are just words dancing around in your head...that may/may not mean something to
you.”But, in physics as inquiry,“you come to knowledge on your own...it comes
from inside of you and grows to be solid and a part of you.”Ryan went on to say
that his teacher educators put him into“theflight zone”for which he had been
searching his entire academic life and that he hoped, through his teacher educator
models, to help high school students“get into thatflight zone”and better the quality
of their studies and their lives.
In theseteachHOUSTONstudents’words, we learn that“whether intended or
not, teaching methods are learned by example. If the ability to teach by inquiry is a
goal of instruction, [science professors/teacher educators] need to work through a
substantial amount of content in a way that reflects this spirit”(McDermott et al.
2000 , p. 413) as Katrina, Ryan and Jason made clear. Furthermore, the separation of
science content from instruction in pedagogy is unnatural to those preparing to teach
science as inquiry as theteachHOUSTONstudents explained in their own words.
30.8 Conclusion
Since 2007,teachHOUSTONhas prepared an increasing number of secondary
science teachers with urban teaching experiences who mostly will teach in
metropolitan Houston schools. Figure30.4, which follows, captures the growing
number of largely underserved, minority middle and high school students who have
been or will be taught by qualifiedteachHOUSTONteachers with strong science
content area knowledge and pedagogy:
Thus far, the teachHOUSTON programme has successfully enabled the
University of Houston to contribute significantly to the American effort to improve
math and science education. As explained throughout this chapter, it has become
increasingly difficult in the U.S. and internationally to recruit, train, and develop
teachers with a long-term commitment to teaching, especially in the areas of
Fig. 30.5 Model of science as inquiry teacher education programme
468 C.J. Craig et al.