the last 15 years; how- ever, before 2001, there was no special preparation program for physics/physical science teachers and only 0 to 2 physical science teachers were certifi ed per year. In 2001, the science program was reformed and split into two parts: life science and physics/physical science. Both are offered as a 5-year pro- gram or a post-baccalaureate program. The program goal is to prepare teachers of physics or physical science who are knowledgeable in the content and processes of physics, can engage students in active learning of physics that resembles scientifi c inquiry, and can assess student learning to improve learning. The new program uses multiple approaches to prepare pre-service teachers to teach physics/physical science. These can be split into three catego- ries: 1) strengthening physics content knowledge; 2) prepar- ing to teach physics/physical science; 3) practicing new ways of teaching in diverse environments (clinical practice). In addition, the program builds a learning community of teacher candidates as they take courses in cohorts and continuously interact with each other during the two years of the program. A particularly important program element is that the program does not end when pre-service teachers graduate and become high school physics teachers. There is an infrastructure in place to help graduates continue to interact with program fac- ulty and with each other (maintaining and strengthening the community of all program graduates) and participate in a con- tinuous professional development program. Students in the program take general education courses with other pre-service teachers in the GSE, and then follow a separate track to take physics PCK-related courses and clini- cal practice. In addition, students take a 300/400-level phys- ics elective. In all courses, in addition to weekly homework, students do a group project that involves designing a unit of instruction and teaching part of it to their peers (“microteach- ing”). Three of the courses are briefl y described below. Download 231.88 Kb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
Ma'lumotlar bazasi mualliflik huquqi bilan himoyalangan ©fayllar.org 2024
ma'muriyatiga murojaat qiling
ma'muriyatiga murojaat qiling