Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation: Action Research for Global Competency (Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education, 58) 3031460723, 9783031460722

Citation preview

Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education  58

Gayle A. Buck Vesna Dimitrieska Valarie L. Akerson   Editors

Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation Action Research for Global Competency

Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education Volume 58

Series Editor Dana L. Zeidler, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA Editorial Board Members John Lawrence Bencze, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Michael P. Clough, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Marissa Rollnick, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Troy D. Sadler, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA Svein Sjøeberg, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway David Treagust, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia Larry D. Yore, University of Victoria, Saanichton, BC, Canada

The book series Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education provides a forum for innovative trends and issues impacting science education. Scholarship that focuses on advancing new visions, understanding, and is at the forefront of the field is found in this series. Authoritative works based on empirical research and/or conceptual theory from disciplines including historical, philosophical, psychological and sociological traditions are represented here. Our goal is to advance the field of science education by testing and pushing the prevailing sociocultural norms about teaching, learning, research and policy. Book proposals for this series may be submitted to the Publishing Editor: Claudia Acuna E-mail: [email protected]

Gayle A. Buck  •  Vesna Dimitrieska Valarie L. Akerson Editors

Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation Action Research for Global Competency

Editors Gayle A. Buck Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA

Vesna Dimitrieska Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA

Valarie L. Akerson Department of Curriculum and Instruction Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA

ISSN 1878-0482     ISSN 1878-0784 (electronic) Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education ISBN 978-3-031-46072-2    ISBN 978-3-031-46073-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Paper in this product is recyclable.

Foreword

While this book was being written, individuals and institutions all over the world were still navigating the challenges of living and working in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the global cooperation among scientists started when the genomic sequencing of SARS-Co-V-2 was shared in a scientific journal, there was continuous cross-border collaboration that contributed to the development of vaccines and testing to best practices in mitigating the transmission of the virus across the world. While this global health crisis was a reminder to some, it was a new revelation for others that the world was truly interdependent, and many challenges are global in nature. The authors of each chapter in this book make strong cases for the importance of internationalizing science teacher preparation, yet they offer diverse perspectives on the value. Their approaches reflect the broader need for globalized science preparation for the greater good of society and innovation, and to prepare students for work, life, and citizenship in both local and global contexts. One of the purposes of higher education is to create knowledge to solve societal problems and improve people’s lives. As individuals have become more critical of higher education, it has become more important for people to see how knowledge created with and in higher education is life-changing and does meet today’s challenges. Discovery and innovation are critical parts of this social contract. But knowledge is not created in a vacuum, and scientific knowledge spans geographic and political borders. Scientific innovation in one country informs and impacts discovery in places near and far. This is just one reason that internationalizing science teacher preparation is critical. All students need to be exposed to a globally minded perspective on science that is inclusive of knowledge from a range of countries and cultures and prepares students to explore different paths and practices as they seek to discuss and explore global challenges. This is critical for students who study science as a major and for all students who take science. It is even more important for science educators who lay the foundation of science education for all students. They, themselves, must have an understanding and appreciation of the value of global perspectives on science as a broad field of study to enhance their practice as scientists and science educators.

v

vi

Foreword

It is also important to shift the conversation from international competition to international cooperation, which internationalization does. It moves us from a place of comparison to a place of collaboration. This encourages future science educators to apply what they learn about and from other countries, including pedagogy, to their own teaching and learning. With teachers modeling collaborative inquiry as an approach to science education, students will also be exposed to science without borders where they are informed by local and international practices and perspectives. This will help their students develop key global learning skills, such as understanding and application of global perspectives, global systems, and global cultural diversity which prepares them to address the challenges of today and tomorrow collaboratively. This collaborative shift can also be developed and refreshed for current science teachers through professional development. With increasing familiarity and comfort with technology, it is easier to interact with individuals from different countries and communities to explore scientific issues. This strengthens the possibilities for professional development to refresh and introduce globally focused science education for K-12 teachers with different levels of exposure. It also helps address equity issues for widespread professional development, including limited resources and isolated geographic locations that hinder some schools’ capacity to do this work. Finally, greater internationalizing of science teacher education prepares pre-­ service teachers for greater integration of work and civic life. With a more internationalized curriculum, students will develop key skills that are valued by employers and are essential for full participation in communities. Working across differences in diverse teams and drawing on multiple perspectives and sources of knowledge to address problems are just a couple of these key skills. Integrating these global skills into curricular and co-curricular practices for pre-service science teachers and in professional development for science teachers ensures another pathway for all students to have opportunities for exposure and preparation for work, life, and citizenship. The timing couldn’t be better for a book that challenges us to rethink how we prepare science teachers to help K-12 students understand how interdependent our world is and how they can improve their local environment by listening and learning from their global colleagues to create local solutions that are informed by global solutions. This book is an excellent blueprint for making the case and providing strong examples of how to internationalize science teacher education. Washington, DC, USA  Dawn Michele Whitehead

Acknowledgments

The Longview Foundation for Education World Affairs partially funded the collaboration described in this book. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations here are of the authors.

vii

Contents

Part I Framing Chapters 1

Introduction: Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation����������������������������������������������������������������������������������   3 Gayle A. Buck and Arya Karumanthra

2

 Internationalization and Global Competence ����������������������������������������  13 Vesna Dimitrieska

3

Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education����������������������������������������������������������������  29 Banu Avsar Erumit and Valarie L. Akerson

Part II Action Research on Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation 4

Action Research on Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation����������������������������������������������������������������������������������  49 Gayle A. Buck and Valarie L. Akerson

5

Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in a Global Perspective����������������������������������  61 Sumreen Asim and Jim McDonald

6

Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students’ Globalized Science Investigations in Pre-­service Teachers’ Practicum Experience ������������  79 Selina Bartels

7

From Local to Global: An Exploration of the Pre-service Teacher’s Perceptions of Climate Change ����������������������������������������������  97 Larry B. Collins

ix

x

Contents

8

Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development in an Elementary Science Teaching Methods Course ����������������������������������������������������������������������  113 Allison Freed

9

Connecting Local Questions to Global Issues: An Investigation with Elementary Pre-service Teachers����������������������  131 Jessica Stephenson Reaves

10 Including  Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course for Pre-service High School Teachers������������������������  147 Khadija E. Fouad, Vivian A. Zohery, and Nasrin Qazizada 11 E  ngaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-­Focused Teaching Through the Development of Scientific Arguments for Climate Change in Secondary Science������������������������  167 Brent Gilles 12 Water  Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global Water Crisis ����������������������������������������������������������  187 Lacey D. Huffling, Heather C. Scott, and Jodie L. Ward 13 Fostering  Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through a Socioscientific Issues Approach Set in the Context of COVID-19�������������������������������������������������������������������  205 Ryan Summers 14 Exploring  US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization in a Science Course��������������������������  223 Tulana Ariyaratne and Valarie L. Akerson 15 Developing  Global Science Knowledge and Global Competence Skills of Preservice Elementary Teachers in an Undergraduate Science Content Course��������������������������������������  243 Shukufe Rahman, Conghui Liu, and Gayle A. Buck 16 Scaffolding  Elementary Preservice Science Teachers’ Exploration of Clean Water and Sanitation to Further Global Science Learning��������������������������������������������������������������������������  259 Heather C. Scott, Lacey D. Huffling, and Jodie L. Ward 17 Utilizing  a Study Abroad Program to Develop Culturally-Relevant Pedagogy in Pre-service Teachers������������������������  277 Robbie Higdon Afterword����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������  295

Part I

Framing Chapters

Chapter 1

Introduction: Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation Gayle A. Buck

and Arya Karumanthra

1.1 Globalization of Scientific Knowledge and the Need to Internationalize Science Education Increasingly, our society is becoming more globalized. This is felt in many aspects of our daily lives, such as economics, politics, business, and science. It has created gaps between our rapidly changing everyday lives and the slow-to-change educational systems that prepare our citizens. Closing these gaps will take a concentrated effort to internationalize our educational systems. This book shares the efforts of science teacher educators seeking to internationalize their teacher preparation programs. Throughout the book, “globalized science” conveys the interdependency of scientific ideas, and “internationalization of science teacher education” refers to strategic, coordinated efforts to prepare teachers to teach a globalized science. “Global competence” conveys the knowledge and skills teachers need to internationalize science learning in their classrooms. These are further explored below.

1.1.1 Globalization of Scientific Knowledge Globalized science has been fostered by, and has bred, science-based issues that cross international boundaries, new approaches to work, and the growth of international economic and institutional initiatives modified to confront economic, societal, and political inequalities. Increasingly, scientists encounter questions and problems that are interdependent and interrelated, and addressing them will take G. A. Buck (*) · A. Karumanthra Indianna University, Bloomington, IN, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_1

3

4

G. A. Buck and A. Karumanthra

international and multidisciplinary efforts (AAAS, 2011). Many of the most pressing challenges of the twenty-first century are scientifically based and global. These include climate change, diminishing biodiversity, diseases, and pollution. These are problems that cross political boundaries in terms of impact and response. One government’s ability or inability to respond increasingly impacts other governments. Furthermore, the phenomenon is often affected by the physical or social contexts; thus, it is never fully understood until explored across geographical and social contexts that cut across political contexts. Our collective understanding of scientific phenomena is also affected by various aspects of society and the culture in which it is embedded (Lederman et al., 2013). Power structures, politics, philosophy, and religion can impact how we understand the world. Reliance on the aspects inherent in one dominant culture may lead to a naïve or inaccurate understanding. For example, indigenous cultures often hold knowledge and experience about the natural world that mainstream science primarily ignores. These understandings may provide new insights that contribute to or challenge taken-for-granted notions. There is a renewed interest and respect for diverse ways of knowing and the contributions they hold (Aikenhead & Michel, 2010). Expanding our boundaries on who may contribute to our understanding of the natural world allows intersubjectivity within the scientific community to guide the process and ultimately strengthens the development of knowledge (Abd-El-­Khalick, 2012). Given this increasingly global nature of science, the work of scientists is becoming increasingly globalized. As the most pressing scientific problems are often international in scope and technological advances have made it much easier to pool top experts together, universities feel increasing pressure to internationalize research. Subsequently, university administrators are increasingly altering university governance in ways that increase pressure to publish internationally (Stromquist, 2002), and research funders are increasingly prioritizing internationally focused questions and convergence of perspectives (Smith, 2010). Expanding the scope of scientific research at universities is becoming a critical force in leading-edge scientific advances, as shown by an increasing number of high-quality collaborative research results published in top journals (Adams & Loach, 2015). The percentage of internationally co-authored science and engineering publications rose from 16.7% to 21.7% between 2006 and 2016 (National Science Board, 2018). This is not limited to the university level. The scientific workforce is increasingly internationally connected, with growing percentages of scientists employed by internationally connected organizations. Overall, the rapid growth in information technology and remote work has reduced the time and expense of travel, opening more opportunities for collaborative work at many levels in the scientific enterprise. Given all of this, governments competing for foreign capital and opportunity are now prioritizing the development of a skilled scientific workforce that can negotiate a global context (Stromquist, 2002). Furthermore, the globalization of science is occurring in a world that prioritizes inclusion and equality. Scientific pursuits in areas such as energy, health, agriculture, and materials science have united the world and correlated with economic,

1  Introduction: Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

5

societal, and political development (Friedman, 2007). Increasingly, there is an understanding that science and technology are powerful tools that profoundly impact societies. Historically, science has pursued and studied phenomena that play a role in the maintenance and continued domination of specific forces within the world. However, the globalization of science allows that dominance to be challenged and opens the field to pursue understandings that may lead to an improved situation for those historically underserved or negatively impacted by traditional science. Freeman (2010) notes that globalization will be increasingly driven by a more diverse, non-Western, non-white group of individuals from every corner of the world. As a result, advanced and developing countries can benefit from the globalization of science. New scientific alliances, advances in science and technology, and new scientific problems have increased information, production, and material exchanges among previously separate entities worldwide. Understanding the true nature of a globalized science impacts people’s ability to engage in an increasingly scientific and interconnected world.

1.1.2 Internationalization of Science Education The internationalization of education is a necessary response to an increasingly globalized world. In this new age of globalized knowledge, international knowledge flow is an impetus for growth. The most potent aspect of modern globalization is scientific knowledge. Understanding how this knowledge is developed and its characteristics are significant for any citizen to make an informed decision on everyday issues that are scientifically based. What it means to be scientifically literate bespoke a critical understanding of the Nature of Scientific Knowledge (NOSK). NOSK is defined here as the body of scientific knowledge, the processes of science, and science as a way of knowing (Lederman & Lederman, 2019). The seven basic tenets of NOS convey tentative scientific knowledge derived from observation and inference, empirically based, subjective and objective, socially and culturally embedded, theory-­laden, and imaginative (Abd-El-Khalick et al., 1998). Among these seven, the two aspects of NOS critical in the discussion of global science literacy and often misunderstood by the public are the tentativeness and the social and cultural embeddedness (Kampourakis, 2018). The significance of NOSK for science education is reflected in its emphasis on reform documents from the U.S., Asia, Australia, Europe, and South Africa (Lederman & Lederman, 2019). Globalization of NOSK would explicitly address science’s academic, social, economic, and political interdependence globally while teaching about NOSK.  In other words, a critical understanding of NOSK would prepare students to face a globalized world that provides for (1) STEM careers, (2) the need for scientific literacy, and 3) many taken-for-granted notions about science that have not only impacts on learning science but also sociology, economcs,

6

G. A. Buck and A. Karumanthra

and politics and business. Thus, the NOSK conceptualized in the classroom should reflect an authentic understanding of the globalized aspects of NOSK. It is noted here that the discussions of the internationalization of science education in this book do not focus on comparative and competitive international testing nor on international educational policies which also impact or are impacted by science education. In addition, although international travel experiences and connecting with schools in other countries are some of the many ways to foster an understanding of the globalized aspects of NOSK, they are not the end in themselves. Instead, this discussion centers on the internationalization of NOSK within educational contexts. A critical role of science education is the development of future citizens who are scientifically literate. The conception of science literacy involves understanding science concepts, theories, principles, and the nature of science and an awareness of the socio-scientific issue. Science education is responsible for preparing people to make sensible decisions concerning personal and societal problems that are scientifically grounded. A global perspective on scientific literacy is paramount for a sustainable future. Inculcating scientific literacy into citizens points back to their understanding of NOSK.  To develop such an understanding, schools must foster student understanding of practices and social processes, not just science content (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016). As those practices and social processes are becoming increasingly global in scope, science education must become more than helping students understand science in their local context or what affects them in the short term. Understanding science also means understanding its global nature (Choi et al., 2011). Other than the development of scientifically literate future citizens, an essential role of science education is the recruitment and preparation of future STEM workers. The STEM workforce in this discussion refers to all workers who use science and engineering skills. A considerable increase in STEM-related positions and an aging workforce have created competition for new STEM professionals worldwide. In addition to increasing the number of students prepared to enter the workforce, there is a need to adjust science education’s understanding of the fields for which they prepare the students. These professionals need to be ready for the contemporary demands of this field. As noted earlier in this chapter, scientists are increasingly required to collaborate with international research teams around the globe as they seek to understand global issues. As our society continues to become highly globalized, there is a further need to adjust how we prepare students for STEM careers. Overall, there is a need to increase the quantity and enhance the quality of science education efforts focused on preparing students to thrive in an interconnected, interdependent, and complex world. Such actions are challenging as they include science learning across various time frames, learning environments, and configurations, with innumerable possible intersections at the level of individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions.

1  Introduction: Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

7

1.2 Internationalizing Science Teacher Education Educational change will only occur if classroom teachers are prepared for the task. The scope of science teachers’ responsibilities is shifting to include preparing students for an interconnected, interdependent, and highly globalized world (Mansilla & Jackson, 2012). According to a report published by the Longview Foundation (2008), a globally competent teacher should have 1) knowledge of the international dimensions of their subject matter and a range of global issues, 2) pedagogical skills to teach their students to analyze primary sources from around the world, appreciate multiple points of view and recognize stereotyping, and 3) a commitment to assisting students to become responsible citizens of the world and their communities. Unfortunately, most teacher preparation programs do not address globally competent science teaching sufficiently. To prepare globally competent science teachers, science educators need to foster sufficient understandings and engage preservice teachers in internationalization, which is the process of preparing people to operate in increasingly international, culturally relevant, and diverse environments, involving inward and outward approaches (Altbach & Knight, 2007). Globally integrated teacher preparation does not mean global uniformity or one-size-fits-all curricula. It foregrounds the need to prepare preservice teachers to incorporate local knowledge and culture alongside global trends as they prepare their students for today’s and tomorrow’s world of transnational interconnectivity and mobility. In addition to updating preservice teacher education, updating current classroom practice is also needed. As teachers must play an essential role in enacting the curriculum while addressing the unique needs of students, high-quality, locally relevant, and globally focused professional development opportunities for inservice teachers are critical (Desimone et  al., 2002; Zbiek et  al., 2007). Such opportunities must emphasize active learning, align with the curriculum standards, have an extended duration, promote collective participation among teachers, and be embedded in teachers’ daily work. Smith and Gillespie noted that teachers are more likely to implement newly introduced methods if follow-up sessions or coaching are provided (Smith & Gillespie, 2007). They also benefit from sustained practice, supporting them in uncovering what works for them in their specific culture. This emphasizes how context-based understanding is beneficial in bringing long-term changes in teachers. A well-developed professional learning community also positively affects student achievement and teacher practice (Vescio et al., 2008). Teachers’ participation in a collaborative learning community increases student learning outcomes. In terms of internationalization, such a professional learning community is beneficial for discussing ways to make local-global connections and their subsequent application. More extended professional development programs lend themselves to developing globally competent science teachers. Ideally, such a professional development program would inculcate teachers with a vision to reflect on their practice, understand the student’s needs, and equip them to teach in ways they have never taught before while keeping in mind the needs of twenty-first-century education.

