Abstract:

Aligning with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs philosophy (Maslow, 1971) the Training Future Scientist Program (TFS) implemented two experiential programs that catered to the affective domain of over 150 underserved and marginalized students from a small urban Midwestern area. For this program, each semester, 11-24 pre-service teachers (PSTs) created lesson plans using Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Learning Model (Bybee, R. W., Taylor, J. A., Gardner, A., Scotter, P. V., Powell, J. C., Westbrook, A., & Lands, N., 2006) to engage these students in inquiry science. The BSCS Learning Model is comprised of the following phases: engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration and evaluation. The researcher addressed the following questions: What affect does using iClickers in the TFS after-school program have on achievement levels in science for underserved and marginalized students in K-5 and the attitude and confidence of elementary PSTs to teach science? Each semester, 2-4 PSTs created two lesson plans for physical and life science disciplines. The researcher noticed resistance from the practicum students to take the post assessments during the third semester, so revisions to the post assessment had to be made. The researcher conferred with the administrator of the iClicker program at the university, to discuss the use of iClicker with elementary students due to her experience in her biology course.

The iClicker program demonstrated many benefits at the college level:
1) increased dialogue among students;
2) encouraged higher-order thinking skills; and
3) ensured every student participated in class discussions and activities.

The PSTs would use the iClicker program to document formative and summative assessment data throughout the practicum as the PSTs implemented their lesson plans. The PSTs embedded 2-5 iClicker questions in each phase of the lesson plan to pose to the practicum students. These questions were based on the content material on the pre/post assessment. The theoretical framework for this project was inquiry and constructivism.

This lens helped to best understand:
1) what PSTs were able to see;
2) what the students knew;
3) what they learned; and
4) what they wanted to know.

The learning goals were two-fold:
1) the impact PSTs using BSCS 5E Learning Model & Inquiry lessons in a science practicum have on their confidence in teaching science;
2) the impact using iClickers with PSTs using BSCS 5E Learning Model & Inquiry lessons in a science practicum have on the science content knowledge of these students in grades K-5.

The results for the first semester, using iClicker at one site and Plicker, a paper student response system at the other site were very encouraging and definitely a strategy to pursue further. The second semester practicum had several missing days so the quantitative data for one site was lower than the first semester, but showed an increase at the other site. The qualitative responses from the PSTs were impressive too. One student responded after the practicum: “I believe the constructivist approach that we implemented really opened the eyes of our students to science. It created a fun, hands-on environment that the students enjoyed. The students did not see it as learning because they were the ones creating the questions and answers for the course” (Fall 2017).

Keywords:

Elementary pre-service teachers, Biological Science Curriculum Study 5E Learning Model, Inquiry, Underserved and marginalized students K-5, IClicker.