Flipping a science education course for pre-service teachers

This case study aimed at exploring how pre-service science teachers perceived a jointly developed course based on flipped pedagogy and how it supported their learning. For this purpose, quantitative data of how pre-service science teachers perceived the course was collected through a standardized instrument, while qualitative data was collected from lesson plans that they developed before and after the course. Target group consisted of 14 students who are enrolled in their pre-service teacher education diploma program. Quantitative data was analyzed using Mann-Whitney U-Test comparing the target group to previous two years (N = 29). The qualitative data was analyzed through deductive content analysis based on Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework. Quantitative results revealed that pre-service teachers assessed the newly designed course very positively and statistically significant differences were found. while qualitative results show a shift from the lecturing type teaching toward more student-centered learning activities in the lesson plans, such as collaborative and interactive group work. Also, results pointed out deeper student understanding of the STEM content knowledge with concrete examples of important scientific concepts and ideas and paying more attention to alternative conceptions. Moreover, final versions of the lesson plans included explicit and rich use of digital technology elements such as links to videos and use of specialized tools and applications for science education. The results strongly suggest that flipped pedagogy is a promising model and encourage its further use for science teacher training.