8

G. A. Buck and A. Karumanthra

1.2.1 A Need for Models for Internationalizing Science Teacher Education in Rural-Serving Programs As noted, efforts to internationalize science curriculum and instruction require teachers’ informed involvement. Such opportunities should be in-depth, active, aligned to curriculum standards, extended, and embedded in teachers’ daily lives (Desimone et al., 2002). Unfortunately, many preservice science teachers are not prepared to internationalize science instruction prior to entering the classroom, and inservice teachers rarely get opportunities for professional development on this topic. This is especially true for teachers going into or currently employed by rural school districts. Rural districts may differ in many ways, and the definition of rurality is sometimes debated (Oliver & Hodges, 2014). The debatable characteristics include high rates of poverty, low teacher pay, high administrative turnover, dispersed resources, and lack of scientific understanding. But three characteristics that are not challenged are (1) the small size of schools, (2) extensive geographical distance, and (3) relative isolation (Geverdt, 2019). These characteristics make the level of participation and support necessary for successful teacher development innovations challenging to achieve. As a result, teachers in many rural communities miss opportunities for high-quality professional development, especially in internationalizing science education. For example, funding for science professional development initiatives typically stresses recruiting many teachers. Recruiting many science teachers in urbanized centers is relatively easy, as is supporting them as they implement reform-based pedagogies and curricula in their classrooms. In contrast, recruiting many science teachers in rural areas typically means working with many small schools across an expansive geographical area. The support for science teacher development has thus unintentionally overlooked the unique challenges faced by faculty working with rural districts. Given this, focusing on professional preparation for internationalizing instruction is especially critical; more models tailored explicitly to preparing teachers for rural educational contexts are needed.

1.2.2 Our Professional Development Initiative for Science Teacher Educators Science teacher educators have an important role in updating preservice and inservice teacher education to better prepare globally competent rural schoolteachers for this changing world. Becoming a science educator equipped to do so is a complex process that requires examining current knowledge, skills, dispositions, and evolutions as one engages in locally relevant and globally-focused instruction. We, the editors of this book, designed and initiated an initiative to be such a process. We served as peer mentors in developing and starting a professional learning community of university teacher educators from rural-serving teacher preparation programs seeking to better prepare globally competent science teachers for rural schools.

1  Introduction: Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

9

Together, we sought to meet the four objectives of the initiative. These were: (a) increasing science teacher educators’ global competence; (b) increasing science teacher educators’ self-efficacy toward preparing teachers to incorporate global science education; (c) increasing the frequency and quality of global science in teacher education programs; (d) developing a community-of-practice regarding global science education. To achieve these objectives, three types of meetings were organized: one virtual workshop at the beginning of the program, three webinars during the program, and one in-person symposium after the project. We conducted action research projects throughout the program focused on globalizing our content preservice teacher education courses. Section two of this book explores the resulting changes/additions to teacher preparation programs that resulted from these efforts. 1.2.2.1 Transforming Practice within a Community of Practice Many of the program features described below focused on transforming some practices within our community. Our project ultimately brought together 20 science teacher educators, including ourselves, from U.S. teacher preparation programs that placed a significant portion of their students in rural schools for practicums, student teaching, and, ultimately, teaching careers. There was a focus on expanding that impact on that community. After the shared program experiences, we expanded our reach to our larger professional community of practice by publishing and presenting our experiences to other science teacher educators. 1.2.2.2 A Focus on Developing Our Knowledge of Global Competencies and Science Teacher Education Ordinarily, shared understandings and practices within a community of practice are learned as one enters the community. Addressing and exploring them directly is necessary when seeking to transform those understandings and practices. In our program, all participants were brought together via distance technology to unpack the aspects of globalization and internationalization that impact our science teacher preparation programs, explore global learning/global competence frameworks (e.g., Asia Society framework) to help us integrate internationalization principles and practices into science education principles and practices, and explore the connections between the relationship between global science and the twenty-first-century skills. Globally oriented instructional practices, culturally responsive pedagogy, assessment, and assignments were examined and supported by webinars while considering our specific preservice science education contexts. The experiences were designed to prepare us to use science-specific resources that are more globally oriented, as well as promote global learning among our preservice science teachers by engaging them in discussions, interactions, and assignments that facilitate making connections across cultures and regions of the world. These presentations and discussions initially focused on apparent concepts, given the program’s emphasis on

10

G. A. Buck and A. Karumanthra

science. However, the process also allowed for professional development experiences to be added. An invited speaker became necessary when we grappled with the need to assess the global competencies of the preservice teachers in our courses. Another such experience, a group discussion, and reflection, occurred when many group members raised questions about the need to internationalize our courses while continuing to address the many other demands of our courses. 1.2.2.3 Enhancing Understandings within the Milieu In addition to general literature and resources related to globalizing/internationalizing their curricula, the participants engaged in tailoring their specific practices within their local teacher preparation context while at the same time incorporating global trends in the field. Researchers in their organizations or communities carry out insider research to change something. Insights that would allow the organization to continuously examine existing capabilities and develop new ones were sought (Coghlan & Shani, 2008). Together, we designed action research plans focused on globalizing our science teacher preparation programs. We implemented those plans and analyzed the resulting data collaboratively while serving as critical friends (Schuck & Russell, 2005) at various points. 1.2.2.4 Critical Reflection Our program allowed for sharing insights related to internationalizing our teacher education programs at all stages (i.e., during the planning stage of internationalizing our courses and during the actual implementation of those courses). Given the distance between our institutions and the worldwide pandemic at the beginning of the program, much of this was accomplished by Zoom check-ins and document sharing using CANVAS. We shared plans, insights, resources, and updates throughout the academic year. We also provided each other with constructive critiques on the action research plans. After implementing the innovations within our action research plans, we shared the innovations with the entire group, where we discussed our emerging results and shared insights that ultimately enhanced our individual analysis/revision processes. Before arrival, we submitted things on which we would like feedback. After arrival, we presented an update on our projects and opened the floor for the requested feedback.

1.3 A Path Forward All chapter authors for this book participated in the professional development program described above. These pages share the understandings from our experiences with internationalizing our science teacher preparation programs. Part 1 provides

1  Introduction: Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

11

the empirical and theoretical grounding for the efforts. The sections of Part 2 delve into the practices that emerged across our teacher education programs at rural-­ serving institutions.

References Abd-El-Khalick, F. (2012). Examining the sources for our understandings about science: Enduring conflations and critical issues in research on nature of science in science education. International Journal of Science Education, 34(3), 353–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2011.629013 Abd-El-Khalick, F., Bell, R. L., & Lederman, N. G. (1998). The nature of science and instructional practice: Making the unnatural natural. Science Education, 82, 417–436. Adams, J., & Loach, T. (2015). Comment: A well-connected world. Nature, 527, 58–59. Aikenhead, G., & Michel, H. (2010). Bridging cultures: Indigenous and scientific ways of knowing nature. Pearson. Altbach, P. G., & Knight, J. (2007). The internationalization of higher education: Motivations and realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3/4), 290–305. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). (2011). Pocket guide to the 2011 annual meeting. Author. Choi, K., Lee, H., Shin, N., Kim, S.-W., & Krajcik, J. (2011). Re-conceptualization of scientific inquiry in South Korea for the 21st century. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(6), 670–697. Coghlan, D., & Shani, A.  B. (2008). Insider action research: The dynamics of developing new capabilities. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research (2nd ed.). Sage. Desimone, L. M., Porter, A. C., Garet, M., Yon, K. S., & Birman, B. (2002). Does professional development change teachers’ instruction? Results from a three-year study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(2), 81-112. Freeman, R. B. (2010). Globalization of scientific and engineering talent: International mobility of students, workers, and ideas and the world economy. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 19(5), 393–406. Friedman, T. (2007). The world is flat. Picador/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Geverdt, D. (2019). Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates Program (EDGE): Locale boundaries file documentation, 2017 (NCES 2018–115). U.S.  Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved Sept 23, 2022, from http://nces.ed.gov/ pubsearch. Kampourakis, K. (2018). Science and uncertainty. Science & Education, 27, 829–830. Lederman, N. G., & Lederman, J. S. (2019). Teaching and learning nature of scientific knowledge: Is it Déjà vu all over again? Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 1(6). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-­019-­0002-­0 Lederman, N. G., Lederman, J. S., & Antink, A. (2013). Nature of science and scientific inquiry as context for the learning of science and achievement of scientific literacy. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 1(3), 138–147. Longview Foundation. (2008). Teacher preparation for the global age: The imperative for change. Retrieved from http://www.longviewfdn.org/122/teacher–preparation–for–the–global– age.html Mansilla, V., & Jackson, A. (2012). Educating for global competence, preparing our youth to engage the world. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.3845.1529. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Science literacy: Concepts, contexts, and consequences. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23595 National Science Board. (2018). Science and engineering indicators: 2018. National Science Foundation.

12

G. A. Buck and A. Karumanthra

Oliver, J. S., & Hodges, G. W. (2014). Rural science education: New ideas, redirections, and broadened definitions. In N. G. Lederman & S. K. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science teaching (Vol. 2). Taylor & Francis. Schuck, S., & Russell, T. (2005). Self-study, critical friendship, and the complexities of teacher education. Studying Teacher Education, 1(2), 107–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 17425960500288291 Smith, T. W. (2010). The globalization of survey research. In J. A. Harkness, M. Braun, B. Edwards, T. P. Johnson, L. Lyberg, P. P. Mohler, B.-E. Pennell, & T. W. Smith (Eds.), Survey methods in multinational, multiregional, and multicultural contexts (pp. 477–484). Wiley. https://doi. org/10.1002/9780470609927.ch25 Smith, C., & Gillespie, M. (2007). Research on professional development and teacher change: Implications for adult basic education. Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, 7(7), 205–244. Stromquist, N. (2002). Education in a globalized world: The connectivity of economic power, technology, and knowledge. Rowman & Littlefield. Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91. Zbiek, R. M., Heid, M. K., Blume, G. W., & Dick, T. P. (2007). Research on technology in mathematics education: A perspective of constructs. In F.  K. Lester (Ed.), Second handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 1169–1207). Information Age.

Chapter 2

Internationalization and Global Competence Vesna Dimitrieska

2.1 Globalization vs. Internationalization Globalization and internationalization are not new phenomena, and their focus and scope has evolved over the years. In its Model for Comprehensive Internationalization (2019), the American Council on Education defines globalization as “the movement and interdependency of ideas, people, goods, capital, services, and organizations as well as threats that cross borders” (e.g., environmental and health challenges), whereas comprehensive internationalization is a strategic, coordinated framework integrating “policies, programs, initiatives, and individuals to make colleges and universities more globally oriented and internationally connected” (p.1). Climate change, health, international trade, cyberspace, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, migration, monetary and currency issues, and development are all considered manifestations of globalization (Haass, 2020). Additionally, internationalization has been considered as both a product and response to globalization (Beck, 2012). On the one hand, often perceived as unalterable, globalization is complex and contradictory by nature, and, at times, carries negative connotations. On the other hand, internationalization has been seen as the white knight of higher education that includes many choices (Altbach & Knight, 2007; Beck, 2012; Brandenbrug & de Wit, 2011). Although both concepts have been discussed as phenomena since the 1980s, the concept of internationalization of higher education has recently moved from the margins to the institutional core (Brandenbrug & de Wit, 2011). Adapted from higher academic institution frameworks, internationalization processes include (a) School/district commitment, (b) Administrative leadership, (c) Curriculum/ Co-curriculum and Learning outcomes, (d) Professional development, (e) Student V. Dimitrieska (*) Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_2

13

14

V. Dimitrieska

mobility, and (f) Collaboration and partnerships (ACE, 2019). de Wit (2020) distinguishes between internationalization abroad (i.e., mobility of students, faculty, and programs) and internationalization at home (i.e., internationalization of curriculum and learning outcomes). Internationalization abroad is still considered to be the predominant one and more valued in publications but that impacts minimal number of students, faculty, and programs, whereas internationalization at home has been perceived as a neoliberal and western paradigm (de Wit, 2020). As an aspect of internationalization at home, internationalization of curriculum (IoC) is the process of integrating “international, intercultural, and global dimensions into the content of the curriculum as well as the learning outcomes, assessment tasks, teaching methods, and support services of a program of study” (Leask, 2015, p.69). Leask (2013) proposes a five-stage model of the IoC process (i.e., review and reflect; imagine; revise and plan; act; and evaluate), with each stage being planned, developmental and cyclical. There is a growing attention given to IoC. Unlike internationalization abroad and its focus on mobility of a small elite, IoC has the potential to reach everyone by providing responsible global learning for all that brings together internationalization, equity and diversity agendas while providing opportunities for students and faculty to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, climate change, and more just opportunities for marginalized groups (de Wit, 2020; Wimpenny et al., 2020). Recently, scholars have been raising the issue of how distinct the two phenomena truly are as globalization and internationalization are very closely interconnected and thus it is not possible to distinguish one from the other (Beck, 2012; Buckner & Stein, 2019; Stein, 2019). The current dilemma has its roots in perceiving globalization primarily through its economic benefits, which has in turn impacted internationalization to adopt entrepreneurial and market-oriented dimensions driven by purely instrumentalist rationales (Beck, 2012; Brandenbrug & de Witt, 2011). In this book, we approach globalization and internationalization as two distinct phenomena. It is also critical to address how the two concepts, ‘local’ and ‘global’ have been used when discussing globalization (Beck, 2012). Some of the popular views are that the two are opposites; that the local supplants the global; or that the global is the homogenizing force that engulfs the local (Beck, 2012). Moreover, globalization has been theorized as a complex interplay between the universal and the particular, a notion that further demonstrates that the boundaries between the local and the global are blurred, emphasizing the need to understand one as being a part of the other (Edwards & Usher, 2000). In comparison, some of the internationalization strategies (e.g., study abroad; recruiting international students, and exchange programs) further reinforce the idea that the global is ‘going out there’ and the local is about being ‘here’, resulting in different calls by scholars to embrace a more fluid understanding of internationalization that recognizes the blurred lines between the global and the local (Beck, 2012; Buckner & Stein, 2019; Stein, 2019).

2  Internationalization and Global Competence

15

Most recently, the U.S. Departments of State and Education have included internationalization of U.S campuses and classrooms as one of the key principles in their renewed international strategy (USDOE, 2022). It is emphasized that an effective domestic education agenda should not focus solely on reading, writing, mathematics, and science skills, but should “aim to develop a globally and culturally competent citizenry” (p.2). The U.S. Department of Education’s Framework for Developing Global and Cultural Competencies to Advance Equity, Excellence and Economic Competitiveness aims to support students in their long-term development of global and cultural competencies (2017). A diverse U.S. society, global challenges and opportunities, economic competitiveness and jobs, and national security and diplomacy are some of the realities that our students are facing nowadays. In order to be engaged, empowered, and open-minded global citizens who can tackle those realities meaningfully, our students need to think critically and creatively to solve problems; possess strong communication skills; speak other languages; and have advanced math, science and technical skills.

2.2 Global Competence: Its Emergence and Definitions Various events and issues that occur in different parts of the world affect us all. This is especially true with regard to science-related issues. Having an understanding and awareness of those topics is an essential state that contributes to our global literacy, especially since the so-called Vegas rule (i.e., what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas) does not apply in today’s interconnected world (Haass, 2020). The type of topics science tackles inherently make science global. The complexity of biological, chemical, physical, earth, environmental and human systems and the inevitable need to recognize the power of divergent perspectives when dealing with various elements and aspects of those systems demonstrate the value of globally focused teachers who center their instruction around interdisciplinary and global perspectives (Jackson, 2014). Most recently, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2018) has emphasized both the urgency and need to act for collective well-being and sustainable development. Although all teachers are global educators, what globally competent K-12 science teaching entails, however, is not transparent enough to prepare today’s graduates to address the complex global challenges that are facing the world population. In the international education field, a multitude of terms and concepts have emerged over the past few decades in response to evolving societal, economic, political, disciplinary, and geographical trends. Some of those terms and concepts are: global competence, intercultural competence, internationalization, global citizenship, global perspectives, and global learning to refer to how educators can develop citizens to meaningfully engage in today’s interconnected world (Bourn, 2020; Parmigiani et al., 2022). “Global education” has been used as an umbrella term in many European countries, but other country-specific conceptual variations have

16

V. Dimitrieska

also been used. Some of those variations are: “development education” in Portugal and Spain; “intercultural” and “development education” in Ireland; “education for sustainable development” in Sweden; and the most recent break from “development education” and “global education” towards “global citizenship education” in UK, North America, and Europe (Bourn, 2020). Framed within the context of globalization, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines “global citizenship education” (GCE) as education that encourages an active learning component and perceives learners as change agents that act to build more peaceful, tolerant, inclusive and secure societies (Bourn, 2020; Landorf et al., 2019; UNESCO, 2022). UNESCO is also associated with the established work on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the United Nation’s (UN’s) adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Bourn, 2020). Although there have been multiple variations and substantial modifications over the years, the concept of GCE has been criticized for its vague and insufficiently defined aspects, and is often seen only as a buzzword (Jooste & Heleta, 2017; Rapoport, 2010). Additionally, the “global citizen” concept has been criticized as in today’s complex, interconnected world, and world that is not flat, not just, and not open to all, “global citizenship” is not a viable proposition for the global South, where most of the students live in an unjust world (Jooste & Heleta, 2017). The global South has historically been excluded from debates about the concept, and, instead, the preferred focus is on developing socially responsible, ethical, and globally competent graduates (Jooste & Heleta, 2017). The concept of “global learning” has also been linked with the concept of “global citizenship”. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) defines global learning as “a crucial analysis of and an engagement with complex, interdependent global systems and legacies (such as natural, physical, social, cultural, economic, and political) and their implications for people’s lives and the earth’s sustainability” (Association of American Colleges and Universities, n.d.). Florida International University (FIU) defines global learning as “a process of diverse people collaboratively analyzing and addressing complex problems that transcend borders” (Landorf & Doscher, 2015, p.24). Nussbaum (2004) was instrumental in establishing the relationship between global learning and global citizenship and global learning was conceptualized as a process through which students are prepared for global citizenship (Beelen & Doscher, 2022; Landorf et al., 2019). Over the past few years, there has been an urgency to create competent workers. A recent report from AAC&U (2021) on what employers want pinpoints the importance of aligning educational outcomes with workforce needs since that alignment is crucial in the process of promoting “individual socioeconomic mobility and national economic growth and competitiveness” (p.iii). Based on the AAC&U report, the employers rated working effectively in teams, critical thinking skills, data analysis and interpretation, application of knowledge/skills in real-world settings, and complex problem-solving skills as the top essential learning outcomes (p.6). Interestingly enough, the employers also reported that there is the widest preparedness gap (i.e., a skill that the employers deem

