The STEAM-Active (Project Number: 2021-1-ES01-KA220-HED-000032107) project is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Teaching the teacher: Exploring STEM graduate students’ nature of science conceptions in a teaching methods course

Partners' Institution
Kaunas University of Technology
Year of publication
2019
Educational stage
University Level
Journal name
International Journal of Science Education
Thematic Area
STEAM intervention (teaching strategies, evaluation...), Students’ Difficulties
Summary
Research investigates how knowledge in Nature of Science (NOS) conception for graduate STEM students who are working as Teacher Assistant (TA) may impact them in assistant process for the undergraduate students. After overviewed NOS conception and research related with graduate students and methods how to improve NOS conceptions, publication focuses on it’s own research where 1 credit course related with NOS conception absorption is reading for graduate STEM students (13 course participants). Research focuses on comparison of graduate students understanding of NOS conception before course and after course trying to identify how relatively small-scale course may impact them attitude in NOS conception and if they would transfer (how if yes) NOS understanding for undergraduate students by working as TA.
Research shows, that before course graduate students still have shallow knowledge related with NOS conception, while after research most of the course attendances view to NOS conception have greatly improved, and during the survey they provide different options how they would incorporate introduction of NOS for undergraduate students by working as TA.
Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
Publications focuses on effective way how to develop perception of Nature of Science (NOS) for graduate STEM students. The idea was based on transferring NOS knowledge to students incorporating teacher assistant who would be introduced separately by NOS conception in one credit course which is based on active learning strategies (inquiry-based instruction, questioning strategies, assessment, backwards design, and NOS). In investigation participate 13 STEM students (Astronomy, Civil engineering) while course goals were related to provide foundation in learning theory, teaching pedagogy, and curriculum design.
Point of Strength
The publication let’s understand that graduate STEM students lack knowledge in Nature of Science (NOS) conception and that one of the potential method to fill this gap is small-scale courses for graduate students who work as teacher assistants and have direct contact with undergraduate students.
Keywords
Teaching assistants, nature of science, STEM, undergraduates
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

The STEAM-Active project | Copyright 2022