Date of Award

January 2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Julie R. Robinson

Abstract

The impact of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) on K-12 science education has gained significant momentum over the last several years. Evidence of the NGSS can be seen in revised state science content standards and amended teacher preparation standards. Due to this growing impetus, a holistic redesign of teacher preparation to systemically implement three-dimensional science teaching and learning needs to be prioritized. Based on this premise, this study investigated the change in pre-service teachers’ perceived self-efficacy in teaching science using three-dimensional instruction upon completion of an NGSS-designed intervention incorporated into an introductory science methods course. Designed as a “working shop” where participants became three-dimensional learners themselves, the intervention incorporated three-dimensional science instructional pedagogies and materials accessed from established open-sourced resources found online. Results support the use of this innovative approach as a “best practice” for preparing teachers in becoming professionally competent to implement three-dimensional science instruction in their future classrooms.

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