Abstract:

Problem Statement:
Teacher education is one of the most important factors influencing quality and effectiveness of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. Therefore this teacher education has become an economic and political priority. To improve the professional competences of teachers, it is necessary to implement into pre-service teacher education and also in-service continuous professional development innovative educational methods as inquiry-based science education (IBSE). This way teachers build up their pedagogical knowledge, skills and competences.

Purpose of Study:
The study provides research outcomes, the aim of which was to answer the research question regarding effectiveness of an implementation of IBSE in pre-service education of teachers-candidates on universities. Research question was: What is the effectiveness of implementation of IBSE in pre-service science teacher education?

Methods:
Case study, structured observation, questionnaire, structured interview, analysis of teachers’ products were used as specific methods in this study. The research sample consists of 25 students (science teacher-candidates) of the Masaryk University, Czech Republic. The research was conducted in 2013-2015. This research was conducted within the project PROFILES in the European 7th Framework Programme.

Findings and Results:
The main output of the research is finding that the implementation of IBSE into pre-service teacher education can improve the quality of their professional pedagogical competences. Development of special IBSE modules was the most effective method of teacher training. The study provides concrete examples of curricular materials created by students. There was also an increase of students’ ownership in implementation of innovative teaching/learning methods. Questionnaires and interviews supplied finding that also increased student motivation.

Conclusions and Recommendations:
To increase effectiveness of science teacher education of innovative educational methods as IBSE it is necessary to implement this methods into pre-service teacher education. It was confirmed that a properly implemented innovative element in pre-service teacher education can improve the quality of such education. In the case of STEM education is a very topical task of the entire education system.

Keywords:

Inquiry-based science education, innovation, pre-service teacher education, STEM education.