The B.E.D. science programme and how it prepares student teachers to teach practical work in schools during teaching experience

Abstract

This study seeks to investigate how the B.Ed Physical Science laboratory work program prepares student teachers to handle laboratory work in schools during teaching experience. Experimentation is what separates the scientific disciplines from other disciplines in the school curriculum, yet research has shown that in many schools teachers are not carrying out laboratory work (Wilkinson & Ward, 1997). The few practical’s that are carried out are demonstrations that are targeted at meeting the basic science curriculum requirements. While some researchers (Dillon, 2008; Langley, 2014; Toplis, 2011; Wilkinson & Ward, 1997) have argued that teachers in schools have little time and resources available for meaningful laboratory work, due to unwieldy and rigid curriculum, other researchers (Hodson, 2007; Staer et al., 1995; Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000) point out that the problem could equally be that the teachers lack the practical skills themselves, to carry out laboratory practical work, let alone, training their students to do the same. This study, will therefore investigate how well B. Ed 4th year Physical Sciences students have been prepared to run practical’s as pedagogical tools for motivation, modeling scientific practice, teaching about the nature of science and acquiring manipulative skills necessary for the handling and usage of scientific equipment