2  Internationalization and Global Competence

17

important and number of employers who report that recent graduates are not prepared for) in the same five, above-listed skills. In response to those urgent calls from employers, national legislative requirements for accountability have been introduced in higher education and there is an emerging trend of teaching global competence as one of the practical twenty-first-century skills (Majewska, 2022). Competency-based education differs from other approaches in its focus on learning that is rooted in fulfilling specific learning outcomes, with each outcome being associated with mastering a specific skill or competency (Majewska, 2022; Ordonez, 2014). In line with the urgency for competent workers, there have been numerous calls about the need for globally focused education. This need has emerged in response to several societal trends: career readiness, digital connectivity, demographic diversity, and cross-border challenges (Tichnor-Wagner & Manise, 2019). Specifically, current and future jobs have been reshaped by globalization and require twenty-first century skills that include cross-cultural skills, flexibility, critical thinking, and problem solving. As educators, we are preparing our students for future jobs that may not even exist today. Additionally, due to the latest technological advances, we are all globally connected at all times, and global migration has never been higher. At the same time, we are experiencing challenges such as pandemics, climate change, economic inequality, war, and famine that transcend borders and affect our local communities (Tichnor-Wagner & Manise, 2019). Although we are all facing these challenges, most western educational systems are reluctant to integrate global perspectives into teacher education courses (Ferguson-Patrick et  al., 2018; Varadharajan & Buchanan, 2017). The majority of U.S. teachers score in the ethnocentric rather than ethnorelativistic range on Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Cushner, 2012; Parkhouse et  al., 2015). Consequently, U.S. education and especially K-12 education does not sufficiently prepare students on how to meet these challenges nor teach them how to benefit from the opportunities arising in the twenty-first century. Although there has been growing interest in teaching those twenty-first century skills, the concurrent emphasis on high stakes testing has resulted in these two operating as competing trends. The twenty-first century skills are more open-ended phenomena whereas high-stakes testing is associated with more rigid and curriculum-bound requirements (Ananiadou & Claro, 2009; Ferguson-Patrick et al., 2018). Moreover, there is even a tendency to distinguish global education from education in general which in turn leads to perceiving globally focused education as an add-on and an if-time endeavor. Rather than focus on global and intercultural competence and integration of global content and global perspectives across the curriculum and co-curricular activities, teaching about global issues is reduced to experiences that solely focus on what Richards (2015) calls the five Fs of culture, i.e., food, fashion, famous people, festivals, and flags. The five Fs of culture correspond to the surface levels of culture in Hall’s Cultural Iceberg Model as they are external manifestations of culture that are conscious, easily changed and can be explicitly learned (Hall, 1976). If we aim for our students to be interculturally competent critical thinkers and problem solvers, we need to create

18

V. Dimitrieska

transformative learning experiences that would expose them to Hall’s aspects of deep culture (e.g., values, beliefs, and thought patterns) that are unconscious, difficult to change, and are implicitly learned. Consequently, teacher educators have a major responsibility to prepare future teachers who will in turn develop globally competent students. The imperative of global competence for all students has been promoted by numerous institutions, organizations, scholars, and employers in the US and worldwide (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2011; UNESCO, 2015; USDOE, 2022). In addition to recognizing global competence as a critical twenty-first century skill, a California (2016) report on educating for global competence expands the value of global competence not only for jobs but also for relationships and civic engagement across increasingly diverse contexts. Additionally, the report recognizes the power of global education to enrich the content and curricula and provide access to multiple lenses and real-world opportunities to everyone, but especially to low income and minority students who have historically lacked access to such experiences. Although many schools have the autonomy over the extent to which they focus on global competence skills, they should all aim to approach global competence as “a skill that any student can achieve, thereby leveling the educational playing field” (p.5). In the past two decades, efforts have started to emerge to incorporate global competence, global perspectives, global citizenship, and globally competent teaching in K-12 classrooms and teacher preparation programs around the world. Similar to the field of international education, the focus of such efforts is varied and has resulted in the use and integration of different concepts: global competence and globally competent teaching in European and US-based schools and teacher preparation programs (Cook et  al., 2016; Kerkhoff & Cloud, 2020; Myers & Rivero, 2019; Parmigiani et  al., 2022; Parkhouse et  al., 2015); global citizenship education in teacher training worldwide (Rapoport, 2010; Yemini et al., 2019); global perspectives in US-based teacher preparation programs (Carano, 2013; Poole & Russell, 2015); global education in Australian teacher preparation programs (Ferguson-­ Patrick et al., 2018); and cross-cultural experiential learning in a US-based teacher preparation program (Kopish et  al., 2019). The concept that has most frequently been used in K-12 context and teacher preparation programs is the concept of global competence. There are multiple definitions of global competence that are currently used across the various educational levels. Tichnor-Wagner and Manise (2019) define global competence as “the set of knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to thrive in a diverse, interconnected world” (p.2). Furthermore, Tichnor-Wagner and Manise also add global learning as “the act of developing global competence through intentional educational activities” (p.2). Thus, purposefully including certain educational activities and types of experiences is crucial in the process of global competence development. Majewska’s (2022) definition of global competence includes a set of skills associated with “a knowledge base about world geography, cultures, global issues, and the skills and character to engage sensibly and

2  Internationalization and Global Competence

19

effectively in a global setting” (p.1). In this book, we have adopted OECD’s global competence definition as the capacity to examine local, global, and intercultural issues, to understand and appreciate the perspectives and world views of others to engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with people from different cultures, and to act for collective well-being and sustainable development (OECD, 2018, p.4).

OECD’s conceptualization of global competence has been criticized due to its neoliberalist heritage (Engel et al., 2019). However, similar to Parmigiani et al.’s stance, (2022), when compared to other conceptualizations and frameworks, we believe OECD’s definition includes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are critical in today’s interconnected world. Additionally, global competence draws from different models of global education (e.g., intercultural education and education for democratic citizenship) and emphasizes the need to use the knowledge and skills for active engagement in sustainable future of the world in today’s diverse societies (OECD, 2018; Parmigiani et al., 2022). Such conceptualization of global competence provides both comprehensive fundamentals and opportunities to develop practical ways to operationalize it in K-12 contexts and teacher preparation programs.

2.3 Global Competence and Internationalization of Curriculum in Teacher Education Programs Faculty members nowadays face two distinct challenges in their efforts to prepare students for today’s interconnected world. First, there is a need to develop faculty members’ own global and intercultural competence as its development has not been the focus of their own education and professional development. Increasingly, the intercultural competence of university teachers has proven to be a challenge of internationalization as they are insufficiently prepared to exhibit attitudes (e.g., respect, openness, and curiosity and discovery) towards professionals and students from other cultures (Deardorff, 2006; Zelenkova & Hanesova, 2019). Second, faculty members may need structured professional development focused on internationalization of curriculum. Although academics have the central role in the internationalization of curriculum, there is paucity in the type of professional development that would assist them in the internationalization process (Wimpenny et al., 2020). The synthesis of studies that were conducted in Australia, Canada, Singapore, the UK, and the United States on academic development to support curriculum internationalization highlighted understanding the need for IoC, raising awareness, practitioner transformation, and messy understandings as themes that affected faculty members’ IoC-focused academic development (Wimpenny et al., 2020). There is a lack of research on the same topic in non-western contexts.

20

V. Dimitrieska

Teacher educators face a challenge to prepare globally competent teacher candidates as their teacher preparation programs are required to adhere to state and national teaching standards, licensure requirements, and other accountability measures that do not focus on global competencies (Kopish et al., 2019). Since the work of internationalizing U.S. teacher preparation programs is late to the discussion compared to other fields, Shaklee and Baily (2012) even consider teacher preparation programs as the culprit that does not prepare teachers and subsequently their students “to understand the shifting political, economic, and social landscapes that are dominating this increasingly shrinking world” (p.1). Although the students in our classrooms are more diverse, our teachers are not, which exacerbates the issue of how prepared U.S. teachers are to meet the needs of their diverse student populations. Lack of global awareness and preparedness to teach globally leads many Americans to group people into categories that do not have the potential to understand nuances of culture and variations within individual cultural groups (Parkhouse et al., 2015; Shaklee & Baily, 2012). Also, historically, researchers have considered social studies teachers as primarily responsible to help students become global citizens (Merryfield, 1997; Poole & Russell, 2015). However, developing students’ global competence should not be only prioritized by social studies teachers. Every content area and grade level teacher should be a globally competent educator who can tailor their instruction and teaching and assessment choices so that they promote the development of global competence in all of their students. It is only by making this kind of a commitment that we can ensure we are preparing our students to be engaged and empowered citizens in today’s interconnected world. Poole and Russell’s (2015) canvas of literature also identified global content courses that they believe are more likely to promote global knowledge and perspectives. Some of those courses are: world language courses; multicultural courses that focus on race, ethnicity, gender; courses that contain information about other countries; international comparative courses; courses focusing on critical global/international issues; and courses which include multicultural service learning. What is missing from this list are science education courses, i.e., it is assumed that science education courses are not conducive to developing global competence. Poole and Russell (2015) found that even the courses that have the “global content course” designation are not as impactful to increase preservice teachers’ global perspective as it has previously been expected. The quality, breadth, and depth of the experiences those “global content courses” have provided may have not been a sufficient catalyst for developing globally competent teachers. Dimitrieska (2020) found there is a need for broader institutional changes in teacher preparation programs so that there are more globally-focused requirements and opportunities for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaboration in existing teacher preparation courses. Thus, a systemic overhaul of teacher preparation programs is necessary to ensure the global and intercultural competence are not an add-on to only certain courses, but an integrated component of all teacher education courses.

2  Internationalization and Global Competence

21

Poole and Russell (2015) claim that integrating global perspectives into the classroom is a matter of a personal decision by individual teachers. Unfortunately, this still holds true as both K-12 systems and teacher preparation programs very rarely integrate global learning and global perspectives across all the content areas of elementary and secondary teacher preparation programs. The decision whether to include global education into their K-12 classes largely depends on the extent to which the teachers’ teacher preparation programs themselves have included or emphasized content and topics of global nature (O’Connor & Zeichner, 2011; Ukpokodu, 2010). More recently, Kerkhoff and Cloud (2020) found that teachers value and want to enact globally competent teaching but lack practical direction for classroom effectuation. Schools of Education have significant responsibilities to explicitly develop global competence in their teacher candidates (Kerkhoff et al., 2019). Some of the barriers to implementing globally-focused education in teacher preparation programs are lack of global resources, mandated curriculum lacking in global competence, and teaching to high stakes tests that do not assess global competence (Kerkhoff & Cloud, 2020). The common thread in all the global competence definitions are the following three domains: knowledge, skills, and dispositions. The development of those three domains of global competence can result from engaging in internationalization efforts. As Boix Mansilla (2016) pointed out, educators are aware that to nurture global competence, it is not enough to simply add more continents, rivers, or capitals to the already full K-12 curriculum. One cannot help but wonder what should be added or modified to ensure that we as educators are actively taking action to develop our students’ global competence. Internationalization of curriculum efforts are a vehicle for becoming a globally competent teacher. Explicitly focusing on ways to internationalize the science curriculum (e.g., adapting content to examine similarities and differences in science phenomena across the world; using international and non-U.S. teaching materials and examples; globally-oriented yet locally-­ pertinent activities and assignments, simulations, interactions with youth from schools across the globe, integrating the UN Sustainable Development Goals etc.) will serve as an impetus for science teachers to become more globally competent, and, ultimately, for their students to be more globally ready. Internationalized K-12 science curriculum promotes twenty-first-century skills aligned with state academic standards. Continuous efforts for structured curriculum internationalization will yield various levels of global competence among science teachers. Possible teaching strategies that have the potential to develop global competence in teacher candidates are: using materials written by authors from diverse geographical, cultural, and educational backgrounds; using reflection to examine teacher candidates’ own assumptions; discussing international events, etc. (Kerkhoff & Cloud, 2020). Oberg De La Garza and Lavigne’s (2019) analogy of salsa dancing in gym shoes reflects extremely well the awkward and even damaging interactions that result from situations where cultural patterns differ. Similar to wearing adequate shoes for salsa dancing, if teachers possess the proper

22

V. Dimitrieska

knowledge and skills that nurture global competence in their students and themselves, teachers would be better able to understand and meet the needs of their increasingly diverse student body (Oberg De La Garza & Lavigne, 2019). Despite numerous calls to develop global competence in our K-12 students and K-12 educators, Schools of Education have been known to show no or insignificant interest in studying the practice of education in other parts of the world (Schwille, 2017). Except for some interest in education in English-speaking countries, ethnocentricity prevails across the academic systems as well as the policies and practices of education.

2.4 Global Competence Frameworks Over the past 10 years, several global competence frameworks that are designed to develop globally ready students have emerged. First, Asia Society and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (Boix Mansilla & Jackson, 2023) released their Global Competence Framework that aims to provide practical examples and guidance for educators to embed in their curricula, practices, and assessment. Within this framework, global competence is defined through four domains, i.e., as the knowledge and skills students need in the twenty-first century to investigate the world, recognize perspectives, communicate ideas, and take action. In line with the tenets of competence-based education discussed earlier in this chapter, Asia Society has then created global competence outcomes and matrices across the grade levels and content areas to further assist teachers and their students to translate how each of the four domains can look across the educational pipeline (Boix Mansilla & Jackson, 2023). The Globally Competent Learning Continuum (GCLC) is a self-reflection tool aimed to drive professional growth in educators (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2019). It is comprised of 12 distinct but interrelated elements of globally competent teaching, organized by dispositions, knowledge, and skills. Each of the 12 elements is associated with five developmental levels: nascent, beginning, progressing, proficient, and advanced. What is unique about the GCLC are the descriptors for each of the developmental levels and across the 12 elements of globally competent teaching. These descriptors not only show the educator where they are on the continuum at a given point in time, but they also show what the educator can do to reach the next developmental level. The United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs) are another framework that can be used by teachers in their efforts to develop global competence in their students. The SDGs are a call for action by all countries, both developed and developing, for a global partnership. Although criticized for their neoliberal heritage, the SDGs overall aim towards a more sustainable and just world for everyone and their aspirational nature are a joint effort of us all to

2  Internationalization and Global Competence

23

contribute to the world we want to be a part of in the future (Leite, 2022).The World’s Largest Lesson, a joint endeavor between Project Everyone, UNICEF and UNESCO, promotes the use of the SDGs in students’ learning “so that children can contribute to a better future for all” (The World’s Largest Lesson Website). By producing imaginative resources and action-focused learning experiences, they build skills and motivation in learners from across the world to take action for the SDGs.

2.5 Alternative Ways to Develop Global Competence in K-12 Educators Several schools of education have creatively designed ways to develop their pre-­ service teachers’ global competence. First, Ohio State University’s College of Education offers its students to earn Global Option Certificate by taking globally themed courses and engaging in experiences that can be a part of their existing program offerings (Ohio State University College of Education, n.d.). Thus, this way of integrating these types of courses and experiences ensures that the development of global competence is not an add-on and it allows the students to earn this certificate in the same timeframe as they are earning their degrees. Second, Michigan State University’s students in their College of Education may choose to be a part of their Global Cohort Program or their Urban Cohort Program. The graduates of the Global Cohort Program are prepared to be able to “bring the world to their students and educate for global citizenship” across all the grade levels and subject areas (Michigan State University, n.d.). Third, the Global Gateway for Teachers, Indiana University School of Education’s program provides interested students the opportunity to teach abroad by creating intercultural immersion experiences in various countries around the world (Indiana University, n.d.). Another effort at Indiana University’s School of Education has been to use micro-credentialing, i.e., Global Competence Digital Badges, as another option towards having more globally competent educators. Creating programs like the ones listed above is a complex, long-term process that requires vision, dedication, and creativity of many educators and administrators within the colleges of education and even wider, across the university system. Since most teacher preparation programs fail to prepare globally competent teachers through their academic majors, many pre-service and in-service teachers decide to engage in an endeavor to develop their own global competence. Thus, there are a range of professional development and international engagement events that, due to their design and intentional focus on global learning, are aiding teachers in their endeavor to become a globally competent educator. Some of those opportunities involve traveling abroad, whereas others provide high-quality professional development either in person or virtually offered by entities in the United States.

24

V. Dimitrieska

Novice and in-service teachers may choose to develop their global competence in several different ways. For example, through the U.S.  Department of State, K-12 teachers from the U.S. may apply for the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program, or Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short-Term Program. All of these are professional learning experiences abroad (U.S.  Department of State Exchange Programs, n.d.). Also, K-12 teachers may attend free globallyoriented virtual professional development events, such as the Global Teaching Dialogue or, the most recent one, STEM Innovations and Global Competence online course for K-12 educators. The creation of the STEM Innovations and Global Competence course demonstrates the Department’s acknowledgement that global competence and collaboration are essential to progress in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and its recognition of the urgency to have more globally competent K-12 STEM educators. Numerous non-governmental organizations also provide various types of professional development for K-12 teachers that specifically focus on integrating global learning and developing global competence of teachers, and, ultimately, students. Some such organizations are AFS-USA, iEarn, and Asia Society. By providing global teaching resources, global competence frameworks and assessment rubrics, as well as one-time or extended professional learning events, these organizations play a great role in helping teachers develop the knowledge, dispositions, and skills that are necessary to prepare their students for the interconnected world of today and the future. Higher education institutions have also been able to provide globally-oriented professional development for K-12 teachers. Specifically, federally-funded area studies and national resource centers at Indiana University have been able to engage in outreach to K-12 schools across Indiana and the country by providing free workshops, webinars, and summer institutes on using the UN Sustainable Development Goals in K-12 classrooms, how to teach globally by using picture books from around the world, as well as ways to internationalize K-12 schools in general. In collaboration with the Indiana Department of Education, Indiana University’s team of K-12 and higher education experts have internationalized the Indiana academic standards across the grade level and content areas. Teachers, teacher educators, and faculty members in general have the opportunity to tailor their students’ learning experiences by identifying the learning goals (i.e., where are we going), outcomes (i.e., how we will get there), and assessment (i.e., how will we know when we’ve arrived) (Deardorff, 2015). Through the multiple conceptualizations and frameworks we may frame our work towards “graduating global citizens”, “global-ready” graduates or “interculturally competent students” (Deardorff, 2015). Regardless of which term or framework we choose, we have the potential to grow as globally or interculturally competent professionals to instill the values, knowledge, and attitudes in our students necessary for them to become change agents in today’s and future’s interconnected and sustainable world.

