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(PDF) Teaching science and technology at primary school

   

Added on  2021-05-31

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Running Head: ROLE OF TEACHERS IN TEACHING SCIENCE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL Role of Teachers in teaching Science in Primary SchoolNameInstitution

ROLE OF TEACHERS IN TEACHING SCIENCE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL 2Section A: Statement of education issueThe role of Teachers in Teaching Science at primary school and potential impact to futureprofessional practiceThe teaching of science in Primary school in the past held the assumption that learners donot enjoy science despite the fact the subject had many opportunities for practical and inquirylearning approaches and also the fact that the issue had elements which provided awe andwonder to the students. However, according to (Ward & Roden, 2016), the subject has sufferedfor reasons individually attached related to teaching which brings us to the role of teachers inteaching science at the primary level. The teacher or the subject leaders play a critical role incontinuing professional development and enhance the learning of science for primary learners(Harlen, 2017). The teaching of science at primary schools has experienced a sustained emphasisthat it should be done through inquiry since students not only learn about science but also seek todo science. Such focus has been one of the most significant challenges facing teachers teachinginquiry science and can be attached to the reasons why the subject has suffered in the past. Theteachers, in this case, have been found to possess an individual feeling that they lack sufficientknowledge and pedagogical skills to teach inquiry science and therefore resulting to poor interest(Gillies & Nichols, 2015). Such an analysis shows that the success or failure of training inquiryscience at primary school can be attributed to the different perceptions held by teachers towardsthe subject which eventually transfer the same negative energy to the students. In their research,Hellen Ward and Roden have provided evidence that the learner’s perception of science haschanged and now science is understood as a diverse and fascinating subject. Therefore, theypropose that current view of science is unrealistic and outdated in the 21st century.

ROLE OF TEACHERS IN TEACHING SCIENCE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL 3Teachers play an essential role in teaching efficacy of science in primary schools, andtherefore it is necessary to understand their beliefs and attitudes since they can contributepositively or negatively to teaching science and professional development in future (Petersen &Treagust, 2014). Teachers or teaching self-efficacy has been developed under Albert Banduratheory of social cognitive and is understood to be an individual perception which impacts howpeople feel, thinks, motivate themselves as well as behave. The teaching of science in primaryschool has been one field where self-efficacy concept has been found to be useful as it plays avital role in developing individual competence levels and therefore teachers of science can createa productive learning environment (Palmer et al., 2015). Science teaching efficacy isconsequently connected to the whole classroom experience and practices which shows thatteacher attitudes and beliefs are significant in active learning of science.It is the teacher’s responsibility to develop a plan for teaching and learning experiencewith the course. This shows that their attitudes towards the subject will influence their planningand organization of the course which can positively or negatively in enhancing professionaldevelopment and practice in the future (Velthuis et al., 2014). If the attitude is negative, then theteacher will avoid teaching inquiry science which is very important in science developmentwhile if the position is favorable, the teachers will seek to acquire skills and experiences duringtheir pre-service and teachers’ development programs to develop science teaching efficacy andimprove their knowledge. The teachers have a responsibility to provide feedback which is veryimportant in impacting on the students’ performance as well as modeling effective scienceteaching practices in their classrooms (Sharp et al., 2017). It is the teacher role to assist theirstudents collaborates with other teachers of science which will provide them with an opportunity

ROLE OF TEACHERS IN TEACHING SCIENCE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL 4to acquire extensive science teaching experience. To achieve this, Albert Bandura in his socialcognitive theory argues that teacher can help their students to make calibration throughidentification of their self-efficacy and actual capabilities. However, it is essential for them toreduce the negative attitudes towards science teaching and promote the positive or realisticaspects of education.In her study, Hellen Ward has been actively involved in the development of scientificstudies. She has been working as a principal lecturer at the Canterbury Christ Church Universityand has developed resources as well as leading materials to support the teaching and learning ofscience. In her analysis, she sought to establish the impact of renewing the Australian primarycurriculum to science teaching performance as well as to change the belief that leaners did notenjoy learning science in primary schools. She was able to establish that the subject was the leasttaught in Australia and the reason for this was attributed to weaknesses in teaching (Flores,2015). The teachers of science were found to have a feeling that they lacked sufficientknowledge of the subject. However, she was able to explore different perspectives and proposedthat the current view of science was unrealistic and outdated. She suggested that the currentperception had changed and that learners understand science in the modern education system tobe diverse and fascinating. She advocated for a change in teacher attitudes towards science ortowards teaching and their classroom behavior when teaching science.Improving the primary school teacher’s attitude towards through development of anapproach focused professional courses have been found to be a very resource in enhancing theteaching of science in primary schools. In an article written by (Van Aalderen‐Smeets et al.,2015), which involved an investigation of the impact of teaching courses on teachers of science

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