Acquisition of scientific and pedagogical competency by Quebec elementary pre-service teachers

Abstract

The present qualitative study, shows the results of an experiment led with pre-service primary teachers from Quebec in Canada. The experiment, which lasted four months at the rate of three hours per week, took place in two phases. The first phase consisted of 4 steps to help student teachers acquire knowledge competency in science and in pedagogy, in accordance with the curriculum. In the second phase, the prospective teachers had to prepare two teaching sequences centered on laboratory experiments for their future learners. To achieve this goal, they had to follow an approach like the one experienced in the first phase. Finally, they had to complete a questionnaire to specify scientific and pedagogical difficulties they encountered. The analysis of the constructed sequences and of the data of the questionnaire show an important effort on their part, despite the scientific and pedagogical difficulties with which they were confronted.