Developing Pre-service Elementary Teachers’ Pedagogical Practices While Planning Using the Learning Cycle*

Source: Journal of Science Teacher Education, Volume 26, Issue 6, pp 573–591, October 2015.

As part of a 5-year longitudinal research and design project at a large university in the USA, faculty developed an elementary science methods course for pre-service elementary teachers. As a result the pre-service elementary teachers come to understand the Learning Cycle framework as support mechanism for science instruction. This study examined pre-service elementary teachers’ use of curriculum materials in lesson planning by identifying types of instructional tools used during the Learning Cycle.

Findings highlight the importance of providing pre-service elementary teachers with supportive frameworks and opportunities to learn to critique and adapt curriculum materials in order to begin the development of their pedagogical design capacity for Learning Cycle lessons.