an inquiry approach to the introduction of physics. In small groups, students
develop concepts based on inquiry experiments; use those concepts to develop rules
and patterns; and determine equations that could be utilized to solve problems. Peer
instruction and discussion as well as making predictions and analyzing results are
essential components of the course; thereby, participants form their own mental
models for understanding physics and chemistry concepts. This course was
designed to augment the content knowledge of the preservice teachers while
allowing participants to experience the process of inquiry learning.
Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with those enrolled in
the class. We now summarize what Katrina, Ryan and Jason had to say about their
physics as inquiry experience in theteachHOUSTONcourse.
First, the three preservice teachers, consistent with their peers in the group of 12,
said they developed their keen interests in science from teachers who had instructed
them in the public schools. Each of them was able to name individual educators—
and one could name a whole department of high school teachers—who sparked and
nurtured their interests in science and science careers. However, teachers were not
the only ones who fueled their passions for science. So, too, did family members
(parents, aunts, uncles). Ryan, for example, communicated how sitting on his
mother’s lap with her chemistry book in hand constituted hisfirst early literacy
experience. Katrina likewise discussed how her father’s attitude toward science had
a major impact on her
My dad is a...mad scientist. He’s just one of those people who is naturally into science...
I can’t even count the times that I awoke [as a child] and did...experiments with him in the
kitchen. He’s a registered nurse...He has always told me I should be a science teacher...
He’s kind of my inspiration for anything I do that is science because he gets so excited
about it. Science is his muse.Jason was somewhat different from Ryan and Katrina in that his route to science
and eventually teacher education was circuitous. Studying religion and majoring in
youth ministry propelled him to become a science teacher. Jason’s overarching
interest, he said, was“tofind answers to things that are really great mysteries—the
metaphysical, in the case of religious studies, and the physical, where physics is
concerned.”However, Jason encountered an obstacle he could not overcome in his
religious education: his need to counsel students about religious topics and having
to“make up answers for them because [he] did not know [the answers] himself.”
This resulted in Jason doing a lot of“soul searching”about what he wanted to do
with his professional life. He discovered“teaching was really his interest and what
he enjoyed doing.”He settled on teaching physics because he had always loved
physics along with religion.
(Footnote 4 continued)
Program at the University of Houston, Houston, TX in 2014. She also created a digital story,
Teaching Inquiry-based Learning to Preservice Teachers,from videotaped higher education
classroom activities and interview transcripts. The digital story can be viewed athttp://www.
youtube.com/watchv=_1VJ4PthaXg.
466 C.J. Craig et al.