Science Teaching Orientations

Science teaching orientation, defined as a teacher s
knowledge and beliefs about the purposes and goals
for teaching science, is an overarching component
within the Pedagogical Content Knowledge Model for
science teaching. Due to the scarcity of empirical
studies in this area, this qualitative case study
examined the nature and sources of science teaching
orientations held by four highly regarded secondary
biology teachers. Ground theory methodology was used
to inductively analyze the interview data. The
findings of this study indicate that science teaching
orientations are more complex than initially
described in the literature. The participants
science teaching orientations consisted of central
and peripheral goals related to general schooling,
the affective domain, and subject matter. In regard
to the sources of science teaching orientations,
participants were strongly influenced by the
classroom context and their beliefs about their
students; additional influences included prior work
experiences, professional development, and time
constraints.

Autorentext

Patricia Friedrichsen is an Associate Professor at the Universityof Missouri where she holds a joint appointment in the Departmentof Learning, Teaching & Curriculum and the Division of BiologicalSciences. Pat's primary research interest is secondary scienceteacher learning.

Klappentext

Science teaching orientation, defined as a teacher'sknowledge and beliefs about the purposes and goalsfor teaching science, is an overarching componentwithin the Pedagogical Content Knowledge Model forscience teaching. Due to the scarcity of empiricalstudies in this area, this qualitative case studyexamined the nature and sources of science teachingorientations held by four highly regarded secondarybiology teachers. Ground theory methodology was usedto inductively analyze the interview data. Thefindings of this study indicate that science teachingorientations are more complex than initiallydescribed in the literature. The participants'science teaching orientations consisted of centraland peripheral goals related to general schooling,the affective domain, and subject matter. In regardto the sources of science teaching orientations,participants were strongly influenced by theclassroom context and their beliefs about theirstudents; additional influences included prior workexperiences, professional development, and timeconstraints.