2  Internationalization and Global Competence

25

References Altbach, P. G., & Knight, J. (2007). The internationalization of higher education: Motivations and realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3–4), 290–305. American Council on Education. (2019). Comprehensive internationalization framework. https://www.acenet.edu/Research-­I nsights/Pages/Internationalization/CIGE-­M odel-­f or-­ Comprehensive-­Internationalization.aspx Ananiadou, K., & Claro, M. (2009). 21st century skills and competences for new millennium learners in OECD countries. OECD education working papers, no. 41. OECD Publishing. Association of American Colleges and Universities. (n.d.). https://www.aacu.org/ office-­of-­global-­citizenship-­for-­campus-­community-­and-­careers/definitions-­of-­global-­learning Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2021). How college contributes to workforce success. https://www.aacu.org/research/how-­college-­contributes-­to-­workforce-­success Beck, K. (2012). Globalization/s: Reproduction and resistance in the internationalization of higher education. Canadian Journal of Education, 35(3), 133–148. Beelen, J., & Doscher, S. (2022). Situating COIL virtual exchange within concepts of internationalization. In J. Rubin & S. Guth (Eds.), The guide to virtual COIL exchange: Implementing, growing, and sustaining collaborative online international learning (pp.  32–54). Stylus Publishing LLC. Boix Mansilla, V. (2016). How to be a global thinker. ASCD. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/ how-­to-­be-­a-­global-­thinker Boix Mansilla, V., & Jackson, A. (2023). Educating for global competence: Preparing our students to engage the world. ASCD. Bourn, D. (2020). The emergence of global education as a distinctive pedagogical field. In D. Bourn (Ed.), The Bloomsbury handbook of global education and learning (pp. 11–22). Bloomsbury Academic. Brandenbrug, U., & de Wit, H. (2011). The end of internationalization. International Higher Education, 62, 15–16. Buckner, E., & Stein, S. (2019). What counts as internationalization? Deconstructing the internationalization imperative. Journal of Studies in International Education, 1–16. https://journals. sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1028315319829878 California Department of Education. (2016). Educating for global competency: Findings and recommendations from the 2016 California Global Education Summit. https://www.caeducatorstogether.org/resources/116324/educating-­for-­global-­competency?_share=4xUq8HriwGCiyQ uBgYwIne811DFZRw9mH1xgqBL2vw8 Carano, K. T. (2013). Global educators’ personal attribution of a global perspective. Journal of International Social Studies, 3(1), 4–18. Cook, L. A., Smith, W. A., Lan, W. Y., & Carpenter, D. (2016). The development of global competencies and global mindedness through global education experiences. International Journal of Global Education, 5(2), 1–16. Cushner, K. (2012). Intercultural competence for teaching and learning. In B. Shaklee & S. Baily (Eds.), A framework for internationalizing teacher education (pp. 41–59). Rowman Littlefield. de Wit, H. (2020). The future of internationalization of higher education in challenging global contexts. ETD Educ Temática Digit, 22, 538–545. Deardorff, D. K. (2006). The identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10, 241–266. Deardorff, D. K. (2015). Demystifying outcomes assessment for international education. Stylus Publishing. Dimitrieska, V. (2020). Curriculum internationalization in a school of education. NAFSA Research Symposium, 4, 177–189. Edwards, R., & Usher, R. (2000). Globalization and pedagogy: Space, place, and identity. Routledge.

26

V. Dimitrieska

Engel, L. C., Rutkowski, D., & Thompson, G. (2019). Toward an international measure of global competence? A critical look at the PISA 2018 framework. Globalisation, Socieities, and Education, 17(2), 117–131. Ferguson-Patrick, K., Reynolds, R., & Macqueen, S. (2018). Integrating curriculum: A case study of teaching global education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(2), 187–201. Framework for developing global and cultural competencies to advance equity, excellence, and economic competitiveness. (2017). https://sites.ed.gov/international/ global-­and-­cultural-­competency/. Haass, R. (2020). The world: A brief introduction. Penguin Press. Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture. Anchor Books, A Division of Random House, Inc. Indiana University, School of Education, Global Gateway for Teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 Sept 2022, from https://education.indiana.edu/index.html Jackson, A. (2014, June 27). Science is global: Deeper learning and global competence in the science classroom. EdWeek. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-­learning/opinion-­science-­is-­ global-­deeper-­learning-­and-­global-­competence-­in-­the-­science-­classroom/2014/06 Jooste, N., & Heleta, S. (2017). Global citizenship versus globally competent graduates: A critical view form the south. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(1), 39–51. Kerkhoff, S. N., & Cloud, M. E. (2020). Equipping teachers with globally competent practices: A mixed methods study on integrating global competence and teacher education. International Journal of Educational Research, 103, 101629. Kerkhoff, S. N., Dimitrieska, V., Woerner, J., & Alsup, J. (2019). Global teaching in Indiana: A quantitative case study of K-12 public school teachers. Journal of Comparative Studies and International Education, 1(1), 5–31. Kopish, M. A., Shahri, B., & Amira, M. (2019). Developing globally competent teacher candidates through cross-cultural experiential learning. Journal of International Social Studies, 9(2), 3–34. Landorf, H., & Doscher, S. P. (2015). Defining global learning at Florida International University. Diversity and Democracy, 18(3), 24–25. Landorf, H., Doscher, S., & Hardrick, J. (2019). Making global learning universal: Promoting inclusion and success for all students. Stylus Publishing, LLC. Leask, B. (2013). Internationalizing the curriculum in the disciplines- imagining new possibilities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 17, 103–118. Leask, B. (2015). Internationalizing the curriculum. Routledge. Leite, S. (2022). Using the SDGs for global citizenship education: Definitions, challenges, and opportunities. Globalisation, Societies, and Education, 20(3), 401–413. Majewska, I.  A. (2022). Teaching global competence: Challenges and opportunities. College Teaching, 1–13. Merryfield, M.  M. (1997). A framework for teacher education in global perspectives. In M. M. Merryfield, E. Jarchow, & S. Pickert (Eds.), Preparing teachers to teach global perspectives: A handbook for teacher educators (pp. 1–24). Sage. Michigan State University, College of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 Sept 2022, from https://education.msu.edu/teacher-­preparation/global/ Myers, P. J., & Rivero, K. (2019). Preparing globally competent preservice teachers: The development of content knowledge, disciplinary skills, and instructional design. Teaching and Teacher Education, 77, 214–225. Nussbaum, M. (2004). Liberal education and global community. Liberal Education, 90(1), 42–48. O’Connor, K., & Zeichner, K. (2011). Preparing US teachers for critical global education. Globalisation Societies and Education, 9(3–4), 521–536. Oberg De La Garza, T., & Lavigne, A. L. (2019). Salsa dancing in gym shoes: Developing cultural competence to foster Latino student success. TBR Books. OECD. (2018). Preparing our youth for an inclusive and sustainable world. The OECD PISA Global Competence Framework. https://www.oecd.org/education/Global-­competency-­for-­an-­ inclusive-­world.pdf

2  Internationalization and Global Competence

27

Ohio State University, College of Education and Human Ecology. (n.d.). Retrieved 1 Sept 2022, from https://ehe.osu.edu/career-­development/go-­ehe Ordonez, B. (2014). Competency-based education: Changing the traditional college degree power, policy, and practice. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resources Development, 26(4), 47–53. Parkhouse, H., Glazier, J., Tichnor-Wagner, A., & Montana Cain, J. (2015). From local to global: Making the leap in teacher education. International Journal of Global Education, 4(2), 10–29. Parmigiani, D., Jones, S. L., Kunnari, I., & Nicchia, E. (2022). Global competence and teacher education programmes. A European perspective. Cogent Education, 9(1) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2021.2022996 Partnership for 21st century skills. (2011). Framework for 21st century learning. https://static.battelleforkids.org/documents/p21/P21_framework_0816_2pgs.pdf Poole, C., & Russell, W. B. (2015). Educating for global perspectives: A study of teacher preparation programs. Journal of Teacher Education, 195(3), 41–52. Rapoport, A. (2010). We cannot teach what we don’t know: Indiana teachers talk about global citizenship education. Education, Citizenship, and Social Justice, 5(3), 179–190. Richards, P. (2015,August 15). Let’s move beyond the five “Fs” of culture. Dr. Paul RichardsWordPress. https://drpaulrichards.wordpress.com/2015/08/15/lets-­move-­beyond-­the-­five-­fs-­of-­culture/ Schwille, J. (2017). Internationalizing a school of education: Integration and infusion in practice. Michigan State University Press. Shaklee, B.  D., & Baily, S. (2012). Internationalizing teacher education in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Stein, S. (2019). Critical internationalization studies at an impasse: Making space for complexity, uncertainty, and complicity in a time of global challenges. Studies in Higher Education. https:// doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1704722 Tichnor-Wagner, A., & Manise, J. (2019). Globally competent educational leadership: A framework for leading schools in a diverse, interconnected world. ASCD. Tichnor-Wagner, A., Parkhouse, H., Glazier, J., & Montana Cain, J. (2019). Becoming a globally competent teacher. ASCD. U.S. Department of Education International Strategy: Succeeding globally through international education and engagement. (2022). https://sites.ed.gov/international/files/2022/04/ED-­IAO-­ International-­Education-­Strategy-­2022.pdf U.S.  Department of State Exchange Programs. (n.d.). https://exchanges.state.gov/us/program/ fulbright-­programsus-­k-­12-­teachers Ukpokodu, O. (2010). Teacher preparation for global perspectives pedagogy. In B. Subedi (Ed.), Critical global perspectives: Rethinking knowledge about global societies (pp.  121–142). Information Age Publishing. UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. France. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). (2022). https:// en.unesco.org/themes/gced/definition Varadharajan, M., & Buchanan, J. (2017). Any small change?: Teacher education, compassion, understandings and perspectives on global development education. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 9(1), 33–48. https://doi.org/10.18546/ IJDEGL9.1.04 Wimpenny, K., Beelen, J., & King, V. (2020). Academic development to support the internationalization of the curriculum (IoC): A qualitative research synthesis. International Journal for Academic Development, 25(3), 218–231. Yemini, M., Tibbitts, F., & Goren, H. (2019). Trends and caveats: Review of literature on global citizenship education in teacher training. Teaching and Teacher Education, 77, 77–89. Zelenková, A., & Hanesová, D. (2019). Intercultural competence of university teachers: A challenge of internationalization. Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 7(1) https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/jolace-­2019-­0001

Chapter 3

Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education Banu Avsar Erumit and Valarie L. Akerson

3.1 Introduction Educational literature offers varied definitions of globalization, each carrying positive and negative nuances. Globalization is described as “… the recent transformations of capital, labor, markets, communications, scientific and technological innovations, and ideas stretching out across the globe” (Carter, p. 617). In education, “globalization” encompasses a myriad of elements such as migration, which has led to increased classroom diversity, the rise of interconnected networks, advancements in educational practices, international evaluations of students and teachers, curricular designs, and comprehensive educational reforms. Educational literature offers varied definitions of globalization, each carrying positive and negative nuances. At its core, globalization is described as “… the recent transformations of capital, labor, markets, communications, scientific and technological innovations, and ideas stretching out across the globe” (Carter, p. 617). In education, “globalization” encompasses a myriad of elements such as migration, which led to increased classroom diversity, the rise of interconnected networks, advancements in educational practices, international assessments of students and teachers, curricular designs, and comprehensive education reforms. Contrastingly, internationalization is articulated as higher education’s purposeful engagement with the phenomenon of globalization, a perspective championed by the American Council on Education (ACE). Over the past few decades, the B. Avsar Erumit (*) Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey e-mail: [email protected] V. L. Akerson Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_3

29

30

B. Avsar Erumit and V. L. Akerson

international orientation of universities has transformed, becoming intricately layered. Particularly in the last 30 years, the term ‘internationalization of higher education’ has crystallized, shaped by an amalgamation of political, economic, and socio-cultural forces (De Wit, 2019). The ACE characterizes comprehensive internationalization as a strategic, unified framework that merges policies, programs, initiatives, and stakeholders, all with the intent of amplifying the global outlook and international connectivity of tertiary institutions. Embracing an ethos of organizational evolution, this approach to internationalization aspires to foster sustainable and equitable global engagements, viewing internationalization as an ongoing evolution, not a stagnant goal. As globalization takes center stage, it introduces new challenges and magnifies existing ones. Central to the discourse on the internationalization of science education are concerns such as defining “global competency” and its cultural variances; cultivating global citizens without diminishing local values; ensuring inclusivity, social justice, and equity in classrooms; and debating whether global, local, or ‘glocal’ pedagogical approach best address issues in science education. One must adopt a panoramic perspective to grasp the implications of globalization on science education. The subsequent section delves deeper into these concerns and their broader ramifications.

3.2 Migration and Diversity in Classrooms The movement of people across borders is one of the central dimensions of globalization. There has been a noticeable increase in global migration during the past 20 years. Globalization increased migration and challenged schools, teachers, and migrant students from different education systems to local schools. Schools are not well prepared to fully adopt a global curriculum (Zhao, 2010). The surge in migration and immigration pertains to teacher education and calls for training teachers for growing diversity in classrooms (Lourenço, 2018; Paine et  al., 2017). The composition of classrooms has changed as a result of recent changes in migratory flows. One in four students in the United States is an immigrant or the child of immigrants born in the country (Tamer, 2014). The latest wave of immigration has also altered school demographics in Europe. For instance, during the early 2000s, the number of immigrant students in Spain multiplied ten times, accounting for almost 10% of the student body (Coronel & Gómez-Hurtado, 2015). According to the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) report, 17% of teachers from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations reported working in schools where at least 10% of pupils have a migration story. Additionally, nearly one-third of teachers in the same questionnaire reported working in schools where at least 1% of the student body comprises refugees (OECD, 2019). According to the most recent statistics of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), at least 89.3 million individuals have been forcibly relocated due to

3  Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education

31

persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, or other situations that gravely disturb public order. Of them, around 27.1 million are refugees. The Syrian Arab Republic, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar account for 69% of these imports. With 3.8 million refugees, Turkey has taken in the most, followed by Colombia (1.8 million), Uganda (1.5 million), Pakistan (1.5 million), and Germany (1.3 million) (UNHCR, 2022). Many refugees, such as Syrians, have crossed borders during the last 10 years. Many refugee students have unsettled schooling experiences, may be exposed to many different languages during the migration, and therefore feel confused, rootless, and have difficulty with proper behavior in the home country (Celik et  al., 2021; Walsh, 2015). Teachers may also face challenges when they teach migrant and refugee students. Many teachers in the USA and elsewhere lack sufficient knowledge about immigrant and refugee students’ previous educational experiences and are unprepared to respond to linguistic and cultural diversity, and do not share similar socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds with these students (Paine et  al., 2017; Walsh, 2015; Zhao, 2010). Increased classroom diversity increases the necessity of “globally competent” teachers who can deal with and address diversity in classrooms. According to the TALIS 2018 report results, less than half of the teachers mentioned attending professional development based on collaborative learning and networking with other teachers, which they believe is crucial for their training. According to the TALIS administered in 2018 (OECD, 2019), professional development opportunities for teachers on advanced ICT skills, teaching in multicultural and multilingual classrooms, and teaching students with special needs are still in short supply, according to the TALIS distributed in 2018 (OECD, 2019). Although the U.S. is a multicultural nation with students from diverse backgrounds, 58% of U.S. teachers who attended 2018 TALIS and taught in a multicultural classroom reported that they could adapt their teaching to students’ cultural diversity. This outcome is lower than the TALIS average but not measurably different from the OECD average. Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs to respond to adopting their teaching based on cultural diversity are even worse in some participating countries. Only 20% of Japanese teachers mentioned that they could adapt their education to the cultural diversity of students (NCES, 2019/2020). Although global education has gained relevance, what a globally competent teacher should be or what courses and implementations need to be integrated into teacher education programs are still questioned (Lourenço, 2018). According to Zhao (2010), being globally competent means having the skills and knowledge to succeed in a global world, which includes knowing about the rest of the world and its history, cultures, and global issues, communicating with people who speak another language, understand different cultural values, and are sensitive to differences. According to DeBoer, competence is a broad concept that involves the application of scientific knowledge to real-world problems involving science and technology and the capacity and disposition to use that knowledge. It can be a difficult concept to operationalize, and, as an outcome goal, it can be challenging to measure. However, the idea of competency significantly influences how countries around the world are defining their learning expectations in science for students” (DeBoer, 2011, p. 575).

32

B. Avsar Erumit and V. L. Akerson

There is a lack of consensus on how outstanding teachers should be and what excellence means in education. When these standards are determined worldwide and seek to determine quality teachers and effective teaching practices, it becomes more perplexing as additional factors need to be considered (Goodwin, 2010). Networked connections, international comparative practices, and standardized approaches are among such efforts to compare the productivity of educational practices of countries and shed some evidence for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of education in participating countries.

3.3 Networked Connection Networked connection around the world is another dimension of globalization. Examples of such networking include exchanging ideas, standardizing teacher education, and working on issues related to teaching inequalities. Forums for discussion around different themes regarding the improvement of teacher education, like the International Summit of the Teaching Profession, are examples of such initiatives (Paine et al., 2017). The International Summit of the Teaching Profession is organized by OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), Education International, and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Spain holds an intensive discussion around different themes and subthemes selected annually since 2011. The background studies made public following the Summit’s meeting highlight key national performance behaviors and provide suggestions for future reforms. Following the Summit, the OECD published an extended version of this report with expanded recommendations from the background paper on the OECD’s website. The selected theme for the 2022 meeting was “Moving forward after the pandemic: Governments and teachers’ unions working together to leave no one behind,” and a comprehensive report on Innovation for Digital and Inclusive Education was published on the OECD’s website” (e.g., Schleicher, 2022). Teach For All is another example of a teacher education network. Teach For All evolved from teaching in America and is now a global organization with 60 autonomous partner organizations. Teach for America was established in 1989 as a social entrepreneurship project proposed in an undergraduate thesis by a senior, Wendy Kopp, at Princeton University. After observing her African-American roommate, who struggled to adapt, she realized that her roommate’s past school experiences differed from hers. Her awareness of inequalities among school children in the USA encouraged her to propose an alternative teacher education program in which members (teachers) are committed to teaching for 2 years in a neighborhood with a high poverty rate. The organization’s purpose is to reach all children and diminish inequalities among school children. USA’s first international partner was the United Kingdom, which applied Teach for America’s practices in a new context, launched as Teach first in 2002 in London (Rauschenberger, 2020).

