PATHWAYS TO SCIENCE TEACHING: INTEGRATING RESEARCH AND TEACHING EXPERIENCE FOR FUTURE K-12 SCIENCE TEACHERS

Diverse and well-prepared K-12 teachers are critical to expanding participation in the future geoscience workforce. Science teacher preparation programs typically include disciplinary, education, and pedagogy coursework, as well as mentored classroom experiences. Missing from most programs is research whereby future teachers design and conduct a scientific investigation and connect this experience to teaching scientific practices as articulated by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

To address this gap, Pathways to Science Teaching, an NSF-GeoPaths project at Western Michigan University, engages 8 undergraduate students in a 10-week summer program that couples authentic water quality research with teaching K-8 summer camps. Participants Learn Science through identifying local water quality issues during interactions with community stakeholder groups, Practice Science by conducting a water quality investigation in a local watershed, Teach Science with mentors in two K-8 summer camps, and Think Science as they connect the nature of science to their research and teaching experiences, and report findings to local stakeholders and at the 2018 GSA national meeting.

The first cohort included 5 education majors and 3 science/engineering majors with a strong interest in teaching. Participants were selected based on race/ethnicity, gender, age, and community college experience diversity criteria. Three participants reported an increased interest in the geosciences/geoscience teaching as a result of this program, and two found that participation confirmed an already high interest. Five participants identified the water quality research as the most valuable aspect, reporting great value in “real” research with all of its frustrations and excitement. Although many struggled to use the NGSS in lesson planning, the majority reported that the research experience made them better prepared to lead children through inquiry-based lessons. Two reflected that teaching the summer camp reaffirmed their desire to be science teachers. All of the participants valued relationships they built with faculty, the graduate assistant, mentor teachers, and cohort peers, especially how they came to rely on colleagues to develop ideas and draw on complementary strengths.