Developing Biology Lessons Aimed at Teaching for Understanding: A Domain-specific Heuristic for Student Teachers

Teaching for understanding requires teachers to organize thought-demanding activities which continually challenge students to apply and extend their prior knowledge. Research shows that student teachers often are unable to develop lessons in teaching for understanding. We explored how a domain-speci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of science teacher education 2009-02, Vol.20 (1), p.1-20
Main Authors: Janssen, Fred J. J. M., Tigelaar, Dineke E. H., Verloop, Nico
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biology
Biology teaching
Blood
College instruction
Education
Educational Practices
Educational research
Heuristic
Heuristics
Lesson Plans
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Preservice Teacher Education
Prior learning
Problem-posing education
Science Education
Science Instruction
Science teachers
Student Teachers
Student teaching
Teaching and Teacher Education
Teaching for understanding
Teaching Methods
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Summary:Teaching for understanding requires teachers to organize thought-demanding activities which continually challenge students to apply and extend their prior knowledge. Research shows that student teachers often are unable to develop lessons in teaching for understanding. We explored how a domain-specific heuristic can assist student biology teachers in developing problem-posing lessons according to teaching for understanding. Worksheets of lesson plans were analyzed according to criteria for problem-posing lessons. Furthermore, student teachers' perceptions of the design heuristic's usefulness were categorized in a cyclical process. In general, the heuristic appeared helpful to most student teachers for designing problem-posing lessons satisfactory according to the criteria. Furthermore, teachers indicated that using the heuristic deepened their subject matter knowledge and their awareness of pupils' prior knowledge.
ISSN:1046-560X
1573-1847
DOI:10.1007/s10972-008-9118-3