3  Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education

33

3.4 International Comparative Tests The impact of globalization has brought a need for international assessments of student achievement in different fields, including science, math, and literacy. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), tracking science and math achievement in grades 4 and 8 (Grade 5 and 9 in the U.K.) every 4 years since 1995, was the first international comparison study. The TIMMS is managed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Seventy-two educational systems representing sixty-four countries participated in TIMSS, 2019 (Mullis et al., 2020). The IEA introduced a prominent international survey known as PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study). Initiated in 2001, PIRLS is conducted every 5 years and is designed to gauge students’ reading comprehension skills in Grade 4 (equivalent to Year 5 in the U.K.). On the other hand, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is a renowned international assessment spearheaded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Unlike PIRLS, which strictly focuses on reading, PISA evaluates students’ reading, mathematics, science, and problem-solving abilities. PISA has been conducted every 3  years since 2000 and each assessment cycle of PISA emphasizes one of these disciplines predominantly. Since its inception in 2000, PISA has been held triennially. Notably, in 2018, the OECD expanded PISA’s scope by integrating a global competence evaluation into its assessment framework. Assessments of curricula can give an idea of whether teachers and students perform well and whether the education system is functioning well or not. There are benefits and drawbacks of such international assessments. The results of such an assessment might help determine the strengths and weaknesses of the education system and misconceptions that students hold in an individual country. Countries can consider the international test results and develop or reorganize national assessments in combination with international assessments (DeBoer, 2011). Furthermore, these test results create interest for national leaders. They use them for reform actions in a country such as the U.S. Despite such benefits, some educators believe such assessment cause homogenization of educational practices and vanish the unique talents and strengths that different education systems offer and put schools in a situation where they compete in a global arena, judged by the quality of their educational practices, and would like to be one of the top performers among other countries (Zhao, 2010). Tobin (2011) also criticized holding educators accountable for students’ academic success, emphasizing competition between individuals and groups like schools, school districts, and nations and holding educators responsible for establishing and maintaining control over students. PISA and TIMSS have access to scientific framework agreements negotiated internationally. The process of agreeing on a framework for creating assessments used to compare countries and determine how good each country’s science education programs are helps focus attention on the most crucial issues. Because it calls

34

B. Avsar Erumit and V. L. Akerson

for creating a broad consensus around conflicting interests, this process is challenging. There is still room for development, although PISA and TIMSS’s efforts have improved this area (DeBoer, 2011). Also, another advantage of internalization of standards and science education might be a collaboration that takes place among teachers from various parts of the world. It may improve teacher programs worldwide, and teacher education programs would be aligned with proposed international student learning outcomes (DeBoer, 2011). Engel et al. (2019) caution against the implications of using such a standardized assessment and explore the intricacies of measuring abstract concepts like global competence. They emphasize that the definition of global competence can vary based on regional perspectives, such as those between the US and Europe. The authors challenge the OECD’s claim of a unanimous international consensus on the definition of global competence. Along with international exams that compare students across the globe, teacher development is now one that transcends national boundaries. For instance, a questionnaire about teachers, classrooms, and learning settings is called the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). The TALIS, organized by The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), involves questionnaires that focus on teachers’ and principals’ backgrounds, international work conditions, professional development experiences, and opinions and thoughts about teaching. It was first administered in 2008 and has been administered every 5 years. TALIS is commonly applied in OECD countries. The USA has participated in the 2013 and 2018 cycles (OECD, 2019). When PISA and TIMSS were developed, that expectation was to encourage policymakers to reevaluate the goals they have set for their students and to think about new strategies for improving student outcomes and raising the standards of science education in their nations. International test results currently impact how countries assess their science curricula, especially in those where students’ test results are lower than expectations. There has been a continual shift toward standards-based science education in an increasingly competitive and interdependent world on educational proficiency. Many countries have initiated raising the standards for improving student learning outcomes and not falling behind other countries in the competitive world. Science educators discuss what international science education standards and curricula should look like to raise globally competent citizens who are successful in these international comparative tests (DeBoer, 2011). To truly cultivate global competence among school students, higher education establishments must introduce and support programs that enhance these traits in teachers—In a study spanning 17 European nations, Parmigiani et al. (2022) explored the opinions of 28 teacher educators regarding the integration of global competence elements into foundational courses for prospective teachers. Specifically, their research emphasized two primary areas: organizational and educational concerns. From an organizational perspective, they suggested that aspects of global competence should be distinctly embedded across various components of teacher training curricula, with designated educators taking the helm to cultivate these attributes. On the

3  Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education

35

educational front, the research illuminated multiple facets of global competence, encompassing citizenship education, intercultural citizenship, fostering cultural and intercultural connections, promoting communication and collaboration, championing diversity acceptance, encouraging introspection and self-awareness, and highlighting the significance of sustainability and holistic well-being.

3.5 Science Curricula In the latter half of the nineteenth century, science was accepted as a valid school subject. Since then, many reforms or innovations have significantly shaped modern science curricula (Park Rogers et al., 2022). Some countries have higher specificity in science standards to determine what to teach and how to teach it. However, some countries like Finland disagree with specified and centralized science standards and value flexibility and diversity in interpreting learning outcomes. More content specifications give education leaders more control over student learning and increase accountability through standardized evaluation. Some countries implement national tests to monitor if existing standards are functioning well. Some countries like Sweden and Finland are not interested in such assessment. However, some countries like Denmark initiated national reviews after receiving lower scores than expected from international comparative tests (DeBoer, 2011). Two patterns in science standard setting exist worldwide, as described by DeBoer (2011). The first involves developing outcome statements for student learning that are more precisely defined and evaluations to measure those outcomes. The second trend is toward a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of learning goals for students, describing expected student outcomes using broad competency models. The USA has focused on education outcome measures instead of process measures for a long time since the early twentieth century, in contrast to many European countries that previously focused on educational quality (DeBoer, 2011). The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in the United States has increased standardized testing across all subject areas and grade levels and heightened educational attainment oversight. With the implementation of NCLB, testing was mandated for science and social studies starting in fourth grade. Forty-six states ratified the USA’s Common Core State Standards for mathematics and English language arts in 2010. The Development of a Framework for K–12 Science Education (The Framework) (NRC, 2012) provided a set of principles for scientific instruction in grades K–12, following in the Common Core’s footsteps. The Framework led to the creation of national science standards, which states could either fully accept or use as a guide for creating their state science standards. The ground-breaking paper, The Framework for K–12 Science Education (NRC, 2012), proposed a three-­dimensional approach to learning about science and, more broadly, STEM (Science, Technology,

36

B. Avsar Erumit and V. L. Akerson

Engineering, and Mathematics). The Framework and the resulting NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) continue to be a strong revolution. Teachers in American schools are now required to help their students prepare for these high standards. That reinforcement has changed the schools’ science curricula as public schools are now able to apply to become STEM-certified institutions. Although there is no set curriculum for a STEM-certified school, it is expected that STEM topics will be continuously addressed throughout the curriculum (Park Rogers et al., 2022). Zeidler et al. (2016) argue problematic issues in widespread STEM and NGSS-­ driven trends in science education. Zeidler and colleagues found overemphasizing STEM and marginalizing some science content and humanities from science curricula challenging. Also, they are concerned that the science teacher education programs do not adequately equip preservice teachers to comprehend STEM, which is a significant focus of scientific curricula, including its content, practices, and nature. Additionally, they are worried that science teacher preparation programs do not adequately equip preservice teachers to comprehend STEM, a significant focus of scientific curricula, including its nature, content, and practices. The instructors’ attempts to successfully integrate engineering into their science instruction are usually hampered by teachers’ lack of knowledge about engineering practices, time restraints, and a lack of materials and school facilities (Guzey et al., 2014). The question of whether teachers should be expected to teach all disciplines in an integrated manner or should they concentrate on disciplines in STEM fields individually remains unclear despite the increased popularity of STEM teaching. Moreover, teachers are not prepared to conduct integrative STEM lessons. It continues to be a problem (Park Rogers et al., 2022). The increased connections brought about by globalization have led to a faster and broader spread of ideas and what this means for exemplary teaching in teacher education. Scientific literacy, or the importance and the definition of scientifically literate individuals in science education, has gained popularity in science education literature and took place in important science education documents such as the NGSS (Park Rogers et al., 2022). Furthermore, learner-centered or, in other words, child-centered pedagogy in which children are actively involved in the learning process has often been treated as the best teaching practice, especially after the 1990s around the world (Paine et al., 2017). Nevertheless, such approaches have not been practical in some contexts due to cultural issues and contextual restraints such as national exams (Vavrus & Bartlett, 2013). Ladson-Billings (2021) pointed out that even the most excellent curriculum cannot be taught alone. The researcher emphasized the necessity of culturally responsive pedagogy outlined in this paper in a re-set educational experience (i.e., student learning, cultural competence, and socio-political consciousness) for reaching all students (Ladson-Billings, 1995, 2021). Adopting a globally homogeneous curriculum may not respond for all to raise individuals who can compete in the global world. A more effective strategy may be to build on and develop distinctive and varied talents (Zhao, 2010).

3  Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education

37

3.6 The Issues Regarding Homogenization of Curricula The homogenization of curricula treats diverse groups of people as homogenous while ignoring their experiences, needs, and cultural habits. Indigenous students are examples of such groups who face a conflict between home and school and lack culturally based pedagogy. According to World Bank statistics, an estimated 476 million indigenous people live worldwide (World Bank, 2022). According to data from 23 countries, 83% of the world’s indigenous population, reported by the International Labour Organization, indigenous people make up 9.3% of the population but roughly 19% of the extremely poor (Dhir et al., 2019). Educators argue the need to support and promote achievement and equity in science education for these students. Most science curricula developed by Western science educators are copied across countries with a lack of emphasis on resources and place by assuming that primitive cultures did not do science. Conversely, the large body of scientific knowledge and practices with their natural environment accumulative and passed through generations is a valuable resource that science educators should draw on. This knowledge system comprises naming and classification systems and utilization of natural resources. Indigenous knowledge should take place in curricula to protect indigenous information and add to scientific knowledge and methods (Quigley, 2009). Also, some researchers report the overlapping between western and indigenous science (Chinn, 2007). Indigenous people’s rights have come to the attention of the public and have been recognized by international instruments, including According to the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2016). The declaration provides an opportunity for indigenous people to establish and lead their educational system and give education in their language; “Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning” (p. 16). Implementing these issues in the science curricula rather than in a separate effort is crucial. Rodriguez (2015) used sociotransformative constructivism (sTc) as a theoretical framework to analyze the Framework and NGSS, arguing the necessity of discussing the impact of previous science curricula and reform efforts on teachers’ practices and students’ learning. He argued that the Framework and NGSS could have been used as a bridge for transformative change, criticizing both for their failure to involve equity and diversity. While praising positive elements in these documents, including engineering connections, he questioned why equity did not directly take place in the Framework and NGSS. Soudien (2005) argues that globalization is discriminatory and cruel in many contexts. Tobin (2011) contends that the emphasis on discipline and punishment in low-income schools with most students of color directly results from the neoliberal focus on control and accountability. The emphasis on individuality and competition

38

B. Avsar Erumit and V. L. Akerson

are two more neoliberal narratives that permeate education (Bazzul, 2012; Tobin, 2011). Bencze and Carter (2011) discuss how current educational practices promote values such as individual responsibility, competition, excellence, efficiency, and standardization. As Zhao (2010) argues, glocalization, a framework combining localization and globalization, is a suitable practice focusing on local with a global perspective.

3.7 Glocal Pedagogy Bringing local learning, participation, and impact together with global communication, collaboration, and knowledge is what the phrase “glocal” production means. This process covers how students learn about the world and how to behave appropriately in it, and it transcends social, cultural, and geographic borders. Glocal pedagogy combines global collaboration experiences with local learning and impact (Caniglia et al., 2018). Caniglia et al. (2018) argued that students from various geographical and cultural backgrounds could come together to learn how to handle the urgent sustainability concerns of our day, such as pandemics, growing urbanization, climate change, and the loss of biodiversity, with glocal pedagogy. Students could collaborate with others from other cultures and nations while working on shared research issues on sustainability in their local environments. They could gain knowledge about how sustainability issues differ locally while addressing how these issues are interconnected globally. In their previous publication that recommended glocal curricula, John et al. (2017) introduced a figure that showed three dimensions: acting, knowing, and being in the center of a triangle. Converging bubbles that form a triangle symbolize a teaching-learning environment that is local and global as well as virtual and real. As Niemczyk (2019) emphasized, globalization brought standardization, whereas local acknowledges context-specific characteristics that must be considered and respected. Therefore, the term “glocal” is found as practical pedagogy for thinking and understanding social issues that impact the world, communicating with others from different sociocultural contexts while still acting in your local area, and keeping your cultural values. Mannion (2015) would instead support glocal pedagogy over a global citizenship framework. Mannion stated that glocal pedagogy offers more comprehensive educational opportunities than education for global citizenship, which overemphasizes global aspects while eliminating local aspects. Furthermore, some researchers argue that globalization creates inequalities among diverse groups. Bauman (1998) refers to the unequal distribution of the benefits of globalization among various social groups; while members of wealthier classes benefit from the globalization process’ intrinsic mobility, marginalized social groupings become “localized” (Bauman, 1998).

3  Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education

39

3.8 Nature of Science Integration in Reform Documents Olson (2018) examined Nature of Science (NOS) inclusion in science curricula of various countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada—BC, Colombia, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand. Except for those from Indonesia and Australia, she found all documents to have low NOS inclusion based on the placement of NOS concepts and the degree of their inclusion throughout each document. The science curricula of Mexico, Lebanon, South Africa, British Columbia, Canada, USA did not address NOS as student expectations or learning. NOS was not mentioned at all in Indonesia’s document. The curriculum from Australia stood out from the others, as Olson pointed out since it had NOS ideas in numerous places. Nevertheless, inclusion is inconsistent in each grade level, as it is emphasized more in some grade levels than others. The NGSS approach to the inclusion of is complex, as it distinguishes NOS from the primary standards. Appendix H outlines the NOS concepts. Yet, despite claims of incorporation within the document’s main body, none of the NOS concepts from the appendix are explicitly stated as standards. Teachers are directed to a box that lists “performance expectations” within the text. Furthermore, accompanying video content guides interpreting the document, but notably, the NOS concepts are absent from the “performance expectations” box.

3.9 International Standards and Various Initiatives toward Curriculum Development Science and social-based problems worldwide impact each of us; therefore, understanding the scientific part of the issues is necessary for global citizens of today’s world. Although most discussions about standards currently center on how to improve test scores internationally, at some point, given the significant variations between the current tests, countries must decide whether adopting the practices of these testing programs will move them in the direction they want to move (DeBoer, 2011). Leask and Bridge (2013) emphasized the complexity of the internationalization of curricula. They suggested a framework that explains how internalization is value-based and interpreted differently by discipline and across contexts starting from institutional context and then local context, followed by national context and finally global context. Moreover, disciplinary distinctions need to be considered for the internalization of programs and curricula. Research shows that academic staff in the humanities and social sciences can more easily accommodate their teaching due to the presence of international students in their classrooms than staff from engineering and science departments (Sawir, 2011). It is necessary to look more closely at how disciplinary distinctions impact teaching practices, particularly for practical instruction and

40

B. Avsar Erumit and V. L. Akerson

learning in a multicultural environment—being open to diverse ways of thinking, being able to accommodate teaching, and finding various ways to make the teaching understandable to diverse groups of students (Sawir, 2011). Advocating for the development of global competence in students requires teachers to possess the same competency to effectively support students in this endeavor (Parkhouse et al., 2015). A significant move toward this direction is the internationalization of curricula, which is pivotal for offering an education that is both inclusive and attuned to global relevancies. This transformative approach acknowledges diverse epistemologies, methodologies, and cultural perspectives and actively endeavors to unite them. It’s essential to realize that knowledge isn’t confined to a specific region, culture, or tradition. Anastácio et al. (2017) underscore the crucial role of education in advancing sustainability and comprehending the intricate nexus between biodiversity and human welfare. The authors advocate crafting and distributing a global basic science curriculum, especially targeting primary and ninth-­grade students. This curriculum would spotlight sustainability, ecosystems, and a comprehensive scientific grasp. Moreover, its adaptability across different languages and regions is stressed. Upon examining the literature on the internationalization of curricula, Sá and Serpa (2020) deduced that its incorporation in higher education is multifaceted, engaging various stakeholders and presenting numerous challenges. They accentuated the pivotal role teachers played in this transformation and highlighted the need for institutional leaders to be attuned to the rich cultural diversity that will permeate classrooms undergoing this curriculum overhaul. Furthermore, they mentioned the myriad challenges faced by stakeholders in higher education institutions, including content selection, pedagogical strategies, evaluation techniques, internal and external institutional, social, and political backing, and establishing a conducive legal framework. York and Hite (2021) probed the views of pre-service teachers (PSTs) regarding classroom-based global collaboration (CBGC) and its potential advantages and hurdles for instructional methodologies, with a particular focus on math and science. Even though many recognized the positive impact of CBGC on imparting soft skills and bolstering content knowledge, there was a prevalent sentiment among PSTs that integrating this methodology into math and science education could be arduous. Notably, despite acknowledging its merits, many PSTs expressed reservations about their proficiency in embedding CBGC into their future teaching endeavors, indicating a pressing need for enhanced support and resources from teacher preparation programs. To surmount the challenges above and cultivate global competencies in prospective teachers, it’s imperative for teacher licensing programs to champion the creation of standalone global education courses. They should also amplify global exposure and experiences for training educators, as Parkhouse et al. (2015) emphasized. The authors further posited that cultivating global competence necessitates dedicated attention and resources optimally sequenced after a foundational course, such as one centered on culturally responsive teaching.

