Exploring pedagogical change in pre-service teachers’ science teaching orientations during argumentation-based teaching

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the change in the science teaching orientations of pre-service science teachers using argumentation-based teaching via multiple measurement tools. In this mixed-method research, to evaluate the change experimentally, firstly, argumentation-based teaching practices in socio-scientific issues (SSIs) were carried out. Card sorting activity and focus group discussion forms were applied with 29 pre-service science teachers pre- and post-teaching. Then, to detail the longitudinal effects of the teaching, six pre-service teachers who were selected purposively were asked to perform micro-teaching in different SSIs in the primary/secondary school science curriculum. In this process, data were obtained from the observation, interview and lesson plan. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of the quantitative data, whereas the constant comparative method was used with the NVivo program in the analysis of the qualitative data. Thanks to argumentation-based teaching, it was found that the pre-service science teachers' SSI-specific science orientations improved. It was also found that they related themselves to more than one reform-based SSI-teaching type. It was noteworthy that they reflected the change in science orientations on their teaching practices, and the goals of their teaching included SSI dimensions. In terms of other pedagogical content knowledge components, they made their orientations more compatible with their knowledge of teaching strategies.