The aim of this thesis was to develop and evaluate a Ecological Professional Development Model to support preservice biology teachers to direct their own subject-specific ecological professional... Show moreThe aim of this thesis was to develop and evaluate a Ecological Professional Development Model to support preservice biology teachers to direct their own subject-specific ecological professional development route. Various characteristics of the model were tested in isolation and in combination and an ecological approach to agency that could theoretically substantiate these characteristics was further developed. Show less
Boer, E. de; Janssen, F.J.J.M.; Driel, J.H. van; Dam, M. 2019
In biological research, generic questions that are derived from perspectives (ways of looking at and thinking about life processes) help in generating specific questions. In this study, we used... Show moreIn biological research, generic questions that are derived from perspectives (ways of looking at and thinking about life processes) help in generating specific questions. In this study, we used perspective-based generic questions as scaffolds to support student teachers in increasing the quality and quantity of their questions about biological topics. Fifteen student biology teachers were given an intervention to individually generate, in 15 min, as many questions as possible that they might ask in class about standards from the national syllabus for biology on a particular biological topic, first without using, and then using a set of perspective-based generic questions. The results of this study show that, using perspective-based generic questions, student teachers generated significantly more and higher quality questions. The formulated questions can be applied in two different contexts: during practicum, when student teachers actually teach biology, or when they plan future lessons, as the basis of challenging tasks or assignments, with the aim of getting students interested in finding the answers. Show less
Social aspects of the learning environment, also called classroom climate, are important for students__ cognitive and affective learning outcomes. In this thesis the classroom climate is... Show moreSocial aspects of the learning environment, also called classroom climate, are important for students__ cognitive and affective learning outcomes. In this thesis the classroom climate is operationalised by means of two components: the teacher-class relationship and classroom discipline. The teacher-class relationship is described with the dimensions of control and affiliation, and classroom discipline is described with sensitive, directive and aggressive discipline strategies. Practical knowledge is thought to be extremely relevant in classroom situations that call for immediate teacher actions, such as disorderly situations, or students__ misconduct. A merit of this thesis is that it showed that in the context of education, it is worthwhile to perceive discipline strategies as consisting of three (sensitive, directive and aggressive) instead of two (sensitive and coercive) factors. This thesis also showed that there are clear and meaningful relations between discipline strategies and the teacher-class relationship. This connection appeared to be much stronger than the direct connection between student teachers__ practical knowledge and the teacher-class relationship. However, teachers__ practical knowledge was found to be related to the way the student teacher disciplines. Results of this thesis provide insight into which components of practical knowledge are related to student teachers__ discipline strategies. Classroom climate; classroom management; student teachers; interpersonal theory; discipline strategies; practical knowledge; teacher-class relationship Show less