3  Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education

41

3.10 Implications There are contradictory tendencies of globalization brought to education, as discussed in the literature. While the importance of learner-centered pedagogy and addressing cultural diversity in instruction has been emphasized in literature and reform documents, standardized and narrowed approaches, which are also an impact of internationalization, have been spreading (Paine et al., 2017). Furthermore, one-­ size-­all approaches may not work well in all contexts. Student-centered pedagogy and STEM emphasis may not be suitable or necessary for every nation. Therefore, more research and a range of voices are needed to argue that what practices work in different contexts should be challenged (Paine et al., 2017). Also, more deeply rooted problems in some countries’ education systems should be regulated first. For instance, more than one-third of primary school students in nations like Pakistan do not attend school (Hamid, 2016). The Pakistani researcher compared the situation’s flawed short-term improvement efforts to treating a wound with painkillers rather than performing surgery to repair it. As a result, these countries’ specific demands must be considered while regulating their educational systems and curricula (Hamid, 2016). Globalization simplifies exchanging materials, attending conferences worldwide, and distributing scholarly journals. Nevertheless, open communication channels are still lacking despite focusing on the worldwide exchange of knowledge and methods. We need ongoing discourse so that learning through dialogue can occur in many circumstances. This debate is uncommon in institutional, governmental, or research settings (Paine et al., 2017). Given the considerable influence of academics’ instructional perspectives on teaching to international students and the internalization of curricula, a deeper examination of disciplinary distinctions and how they affect teaching practice is necessary, particularly regarding the quality of teaching and learning in a multicultural setting (Sawir, 2011). Through a workshop, Lourenço (2018) examined the perspectives of teacher educators on globalization and the internationalization of curricula they developed. Lourenço stressed the gap in the existing literature on professional development opportunities for teachers in the internationalization of the curriculum and the lack of opportunities for them to collaboratively work and be part of designing a curriculum with a global perspective. Lourenço (2018) recommends that academicians need to actively engage in the transformation process for curricula internationalization, may employ a participatory action research methodology, may have a “critical buddy” who supports creating such curricula, and may work cooperatively in disciplinary teams. Nganga (2019) found some teaching approaches effective in enhancing U.S. preservice teachers’ appreciation of their understanding of removing their misunderstandings about other cultures and improving their global mindedness and social justice skills. Role-play activities, presentations about diverse cultures, children’s literature, and movies that subtly promote global and social justice with messages, collaborative working, and classroom discussions have all been found to improve preservice

42

B. Avsar Erumit and V. L. Akerson

teachers’ knowledge of social justice and global competencies. In her recent publication, Burke (2022) has been concerned about how teachers should handle student diversity in K–12 science classes and the message that a teacher’s demeanor sends to pupils. She states the necessity of supporting preservice teachers in their engagement with a diverse range of learners and shares some approaches to integrate social inequity, diversity, social justice, and inclusion issues within teacher education course components to influence their dispositions about these issues. She found it helpful to use data and ask preservice teachers to create a story around the data and facilitate constructive and meaningful discussions on race, ethnicity, gender, etc., by using artifacts and illustrations. Understanding how the NOS is handled in current standards is crucial because it leads curricular materials and teachers to guide their instruction. Some nations, like South Africa, have standards that are so prescriptive for instructors that they specify how many minutes must be allotted for each standard at each grade level. Other nations’ standards, like those from the USA, are more advisory than prescriptive. Still, regardless of whether they directly or indirectly impact instructors, standards outline what is essential for K–12 scientific students to master. The internationalization of the curriculum and the incorporation of ‘glocal’ pedagogical strategies can provide a harmonized solution to the challenges faced in modern education, particularly in science. When we examine the nuances of the NOS within various educational standards, we recognize its profound influence on curricular materials and, consequently, on instructional guidance provided by educators. Taking cues from diverse educational standards, such as the highly prescriptive ones in South Africa that dictate instructional time per standard, and the more advisory standards from the USA, we can infer those standards, irrespective of their direct or indirect influence, form the backbone of what students are expected to master in their K–12 scientific journey. For contextual knowledge, there is still a debate on how teachers attain and balance contextual understanding that is global as well as local. Globalization is still a developing phenomenon that impacts education and local, national, and international educational legislation. However, we only have theoretical presumptions and a few anecdotal observations to support our understanding of this influence. It is vital to further conceptualize globalization’s theoretical underpinnings using various viewpoints and scholarly traditions backed by empirical data (Wang et al., 2011). There is still a lot we do not know about effective science instruction from the perspective of globalization, and further research into the work of effective teachers and teacher educators is required. International best practices and standardized approaches ignore that teaching is contextually embedded, autobiographically based, and socio-politically informed. Therefore, effective instruction can take many different forms in various contexts. To collaboratively examine quality teaching as practiced in a wide range of contexts, we should embrace the probability of multiple routes to quality rather than search for the one correct answer. We should also think outside of our boundaries and specialties. Our current world is chaotic and complex; training instructors who can assist us in creating the society we all aspire to will require more than one thought and multiple answers for the definition of greatness or quality (Goodwin, 2010).

3  Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education

43

References Anastácio, R., Azeiteiro, U. M., & Pereira, M. J. (2017). Global science teaching for human well-­ being. Creative Education, 8(14), 2275. Bauman, Z. (1998). On glocalization: Or globalization for some, localization for some others. Thesis Eleven, 54(1), 37–49. Bazzul, J. (2012). Neoliberal ideology, global capitalism, and science education: Engaging the question of subjectivity. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 7(4), 1001–1020. Bencze, L., & Carter, L. (2011). Globalizing students acting for the common good. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(6), 648–669. Burke, L. E. (2022). Foregrounding intersectionality in considerations of diversity: Confronting discrimination in science teacher education. Research in Science Education, 52(4), 1157–1170. Caniglia, G., John, B., Bellina, L., Lang, D. J., Wiek, A., Cohmer, S., & Laubichler, M. D. (2018). The glocal curriculum: A model for transnational collaboration in higher education for sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 368–376. Celik, S., Kardaş İşler, N., & Saka, D. (2021). Refugee education in Turkey: Barriers and suggested solutions. Pedagogy, Culture & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2021.194787 Chinn, P. W. (2007). Decolonizing methodologies and indigenous knowledge: The role of culture, place and personal experience in professional development. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(9), 1247–1268. Coronel, J. M., & Gómez-Hurtado, I. (2015). Nothing to do with me! Teachers’ perceptions on cultural diversity in Spanish secondary schools. Teachers and Teaching, 21(4), 400–420. https:// doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.968896 De Wit, H. (2019). Internationalization in higher education, a critical review. SFU Educational Review, 12(3), 9–17. DeBoer, G.  E. (2011). The globalization of science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(6), 567–591. Dhir, R. K., Cattaneo, U., Cabrera Ormaza, M., Coronado, K., & Oelz, M. (2019). Implementing the ILO indigenous and tribal peoples convention no. 169 “Towards an inclusive, sustainable and just future.” International Labour Organisation (ILO). Retrieved 7 Sept 2022, from https:// www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/%2D%2D-­dgreports/%2D%2D-­dcomm/%2D%2D-­publ/ documents/publication/wcms_735607.pdf Engel, L. C., Rutkowski, D., & Thompson, G. (2019). Toward an international measure of global competence? A critical look at the PISA 2018 framework. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 17(2), 117–131. Goodwin, A. L. (2010). Globalization and the preparation of quality teachers: Rethinking knowledge domains for teaching. Teaching Education, 21(1), 19–32. Guzey, S.  S., Harwell, M., & Moore, T. (2014). Development of an instrument to assess attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). School Science and Mathematics, 114(6), 271–279. Hamid, S. S. (2016). Transforming teacher education for the globalization of education. NUML Journal of Critical Inquiry, 14(2), 70. John, B., Caniglia, G., Bellina, L., Lang, D., & Laubichler, M. (2017). The glocal curriculum. In A practical guide to teaching and learning in an interconnected world. Tredition. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 35, 465–491. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831203200346 Ladson-Billings, G. (2021). I’m here for the hard re-set: Post pandemic pedagogy to preserve our culture. Equity & Excellence in Education, 54(1), 68–78. Leask, B., & Bridge, C. (2013). Comparing internationalisation of the curriculum in action across disciplines: Theoretical and practical perspectives. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 43(1), 79–101. Lourenço, M. (2018). Internationalizing teacher education curricula: Opportunities for academic staff development. On the Horizon, 26(2), 157–169. https://doi.org/10.1108/OTH-­07-­2017-­0053

44

B. Avsar Erumit and V. L. Akerson

Mannion, G. (2015). Towards glocal pedagogies: Some risks associated with education for global citizenship and how glocal pedagogies might avoid them. In J.  Friedman, V.  Haverkate, B. Oomen, E. Park, & M. Sklad (Eds.), Going glocal in higher education: The theory, teaching and measurement of global citizenship (pp. 19–34). University College Roosevelt. ISBN: 978-94-92170-10-1. Mullis, I.  V. S., Martin, M.  O., Foy, P., Kelly, D.  L., & Fishbein, B.  I. E.  A. (I.  A. for the E. of E. A. (2020, September). TIMSS 2019 international results in mathematics and science. TIMSS 2019 international report. Retrieved 4 Sept 2022, from https://www.iea.nl/sites/default/ files/2021-­01/TIMSS%202019-­International-­Results-­in-­Mathematics-­and-­Science.pdf National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academies Press. NCES. (2019/2020). TALIS 2018 U.S. highlights web report. U.S.  Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 13 Sept 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2019132 Nganga, L. (2019). Preservice teachers’ perceptions of teaching for global mindedness and social justice: Using the 4Cs (Collaboration, Critical thinking, Creativity and Communication) in teacher education. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 10(4), 26–57. Niemczyk, E. K. (2019). Glocal education in practice: Teaching, researching, and citizenship (pp. 11–18). The Bulgarian Comparative Education Society. OECD. (2019). TALIS 2018 results (volume I): Teachers and school leaders as lifelong learners, TALIS. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/1d0bc92a-­en Olson, J.  K. (2018). The inclusion of the nature of science in nine recent international science education standards documents. Science & Education, 27(7), 637–660. Organization of American States. (2016). American declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples. Retrieved from https://www.narf.org/wordpress/wp-­content/uploads/2015/09/2016oas-­ declaration-­indigenous-­people.pdf Paine, L., Aydarova, E., & Syahril, I. (2017). Globalization and teacher education. The Sage handbook of research on teacher education, 2, 1133–1148. Park Rogers, M.  A., Akerson, V.  A., & Buck, G.  A. (2022). Science education curriculum. In D. Fisher (Ed.), Routledge encyclopedia of education. Taylor & Francis/Routledge. https://doi. org/10.4324/9781138609877-­REE93-­1 Parkhouse, H., Glazier, J., Tichnor-Wagner, A., & Montana Cain, J. (2015). From local to global: Making the leap in teacher education. International Journal of Global Education, 4(2), 10. Parmigiani, D., Jones, S. L., Kunnari, I., & Nicchia, E. (2022). Global competence and teacher education programmes. A European perspective. Cogent Education, 9(1), 2022996. Quigley, C. (2009). Globalization and science education: The implications for indigenous knowledge systems. International Education Studies, 2(1), 76–88. Rauschenberger, E. (2020). From teach for America to teach first: The initial expansion overseas. In Examining teach for all: International perspectives on a growing global network (Oxford studies in comparative education) (pp. 13–35). Routledge. Rodriguez, A. J. (2015). What about a dimension of engagement, equity, and diversity practices? A critique of the next generation science standards. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(7), 1031–1051. Sá, M.  J., & Serpa, S. (2020). Cultural dimension in internationalization of the curriculum in higher education. Education Sciences, 10(12), 375. Sawir, E. (2011). Academic staff response to international students and internationalising the curriculum: The impact of disciplinary differences. International Journal for Academic Development, 16(1), 45–57. Schleicher, A. (2022). Building on COVID-19’s innovation momentum for digital, inclusive education, International Summit on the Teaching Profession. OECD Publishing. https://doi. org/10.1787/24202496-­en Soudien, C. (2005). Inside but below: The puzzle of education in the global order. In International handbook on globalisation, education and policy research (pp. 501–516). Springer.

3  Contemporary Efforts Involving Globalization and Science Teacher Education

45

Tamer, M. (2014). The education of immigrant children. Retrieved 2 Sept from https://www.gse. harvard.edu/news/uk/14/12/education-­immigrant-­children TIMSS 2019 U.S. highlights web report (NCES 2021-021). U.S.  Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 5 Sept 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/timss/results19/index.asp Tobin, K. (2011). Global reproduction and transformation of science education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 6(1), 127–142. UNHCR. (2022). UNHCR’s refugee population statistics database. Retrieved September 5, 2022, from https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-­statistics/ Vavrus, F., & Bartlett, L. (Eds.). (2013). Teaching in tension: International pedagogies, national policies, and teachers’ practices in Tanzania (Vol. 1). Springer Science & Business Media. Walsh, B. (2015). After the journey: What U.S. educators need to know about refugee children and how to teach them. Retrieved 2 Sept from https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/15/10/ after-­journey Wang, J., Lin, E., Spalding, E., Odell, S. J., & Klecka, C. L. (2011). Understanding teacher education in an era of globalization. Journal of Teacher Education, 62(2), 115–120. World Bank. (2022). Indigenous people context. Retrieved 7 Sept from https://www.worldbank. org/en/topic/indigenouspeoples#1 York, M.  K., & Hite, R. (2021). Preservice science and mathematics teachers’ intent to use classroom-based global collaboration (CBGC) in their future classrooms. Teacher Education Quarterly, 48(2), 45–68. Zeidler, D.  L., Herman, B.  C., Clough, M.  P., Olson, J.  K., Kahn, S., & Newton, M. (2016). Humanitas emptor: Reconsidering recent trends and policy in science teacher education. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 27(5), 465–476. Zhao, Y. (2010). Preparing globally competent teachers: A new imperative for teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(5), 422–431.

Part II

Action Research on Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

Chapter 4

Action Research on Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation Gayle A. Buck

and Valarie L. Akerson

4.1 Theoretical and Methodological Underpinnings 4.1.1 Action Research as an Instructional Theory for Science Teacher Educators As science teacher educators, we prepare and develop adults to teach science. We are often prepared to take on this role in university programs in which we immerse ourselves in a professional community where we take rigorous classes, become actively involved in research projects, contribute to knowledge generation, and frequently perfect our skills with teaching adult students. Once we enter the profession, our professional development takes a different form. We are expected to continue to develop professionally, but this is often a very isolated experience with little time for interaction, reflection, or critical feedback  – particularly regarding teaching. This lack of attention to our ongoing learning to teach teachers is particularly problematic as we are the linchpins of educational reform (Cochran-Smith, 2003; Cochran-Smith et al., 2020). This process goes against our accepted educational theories and hinders our ability to adapt. In seeking to adjust our teacher education programs in a manner that prepares our preservice teachers to internationalize (Engel, 2014) their science teaching, we (the editors) found ourselves needing to adapt our approach to our own professional development. Whereas we are typically considered the experts in designing G. A. Buck (*) Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA e-mail: [email protected] V. L. Akerson Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_4

49

50

G. A. Buck and V. L. Akerson

programs for preservice and in-service teachers, we found ourselves needing to expand on our understanding of what it means to internationalize science teacher education in today’s world and how our teacher education programs should change to prepare future teachers to do so. As scholars of education, we sought to guide our learning process with a solid foundation based on the current educational theory of learning. Social constructivist theory grounds many of the programs and courses we design for our undergraduate students. This educational theory is grounded in the notion that many understandings are mediated within the milieu in which they are carried out (Wertsch, 1991). Thus, the focus is on learning as participation in experiences in a socially constructed world. The sociocultural theory of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) explains a socioculturally structured world and the persons who function within that world. Sociocultural structure refers to the institutional, historical, and social activities humans engage in for survival and comfort (Giddens, 1979). When humans share a commitment to a shared domain of interest and build relationships that enable them to learn about and within that practice, they form a Community of Practice (Wenger, 1998). These communities serve to foster learning within a specific milieu, but much of the learning that occurs in these learning communities is about learning the practice and not transforming the practice. Mezirow (2000, 2009) developed a transformative theory to describe how adults make sense of life experiences. This sense-making process is transformative in that it allows us to “…transform our taken-for-granted frames of reference (meaning schemes, habits of mind, mindsets) to make them more inclusive, discriminating, open, emotionally capable of change, and reflective so that they may generate beliefs and opinions that will prove more true and justified to guide action” (Mezirow, 2000, p.8). Frames of reference act as filters through which we make meaning of new experiences. The process is transformative when new experiences result in disorientating dilemmas, causing us to transform our frame of reference and be emotionally able to change (Mezirow, 2009). Critical reflection is critical to any transformative learning process, and action research is one means by which such reflection is realized. Action research is a methodological, iterative approach to embracing a problem based on practice, action planning, implementation, evaluation, and reflection. Action research is a cyclical process where the findings from the first cycle feed into the planning of the next (Carr & Kemmis, 1986). It is a powerful form of research that has increased in acceptance and popularity over the past several decades, increasing visibility as an instructional approach (Rust, 2007). The process puts teachers directly in touch with data that provides an understanding of teaching. Beyond classroom teachers, action research is a form of professional development for teacher educators (e.g., Berk & Herbert, 2009; Rust, 2007). As we were teacher educators seeking to advance our understanding and practice, this approach was selected.

