Improving a school-based science education task using critical reflective practice

This chapter outlines a self-study project I engaged in to examine and subsequently improve my teaching within a 4th-year, core science education unit for primary pre-service teachers (PSTs) at a regional university in Australia. The impetus for this study was tied to widely reported issues about the quality and quantity of science teaching in primary schools and my desire to provide the best science teacher education possible to help address these concerns. The initiative involved the design and implementation of a teaching, learning and assessment task that required small groups of PSTs to plan a mini-unit of science that they then taught in a classroom. PSTs had to report on children’s science learning and reflect on their own learning about science teaching. Quantitative and qualitative data collected from PSTs and from my personal reflections were analysed for statistical significance and key themes, respectively. Results show the potential for a school-based approach to science teacher education to better achieve a nexus between theory and practice; align teaching, learning and assessment in more meaningful ways; and allow for critical reflective practice that enhances both the teacher education experience and the learning achieved by PSTs.