Education for Teaching Science and Mathematics in the Primary School. Science and Technology Education Document Series, 46.

Overview & Synopsis

The concern of this publication is to explore the extent to which there is common ground in the approach to the education of primary school teachers in mathematics and science. Chapter 1, "A Model for Discussing Teacher Education" outlines a rationale for making decisions about approaches to teacher education. Chapter 2, "The Interface Where Science and Mathematics Meet and Mingle" presents two examples of how mathematics and science concepts can be taught simultaneously. Chapter 3, "Children's Learning in Science and Mathematics" briefly considers characteristics of learning in mathematics and science. Chapter 4, "What Should Teachers of Primary Mathematics and of Primary Science Know?" explores how teachers should develop an intellectual structure of interrelated concepts on which they can draw with confidence when placed in a problem situation. Chapter 5, "Education of Assessment as Part of Teaching" provides a brief discussion of features and various purposes of assessment. Chapter 6, "The Training Needs of Teachers" suggests the full range of skills and abilities which primary teachers need. Chapter 7, "Teacher Education Approaches" presents ways in which teacher education programs can develop workshops that exploit the commonalties that exist between mathematics and science while providing differences where appropriate. The production of these chapters was a combined effort of the following authors and contributors: Jos Elstgeest, Fred Goffree, Wynne Harlen, Hubert Dyasi, Bernard Hodgson, and Jeanne Bolon. Contains 65 references. (ZWH)