DISCIPLINE-RELATED TEACHING

The competency is in the area of science teacher education. By taking and shadowing this course, I learned teaching strategies from my mentor Dr. Alicia Alonzo regarding how to help and guide science teacher interns planning, teaching, and reflecting on a series of science lessons during “guided lead teaching” in their elementary school placements. The core knowledge and skills for teaching this course include (1) science subject knowledge; (2) pedagogical knowledge; (3) K-12 science teaching strategies (e.g., formative assessment, lesson planning). As teachers for teacher interns, we have to understand the teacher interns’ need and then to guide them deeply reflecting and practicing teaching. Some of the teacher interns might need to improve scientific knowledge, while others need to improve pedagogical knowledge regarding how to better teach science—understanding teacher interns’ need is critical. I also learned how to engage science teacher interns and how to guide their field teaching. In order to better understand the teacher interns’ experience regarding how to implement the teaching strategies, I volunteered to teach in Hiawatha Elementary School for five periods. This experience further helped me understand the challenges of the science teacher interns when they teach in schools. This valuable experience will help me prepare for better teaching science teacher interns and meet their learning needs.