4  Action Research on Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

51

4.1.2 Action Research in Science Education Action research has been used to support change and improvement in science teaching (Lederman & Lederman, 2015). Systematic reflection by teachers on their teaching, learning, and curriculum facilitates professional growth. Action research can be seen as an essential component of professional development programs in science education. Action research in science education focuses on local concerns, as local as the students in a single classroom. There is no concern about whether the sample is representative of a larger sample, as generally, it is the whole class participating in the systematic study. In this case, action research improves the practice of the teacher and student learning in that setting. Recommendations can be made for the practices of others to try similar strategies but adjust those strategies for their settings. Inservice teachers use action research to enhance their understanding of teaching science, as shown in a recent publication that focused on action research and self-­ study during covid-19 teaching to help teachers deliver the best instruction they could during emergency teaching (e.g., Akerson & Carter, 2021). Such efforts can also be seen in the work by Mitchener and Jackson (2012). Using action research, they studied a science professional’s transition from a scientist to a middle school teacher. They found that using evidence from student learning connected with the scientist who was becoming a teacher. Lebak and Tinsley (2010) also studied a team of three inservice science teachers who conducted action research on their practices and found that they all became less teacher-centered and more student-centered over time. Their study highlighted how conducting action research can serve as professional development. Action research in science education can be completed by teams of teachers of various grade levels and contexts so teachers can share results, such as in the volume by Akerson and Carter (2022) that focused on what different grade levels of students could learn about Nature of Science through a variety of contexts (e.g., kindergarten, high school, college, various science disciplines) across various teaching modalities. Using action research can highlight how a science teacher influences students and its effects on them as they develop as teachers (e.g., Cesljarev et al., 2021). Action research is not only valuable for inservice teachers; it can also be used as part of a teacher professional preparation program to help preservice, and new teachers learn to deliver better science lessons and to use systematic design along with data collection and analysis to become reflective practitioners who continue to improve their teaching (e.g., Akerson & Flanigan, 2000; Bohrmann & Akerson, 2001). It has also been used to enable teachers with strengths in other subjects, such as language arts, to connect with their science teaching and improve their science instruction (Akins & Akerson, 2002; Liu & Akerson, 2002; Nixon & Akerson, 2004). Fazio and Melville (2008) explored four science teachers who participated in collaborative action research in their early development as teachers and found that through the reflective process of the action research, they became better at understanding and incorporating the nature of science and inquiry instruction in their classrooms.

52

G. A. Buck and V. L. Akerson

Action research can also foster collaborative inquiry (Goodnough, 2003). Goodnough describes how expectations of action research outcomes do not always match up with actual outcomes. Science teachers can learn even more about teaching as they collaboratively grapple with making sense of data and use results to refine their instruction further. There is also a valuable opportunity for teacher educators to learn alongside inservice teachers. Capobianco and Feldmann (2010) completed several collaborative action research studies with science teachers. They used their experiences to develop conditions for such incidents to maximize the impact of such collaborations. Buck et al. (2014) completed a participatory action research study. The research group included teacher educators, a classroom teacher, and a school principal. They sought answers to questions to improve their teaching practices associated with preservice science teacher preparation, elementary science education, and inservice science teacher development. Yin and Buck (2015) completed a collaborative action research study alongside a classroom teacher for a better understanding of how a teacher can incorporate formative assessment into the chemistry curriculum in Chinese high schools where they encounter a strong emphasis on high-stakes testing. The results impacted the practice of both the classroom teacher and teacher educators. Tillotson (2000) agrees that teaching is complex, and using action research can help us better address some of the complexity and improve practice. University faculty are encouraged to partner with classroom practitioners to develop deeper understandings of the inherent complexities. We have come a long way in using action research in science education. We now have a journal devoted explicitly to action research in science education entitled Action Research and Innovation in Science Education, which publishes quality science education action research studies across grade levels and science content areas. While this journal publishes action research studies in science education, there have been special articles in practitioner journals that describe and recommend that science teachers use action research to improve their science teaching and their students’ learning, such as Watson and Barthlow’s (2020) “Action research for science teachers” published in The Science Teacher. Both science education researchers and practitioners see the value of action research in science education.

4.1.3 Action Research to Foster a Change in Our Understanding and Practice Becoming a globally competent science teacher educator is a complex process that requires examining current knowledge, skills, and dispositions and how they evolve as we engage in locally-relevant and globally-focused needs of the latest post-riot and pandemic-affected diverse communities. Thus, we formed a group of teacher educators that, like ourselves, were seeking to internationalize their science teacher preparation programs. The group included teacher educators from across the United States, preparing preservice teachers to teach in rural schools, with varying expertise and experiences to share. Together, we developed and conducted action research

4  Action Research on Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

53

that enhanced our collective understandings of locally-driven yet globally-focused science teaching. A complete overview of the professional development structure is outlined in Chap. 1. Here we focus on the portion of the project that involves action research. One of the webinars of our initiative was focused on the action research approach we would follow for the program. This webinar began with an overview of insider research, which we defined as research carried out by a researcher within their organization to change something (Goghlan & Shani, 2015). From there, we explored various approaches to insider research (e.g., self-study, action research). We then narrowed the focus to action research exclusively. The definitions of this approach mirrored the ones provided earlier in this chapter. In addition, we explored types of action research (e.g., collaborative, participatory, emancipatory, feminist). Although the specific type selected by the various members was flexible to accommodate different researchers and contexts, three requirements for our use were identified. The first three were adapted from Kemmis and McTaggart (1998). They included (1) the project would take as its subject matter a social practice requiring improvement, (2) the project would proceed through a cycle that included planning, action, observing and reflecting, and revising, and (3) the project would involve those responsible for each step of the activity, and (4) the specific focus would be on Globally Competent Teaching. The webinar also provided possible action research questions to address these requirements. During the webinar, the participants wrote their purpose statements and research questions. The participants submitted a draft following this webinar that included their purpose statement, research questions, innovation, and data collection/analysis procedures. Other members of the group critiqued these. After a revisions process that followed, all participating science teacher educators sought the required necessary approvals for action research as established by their organizations. The science teacher educators implemented action research plans to internationalize their teacher preparation courses. In addition to general literature and resources related to internationalizing the curricula, the participants engaged in tailoring their efforts to their local teacher preparation context while at the same time incorporating global trends in the field. Implementing the internationalized courses provided insights into how the preservice science teachers are experiencing their courses’ internationalized content and methods.

4.2 Broad Overview of the Action Research Studies For one calendar year, our collaborative working group designed, implemented, and studied efforts to internationalize our efforts within science teacher preparation. In the following paragraphs, we provide a brief glimpse into these various studies in a manner that gives a broad overview of what teacher educators have done to internationalize their teacher preparation programs. The overview covers both the common topics and types of courses. The chapters that follow in this second part of the book allow for a more in-depth look into the individual studies.

54

G. A. Buck and V. L. Akerson

All our studies were designed for our specific contexts; thus, they can look very different. However, some common themes emerged given our shared focus on internationalizing science teacher preparation. These themes included sustainable development, pedagogy, and immersion experiences. Several of our members completed action research studies aimed at sustainable development. The topics of water quality, climate change, and health align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which were explored in our professional development initiative. The 17 goals aim to end extreme poverty, reduce inequality, and protect the Earth by 2030. They were adopted by 193 countries and are considered one of the most inclusive and comprehensive negotiations in U.N. history (United Nations Foundation). Our members noted that several of these goals reflect the increasingly globalized nature of science, precisely goal 6, water quality and sanitation; goal 13, climate action; and goal 3, good health and well-being. Water and water quality are common topics in science education curricula and standards. Most students learn that water is critical for human survival. However, it is often kept at the personal or local level, and the worldwide nature, or the fact that water is at the core of sustainable development, is neglected. Viewed from a worldwide perspective, the issues surrounding water and the nature of water allow one to see the inherent complexity. Several action research studies in this book focus on internationalizing lessons on water and water quality. Like water, climate change is also included in many comprehensive science curricula. Not many teachers will deny that this is a complex topic to teach for so many reasons. As with many complex science topics, there are many associated misconceptions. Some of those misconceptions are related to an ignorance of the worldwide nature of the issue (e.g., the temperature in my town has not increased, so it is not “true”). Several of the action research studies completed by the members of our initiative focused on internationalizing lessons on climate change. The members of our working group were developing innovations aimed at internationalizing science teacher preparation during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. This, of course, saw many professionals from around the world, including scientists, explaining things such as viruses, infectious diseases, and vaccines. The global nature of our health and well-being is a constant topic in our society. Unsurprisingly, this topic became a part of our efforts and can be found in several studies. Science teacher educators foster within their students an understanding of the pedagogical practices that enable successful learning. Several teacher educators in our group focused their action research projects on these approaches. A powerful teaching strategy addressed in many methods courses is the use of stories. Stories can be used to capture interest and explain science in ways that foster understanding. They can also connect the world in many ways. Stories can bring cultures and countries together through their shared importance, the windows they open to the world, and their ability to move people to act. The power of using children’s literature to teach science has been known for many years. Similarly, children’s literature can be a powerful tool in fostering students’ understanding of the world. The science

4  Action Research on Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

55

teacher educators used stories to facilitate their internationalization of science teacher preparation. In addition, the educators built on existing efforts to foster the students’ abilities to plan curricula for their students. Several action research studies, including the ones that utilized children’s literature, focused on or included supporting the teachers to incorporate global understandings into their science lessons. Another common approach that emerged in the studies focused on field experiences. Immersion activities are considered a crucial part of teacher preparation. Such experiences that involve placements in schools have been shown to provide valuable opportunities for preservice teachers to gain professional knowledge through practical experience (Cohen et  al., 2013). Furthermore, they address the theory-practice gap between the professional theories learned in university classrooms and teachers’ actions in K-12 classrooms (Holtz & Gnambs, 2017). The teacher educators in our program developed innovations that bridged the theory-­ practice gap on global competency by immersing preservice teachers in schools in the U.S. and internationally. The topics noted above were addressed in different types of courses within teacher preparation programs. The types of courses, along with more specifics on the action research approach used, are briefly explored below.

4.2.1 Internationalizing Elementary Methods Courses Sumreen Asim of Indiana University Southeast and Jim McDonald of Central Michigan University sought to prepare the preservice teachers in their elementary methods courses to use children’s literature to frame their science instruction in a way that emphasizes the globalization of science. They describe this innovation in Chap. 5. Their action research approach allowed for an understanding of the different approaches 58 preservice teachers took in selecting the children’s literature for their lessons and the purposes underlying those selections by completing a thematic analysis on written artifacts, including lesson plans, science unit overview (Bybee, 1997; Bybee et  al., 2006; Brown, 2020), pre- and post-reflections, and teaching philosophies. The authors share lessons learned to allow other teacher educators to benefit from their experiences implementing their innovation. Selina Bartels of Valparaiso University explored the impact of an immersion practicum experience on her preservice teachers’ intentions to teach scientific literacy utilizing a global competency lens. Her innovation is described in Chap. 6. The practicum experience she created occurred in grades K and two. Dr. Bartels developed a rubric that preservice teachers utilized to navigate a lesson incorporating scientific literacy and global thinking for young children. Her action research approach allowed her to study the impact of this practicum experience through the collection of course documents, classroom observations, the Young Children’s Views of Science (Lederman & Bartels, 2018), and the rubric for Global Leadership Investigate the World (Tichnor-Wagner & Manise, 2019).

56

G. A. Buck and V. L. Akerson

In Chap. 7, Dr. Collins of Delta State University explains how he sought to incorporate global learning outcomes to develop global competence in the students enrolled in his elementary science methods course. He included global learning outcomes within the designed unit on teaching controversial science topics, specifically climate change. His action research study allowed him to explore how the values of 36 students from rural towns across Mississippi impacted their decisionmaking skills about the local impacts of climate change and how his intervention impacted their abilities to develop a bridge between their local and global perceptions of climate change risk. Allison Freed of The University of Central Arkansas understands water as one of the most globally connected resources. Given this, she also focused on one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. She and a colleague sought to advance the global competence and global science pedagogical skills of the students enrolled in a hybrid methods course, Teaching Methods for STEAM, by integrating the goal of clean water and sanitation, communicating with a Peruvian Biologist studying the impacts of climate change on water quality, and developing internationalized water units for elementary students. Her action research study focused on a six-week unit for 13 preservice teachers. This study is explored in Chap. 8. In Chap. 9, Jessica Stephenson Reaves of Kennesaw State University describes her action-research-oriented case study (Rossman & Rallis, 2012) focused on enhancing her existing curriculum to include global considerations. Dr. Reaves had asked her students to complete independent investigations into topics addressed in her methods class. These investigations were initiated by wonder walks, where her students came up with questions related to the topics they were studying in the methods course. These questions were then used to develop individual investigations in which the elementary preservice teachers explored local issues with global components. She analyzed the students’ pre- and post-self-assessments and surveys to monitor the impact on her students’ global leadership outcomes and interests related to global issues, like climate change.

4.2.2 Internationalizing Secondary Methods Courses Secondary science preservice teachers need to be prepared to cover extensive content. As the list grows to address the necessary global competencies in an increasingly global village, it is essential to prepare teachers to adjust approaches to integrate internationalization into the existing curriculum. In Chap. 10, Khadija Fouad, Vivian Zohery, and Nasrin Oazizada of Appalachian State University completed an action research project to determine the impact of a one-day unit on preparing teachers to meaningfully incorporate internationalization into their units within Chemistry, Biology, and Geology. As an instructor of a secondary science methods course, Brent Gilles of the University of West Georgia sought to internationalize his course with an intervention focused on climate change. He shares this experience in Chap. 11. Specifically,

4  Action Research on Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

57

his action research study focused on preparing preservice teachers to use scientific argumentation to engage students in globally-focused discussions of climate change. Example domains include recognizing perspectives and communicating ideas. This study took place in a secondary science methods course for post-bac students seeking an initial teaching certification. Dr. Gillis notes that scientific argumentation was an ideal fit for several domains of global competence. For this project, they developed science lessons for high school students. Within these lessons, their students will choose a local climate change issue they have in common with another part of the World and engage in scientific argumentation to identify the best way to address the issue. Lacey Huffling, Heather Scott, and Jodie Ward from Georgian Southern University completed an action research study focused on their online teaching module’s impact on the global teaching competency of the students in their secondary science methods courses. They describe their study in Chap. 12. The students within their initial certification Master of Arts program, approximately 72% of whom were employed in rural schools, took part in a six-week unit that embedded the United Nations Sustainability Goal of Clean Water and Sanitation into lessons on pedagogical topics such as place-based learning and using children’s literature. They share activities as well as how these activities impacted the students’ placement on the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum. In addition, they use their findings to provide several ways our innovation could be enhanced in the future. Another SDG explored by the teacher educators represented in this book was Goal 3, Good Health and Well-Being. Ryan Summers of the University of North Dakota completed an action research study in his middle-level science methods course. The study, explained in Chap. 13, focused on fostering preservice middle-­ level science teachers’ global awareness using one of the most significant occurrences impacting humans’ health and well-being worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic. The innovation was implemented in an online, synchronous format over four 90-minute classes. Dr. Summers understood how such an approach impacts his efforts by analyzing data on the students’ socio-scientific reasoning, the nature of scientific ideas, and global perspectives. The innovation led to students that could apply socio-scientific reasoning and consider global perspectives while deepening their nature of scientific ideas.

4.2.3 Internationalizing Content Courses for Preservice Teachers Tulana Ariyaratne and Valarie Akerson sought to understand their students’ knowledge and attitudes related to globalized science and how their intervention impacted these areas. Their study also explored if, and if so how, the impact of their intervention differed depending on the type of community in which their students grew up (urban, rural, suburban). Their intervention, described in Chap. 14, introduced the students to globalization and its impacts through various activities. Their chapter

58

G. A. Buck and V. L. Akerson

provides the reader with activities that successfully improve their students’ knowledge and attitudes toward globalization. Shukufe Rahman, Conghui Liu, and Gayle Buck of Indiana University also focused on water quality as one component of their action research study, as described in Chap. 15. This was one of three revised units focused on global environmental issues in their content course for preservice teachers. The other units focused on climate change and independent environmental scientific inquiry. Action research was used to understand the impact their internationalization efforts had on the preservice teachers’ global science knowledge, global competency skills, and attitudes toward international issues. In their chapter, they provide the activities they implemented in this content course for teachers and the impacts these activities had on their students’ global scientific knowledge, global competence skills, and attitudes toward global environmental issues. In Chap. 16, Heather Scott, Lacey Huffling, and Jodie Ward of Georgia Southern University continued their work on internationalizing teacher education by further studying their efforts associated with a content course for future teachers. The students that took part in their action research study were enrolled in an Earth/life science course taught by Scott. Her students would later be placed in at least one rural school district during their practicum experiences. By adjusting her traditional face-­ to-­face 8-week water quality unit to include global perspectives, these teacher educators sought to impact their students’ global science learning. Their unit did provide global competency development across the domains of investigating the World, recognizing perspectives, communicating ideas, and taking action.

4.2.4 Incorporating Study Abroad Experiences for Preservice Teachers Robbie Higdon of James Madison University studied the impact of an immersion experience on preservice teachers. Her innovation, described in Chap. 17, involved taking preservice teachers from predominantly suburban contexts to a rural and global context. Her study focused on revealing the impact a 60-hour practicum within primary and secondary classrooms in Northern Ireland experience had on preservice teachers’ perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes toward culturally-relevant pedagogy.

4.3 Contributing to Change The science teacher educators in our program actively sought to enhance their understandings and practices associated with internationalizing science teacher preparation by conducting insider research. They share their experiences and insights in the following chapters.

