The Pedagogy of Science Inquiry Teaching Test (POSITT)
ASSESSING PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE OF INQUIRY SCIENCE TEACHING
The purpose of this project is to develop an assessment instrument in support of the undergraduate preparation of elementary teachers to teach science as inquiry. The project is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (2006-2009)
The United States is developing a national commitment to the teaching of science as inquiry across the K-12 grades. Inquiry teaching of science refers to teaching (or pedagogy) that reflects the investigative attitudes and techniques that scientists use to discover and construct new knowledge. Undergraduate students are routinely assessed for their science content knowledge. A complementary component of our national effort to improve science education is the ability to effectively assess teachers’ pedagogical knowledge of inquiry science teaching, that is, knowledge of teaching practices that reflect the investigative nature of science. Without such an assessment we cannot readily improve science teacher education programs nor ensure the quality of our graduates. Currently, such an assessment tool is not available. We propose to develop a field-validated, objective assessment tool for testing undergraduate pre-service elementary teachers’ pedagogical knowledge of inquiry science teaching. This is dubbed POSITT, the Pedagogy of Science Inquiry Teaching test. The assessment items can be used both summatively in evaluation and formatively in undergraduate instruction.
Principle Investigators:
Dr. David Schuster
Dr. William W. Cobern
Dr. Renee' Schwartz