Pragmatism, pedagogy and philosophy: a model of thought and action in primary technology and science teacher education

Davies, D (2003) 'Pragmatism, pedagogy and philosophy: a model of thought and action in primary technology and science teacher education.' International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 13 (3). pp. 207-221.

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1026140422569

Abstract

This article reports on one outcome from a three-year study with pre-service primary teachers at Goldsmiths' College, University of London. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the influence of participants' prior educational experience and beliefs about the relationship between design & technology (D&T) and science on their lesson planning for these subjects during school placements. Data from the study support a three-domain model of pre-service teachers' thinking and action. When operating within the pragmatic domain, participants are primarily concerned with survival in the classroom, resulting in short-term planning which may contradict their epistemological and curricular beliefs. In the pedagogical domain, the focus shifts from the pre-service teacher themselves and their immediate survival to the learning potential of the activities they plan. There is evidence that some participants have progressed to operating within a philosophical domain, leading to clasroom practice which reflects and re-conceptualises pre-service teachers' core beliefs about the nature of, and relationship between, D&T and science.

Item Type: Article
Note:

This article is set within the field of enquiry of science and technology education, specifically primary trainee teachers' development of cross-curricular understanding and practice in these areas. Its theoretical perspective is informed by the framework for understanding the interrelationship of science and technology provided by Gardner (1994) and the literature on the development of trainee teacher beliefs (e.g. Tillema 1997). It reports on findings from a three year study of primary trainee teachers at Goldsmiths College London. Its original contribution to theory lies in the identification of a new three-layer model of thought and action for teacher education. It is significant in that it is developed from a paper given by invitation at the international Technology Education conference in Braunschweig, Germany in 2000. Data from multiple sources and large samples (observation, survey, interview, case study) have been triangulated to provide rigour. The article was separately refereed by two international referees.

Keywords: beliefs design & technology planning pre-service teachers primary science
Subjects: L Education > L Education (General)
Divisions: School of Education
Date Deposited: 18 Nov 2012 04:45
Last Modified: 15 Aug 2021 09:31
ISSN: 0957-7572
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/100
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