4  Action Research on Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation

59

References Akerson, V. L., & Carter, I. S. (Eds.). (2021). Science education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Tales from the front lines. ISTES Organization. Akerson, V. L., & Carter, I. S. (2022). Teaching nature of science across contexts and grade levels: Explorations through action research and self study. ISTES Organization. Akerson, V. L., & Flanigan, J. (2000). Preparing preservice teachers to use an interdisciplinary approach to science and language arts instruction. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 11, 287–313. Akins, A., & Akerson, V.  L. (2002). Connecting science, social studies, and language arts: An interdisciplinary approach. Educational Action Research, 10, 479–497. Berk, D., & Herbert, J. (2009). Improving the mathematics preparation of elementary teachers, one lesson at a time. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 15(3), 337–356. Bohrmann, M.  L., & Akerson, V.  L. (2001). A teacher’s reflections on her actions to improve her female students’ self-efficacy toward science. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 13(2), 41–55. Brown, P. (2020). Instructional sequence matters: Explore before explain. National Science Teachers Association. Buck, G., Cook, K., Quigley, C., Prince, P., & Lucas, Y. (2014). Seeking to improve young African American girls’ attitudes toward science: A participatory action research study. The Elementary School Journal, 114(3), 431–453. Bybee, R. (1997). Achieving scientific literacy. Heinemann. Bybee, R., Taylor, J. et  al. (2006). The BSCS 5E instructional model: Origins and effectiveness. BSCS. https://fremonths.org/ourpages/auto/2008/5/11/1210522036057/bscs5efullreport2006.pdf Capobianco, B., & Feldmann, A. (2010). Repositioning teacher action research in science teacher education. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 21(8), 909–915. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10972-­010-­9219-­7 Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical: Education, knowledge, and action research. Falmer Press. Cesljarev, C., Akerson, V., & Carter, I. (2021). Wholehearted lessons: Developing as a teacher educator during a global pandemic. In V. L. Akerson & I. S. Carter (Eds.), Science education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Tales from the front lines (pp. 191–216). ISTES Organization. Cochran-Smith, M. (2003). Learning and unlearning: The education of teacher educators. Teachers and Teacher Education International Journal of Scholarship and Studies, 19(1), 5–28. Cochran-Smith, M., Grudnoff, L., Orland-Barak, L., & Smith, K. (2020). Educating teacher educators: International perspectives. The New Educator, 16(1), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.108 0/1547688X.2019.1670309 Cohen, E., Hoz, R., & Kaplan, H. (2013). The practicum in preservice teacher education: A review of empirical studies. Teaching Education, 24(4), 345–380. https://doi. org/10.1080/10476210.2012.71181 Engel, L. C. (2014). Internationalizing schools to build global competence: Some considerations for teachers. National Capital Language Resource Center. Fazio, X., & Melville, W. (2008). Science teacher development through collaborative action research. Teacher Development, 12(3), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530802259222 Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory: Action, structure, and contradictions in social analysis. University of California Press. Goghlan, D., & Shani, A. B. (2015). In H. Bradbury (Ed), The SAGE handbook of action research. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473921290 Goodnough, K. (2003). Facilitating action research in the context of science education: Reflections of a university researcher. Educational Action Research, 11(1), 41–64. https://doi. org/10.1080/09650790300200203

60

G. A. Buck and V. L. Akerson

Holtz, P., & Gnambs, T. (2017). The improvement of student teachers’ instructional quality during a 15-week field experience: A latent multimethod change analysis. Higher Education, 74(4), 669–685. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-­016-­0071-­3 Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (1998). The action research planner (3rd ed.). Deakin University. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press. Lebak, K., & Tinsley, R. (2010). Can inquiry and reflection be contagious? Science teachers, students, and action research. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 21(8), 953–970. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10972-­010-­9216-­x Lederman, J.  S., & Bartels, S.  L. (2018). Assessing the ultimate goal of science education: Scientific literacy for all! In S. Kahn (Ed.), Toward inclusion of all learners through science teacher education. Sense Publishers. Lederman, J. S., & Lederman, N. G. (2015). Taking action as a researcher, or acting as a researcher. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 26, 117–120. Liu, Z., & Akerson, V. L. (2002, May 31). Science and language links: A fourth grade intern’s attempt to increase language skills through science. Electronic Journal of Literacy Through Science, 1, Article 4. Retrieved 31 May 2002, from http://sweeneyhall.sjsu.edu/ejlts/vol1-­2.htm Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to think like an adult. Core concepts of transformation theory. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as transformation. Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 3–33). Jossey-Bass. Mezirow, J. (2009). Transformative learning theory. In J.  Mezirow & E.  W. Taylor (Eds.), Transformative learning in practice: Insights from community workplace, and higher education (pp. 18–32). Jossey-Bass. Mitchener, C. P., & Jackson, W. M. (2012). Learning from action research about science teacher preparation. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 23(1), 45–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10972-­011-­9261-­0 Nixon, D. T., & Akerson, V. L. (2004). Building bridges: Using science as a tool to teach reading and writing. Educational Action Research, 12, 197–217. Rossman, G., & Rallis, S. (2012). Learning in the field (3rd ed.). Sage. Rust, F. O. (2007). Teacher research and the problem of practice. Teachers College Record, 111(8), 882–893. Tichnor-Wagner, A., & Manise, J. (2019). Globally competent educational leadership: A framework for leading schools in a diverse, interconnected world. ASCD. Tillotson, J. W. (2000). Studying the game: Action research in science education. The Clearing House, 74(1), E31–E34. Watson, S. B., & Barthlow, M. J. (2020). Action research for science teachers. The Science Teacher, 87(6), 26–29. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice. Cambridge University Press. Wertsch, J. (1991). Voices in the mind: A sociocultural approach to mediated action. Harvard University Press. Yin, X., & Buck, G. (2015). There is another choice: An exploration of integrating formative assessment into a Chinese high school chemistry classroom through collaborative action research. Cultural Studies in Science Education, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-­014-­9572-­5

Chapter 5

Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in a Global Perspective Sumreen Asim and Jim McDonald

5.1 Introduction Teacher preparation is a complex process (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005). Teacher candidates (TCs) do not enter the field as blank slates; they come in with knowledge, experiences, and values. Many TCs are superficially positive toward diversity (Sleeter, 2001) and have very limited cross-cultural knowledge (Edwards et al., 2019). In the literature, we notice that most TCs are given limited exposure to cross-cultural experiences and knowledge and thus have a lack of global competency. It is crucial that TCs learn to create, implement, and support science learning opportunities that have a global literacy lens to help them gain social responsibility for the world at large (Kpoish, 2017; Yoon, 2022). We understand there is an ever-expanding list of standards that teachers need to cover, and we do not recommend additions carelessly. However, we as teacher educators need to keep the context of global citizenship as part of our methods courses, especially given changing demographics in the United States and the United States’ position internationally. In our K-12 classrooms and teacher preparation courses, there has been a growth in linguistic and cultural diversity. It behooves us as science teacher educators and change agents to broaden the scope of our work to create an interconnectedness among educators across the world, not only teaching diverse learners but also recognizing our place as global citizens part of a larger community. Internationalization of science education (ISE) aligns with current global citizen education (UNESCO, 2015; UN, 2018). ISE builds on culturally responsive S. Asim (*) Bloomington, IN, USA e-mail: [email protected] J. McDonald Mount Pleasant, MI, USA © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_5

61

62

S. Asim and J. McDonald

teaching (CRT) practices as well as multicultural education (Landson-Billings, 1994; Gay, 2010). Hernandez and Shroyer (2017) share five major categories for CRT: (1) content integration, (2) facilitating knowledge construction, (3) prejudice reduction, (4) social justice, and (5) academic development. These research-based instructional strategies provide a framework which can be expand to include ISE. Often a global perspective is mentioned in social studies and/or multicultural education classrooms (Nieto, 1996); however, it is our belief that global perspectives should be taught in every content area, since their impact is cross-curricular. Additionally, rural schools face a lack of resources and geographic isolation—barriers in implementing innovative curricula that expose students to a larger range of other cultures. To meet these challenges, we suggest a relevant and practical way to better prepare future educators. We believe that it is not only important to teach how to teach diverse students in the American classroom but also add ISE to make educators more globally mindful. If ISE is implemented properly, educators as well as children would be able to see themselves as the fabric of the world and gain perspectives that go beyond the United States.

5.2 Theoretical Framework Culture is the focal point of learning. Individual cultural experiences play an important role not only in receiving and communicating information, but also in molding the thinking process of individuals and groups of people. As science teacher educators, we have a strong urge to adopt a pedagogy that responds to and celebrates all cultures. Culturally sustaining practices capitalize on “cultural pluralism” as part of democratic schooling (Paris, 2012, 93). We suggest taking this framework a step further, building instructional practices and inquiry-based activities that will encourage heightened global awareness. Most students, no matter how old, have some relationship to the culture of their family and where they come from. This connection to culture can include elements of science such as family remedies for illness, how science is used in different settings such as farms or in religious communities, and how practices were done in the past. CRT can easily tie into this family-based use of science. Also, as rural communities and regions experience changing demographics as part of a mobile society wherein people move around, CRT becomes more relevant to respond to the cultures of students who live in a given area. Rural areas in the United States have been mostly characterized as homogenous and not very diverse. This is changing, and as more cultures are represented in a given geographical area, CRT is an instructional tool that can be used by science educators, including K-12 teachers as well as science educators in educator preparation programs. TCs can use CRT effectively wherever they end up teaching during their professional career. CRT, if used in a project-based science class, improves student engagement and comprehension. Kim et al. (2021) describe bidirectional knowledge transfer between the home culture and the classroom in a way that engaged students, affirmed their

5  Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in…

63

home cultures, and facilitated subject matter learning. CRT science teaching and curriculum can help foster a more positive interest in science and STEM careers by providing students the opportunity to do science in meaningful and relevant ways (Garvin-Hudson, & Jackson, 2018). Using CRT to plan and teach science lessons is an effective way for preservice teachers to reflect on both science teaching and how culture plays a part in student learning. Research indicates that time spent on modeling CRT can teach TCs how to maximize student engagement, manage science learning, and design and deliver effective science lessons (Mensah, 2011). CRT in science also complements inquiry-based science practices (i.e., science and engineering practices identified in the National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science Education as cited in Brown, 2017). Most often, the inquiry-based practices (obtaining; evaluating; and communicating; information; constructing explanations; and developing and using models) can be used to advance culturally responsive science instruction and assessment. The use and development of models, in particular, allows students to explore scientific concepts through family funds of knowledge which are personal experiences, family routines, cultural aspects and engage content from the perspective of both Western science and Indigenous knowledges.

5.3 Innovation: Adding a Global Lens by Embedding Children’s Literature Both CRT and multicultural education have caused us to rethink scientific theory to include more nuanced tenets and more fully utilize the transformative potential of children’s literature as a catalyst in science methods courses. Most of the TCs enrolled in our respective universities are from rural areas that have grown up in largely white neighborhoods and graduated from largely white high schools. Additionally, many TCs in the Midwest and in the United States more generally are not global travelers. They have little exposure to diverse cultures, which is a serious problem. The disparity between teacher identities and experiences and the identities and experiences of their students creates classrooms where teachers are unable to adequately address their own ethnocentric dispositions. Lack of sensitivity and global-mindedness will tear people apart rather than bring them together. Confronting new and different situations is an important piece of teacher preparation. Elementary school teachers use books almost every day in their classroom. Using children’s literature to engage students in thinking about countries and people across the globe (Yoon, 2022) can help generate conversations and awareness related to various cultures, practices, processes, vernacular, and resources. We as teacher educators wanted to know how we can use books to engage students in a broader connection of science content and broaden perspectives of TCs. Regions of the globe such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East were purposefully on our radar as we collected a selection of books for this study.

64

S. Asim and J. McDonald

Table 5.1  Selection of children’s literature embedded in model lessons in science methods course Book title and author One plastic bag by Miranda Paul The boy that harnessed the wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer Queen of physics by Teresa Robeson and Rebecca Huang Dinosaur lady by Linda Skeers and Marta A. Miguens Neo Leo by Gene Barretta The world is not a rectangle: A portrait of architect Zaha Hadid by Jeanette Winter

Country or origin of scientist Gambia Malawi China England Italy Iraq

Original to Authors: Selection of Children’s Literature Embedded in Model Lessons in Science Methods Course

We share in Table 5.1 a list of children’s books that address various science concepts with a global lens. When selecting these books, we considered the grade levels our TCs would be teaching, diversity, illustrations, and relevance to what we were teaching in the methods courses. McGinnis (2020) supports the integration of children’s literature in science teaching to “increase critical thinking and comprehension skills.” The National Science Teaching Association has come out with an annual Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 list. ISE is an approach to model meaningful instructional practices within science methods courses. The picture books allows for a starting point for the students and these were instructor recommended books. Trade books, both fiction and nonfiction, also allow students to practice their critical thinking and comprehension skills while providing science content knowledge (Mahzoon-Hagheghi et al. 2018; McGinnis, 2020). The goal of the ISE aspect of the methods course was to enable TCs to: • • • •

Describe and participate in various methods of global science education, Understand and explain the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Demonstrate various teaching strategies, actions, and methods to promote ISE, Align plans and resources to global competency skills and the 2015 UNESCO Inclusive Goals, • Use inquiry-based learning, and • Describe explicit plans to address teaching global citizens. Collectively ISE is an interdisciplinary approach that is inclusive of all humanity. The preservice teachers were required to incorporate children’s literature in their assignments. There were several suggestions for integrating literature for science instruction. Our suggestions to the TCs were to use children’s literature to: (1) front load a lesson, (2) hook the students in the Engage section of the lesson, (3) provide context about a culture or region, (4) model an experience in a different country or culture, (5) pose an interesting problem, (6) highlight a diverse scientist, (7) teach a scientific concept, and/or (8) share an unique experience.

5  Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in…

65

Moje et  al. (2004) identifies four major themes of science-related funds of knowledge: family, community, peer, and popular culture. First, “family scientific funds of knowledge” are family practices that are or can be connected to science learning. For example, some families practice the process of sweating chilies, which connects to formal science concepts of condensation and evaporation. Second, “community scientific funds of knowledge” are activities tied to ethnic identity and social activism. This is especially relevant to ISE and CRT science teaching. For example, the community in Moje et al.’s study advocated for better air quality in response to high asthma rates, which connects to medicine and environmental science. Next, “peer scientific funds of knowledge” are activities that children engage in with other children. For example, some children connect to physics concepts of force and motion when riding bikes around their neighborhood. Last, “popular cultural scientific funds of knowledge” are activities inspired by music, movies, and games trending in local communities and broader society. For instance, in Calabrese-­ Barton et  al. (2008), young girls remixed a popular song to describe each of the bones in the skeletal system. Overall, Moje et al. identify many connections between students’ everyday/community practices and formal scientific concepts.

5.4 Research Questions The specific purpose of this study was to document the content used in the elementary science methods courses and its effect on TCs. We were interested in the extent to which elementary TCs described and demonstrated internationalizing science education. The following question guided this study: How well can rural TCs frame their science instruction, emphasizing the globalization of science, using children’s literature? The strategic organization of how a children’s literature book is incorporated into a STEM lesson provides some indication as to how the preservice teacher viewed the function of the book in the lesson to share a global lens. Was the book the central focus of the lesson, providing the context for all activities throughout the lesson? Was the book simply a story to get the students excited about the topic and the activities, with no connection to a global science lens and the stated goals like the UNSG and the UNESCO goals? By examining how the preservice teachers planned to incorporate the children’s book into a lesson, we could better understand the preservice teachers’ concept of global science instructional strategies.

5.5 Methods of Study We used the qualitative method of thematic analysis to conduct this action-research study. For the purposes of the study, we triangulated the data sources to support validity and trustworthiness.

66

S. Asim and J. McDonald

5.5.1 Role of Researchers We were a part of a national project to study what and how preservice teachers in rural settings would learn about internationalizing science teacher education. The researchers in this study are STEM educators and instructors of record in teacher preparation programs. The research team consisted of one White male and one South-Asian female.

5.5.2 Context and Sample The data for this study were drawn from a population of preservice teachers enrolled in two teacher education programs in the Midwest. We targeted elementary education majors enrolled in the elementary science methods course and/or pre-student teaching who were all seniors in their program, or one semester away from student teaching. The methods course took place in Spring 2022. Of the 58 participants, 11 were from University A and 47 from University B. The University A participants all identified as White; 10 were females and one was male. The University B students were 44 females, two males, 46 White, and one Asian. This study was conducted in a rural, mostly agricultural setting and used ISE with elementary TCs who were doing their field experience also in a rural setting. We collected data from a preservice teacher population that included some first-­ generation university students and spanned a range of socioeconomic backgrounds, from poor to upper middle class. This class diversity mirrors the student population in the K-12 schools where TCs were doing their field experience.

5.5.3 Data Sources Qualitative data sources were used to answer the research questions posed in this study. These data sources consisted of written artifacts from preservice teachers including lesson plans, science unit overviews (Bybee, 1997; Bybee, et al., 2006; Brown, 2020), pre- and post-reflections, and teaching philosophies. The coauthors included a field-based practicum in local elementary schools in their elementary science methods courses. The students were not required to teach the internationalized assignment to the students in their field experience. However, the teacher candidates were required to design science teaching and learning opportunities for rural elementary students like the students in their field experience classrooms. The multicultural lesson was one of the included teaching and learning opportunities. Lesson and unit construction guidelines were as follows: • Lesson plans required (1) Standards, (2) Lesson objectives, (3) Assessments, (4) Learning Cycle Format (5E), and (5) Children’s Literature.

5  Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in…

67

• Unit overviews required NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) standards, an essential question, science phenomena, productive questions, Universal Design for Learning, 5E stages, possible student misconceptions, and sensemaking.

5.5.4 Data Collection Since the TC participants did not share the same kinds of prior experiences and knowledge, qualitative data helped us understand the changes that took place during the short duration of this study. 5.5.4.1 Pre-intervention In an initial “Getting to Know You” assignment, TCs shared that they hardly listened to or watched news. TC pre-reflections, prior to designing instruction, show that they had not thought about using science instruction as a way to engage their students in learning about how science is done in other parts of the world. Many TCs stated that even though they have had multicultural education courses, CRT was not included in their courses. Some enrolled in English Language Learner (ELL) elective classes had been exposed to the concept but were not asked to implement it in lesson design. Another theme that developed was that they should clarify their own knowledge about different cultures by investing time to further research the culture and country prior to designing instruction for lessons or units. The preand post-reflection prompts included how the rural nature of their field experience and the students they were teaching would be included in their lesson planning, as well as the children’s literature that was a part of that instruction. 5.5.4.2 While Creating Lesson Plans and Instructional Materials Lesson plans were designed towards the end of the semester after the intervention had occurred, assuming that TCs had the understanding of how to implement ISE. Pre-reflections indicated a lack of exposure to using children’s literature in a cross-curricular format. TCs’ inexperience with the notion of an integrated STEM instruction in order to address standards across multiple subjects rather than more time for science instruction was apparent. TCs expressed a desire to use children’s literature in their own instruction because of how compelling the literature was to elementary students in their field experiences, how it increased the engagement of their lessons, and how effective they found it to be in teaching new concepts. Overall, there was evidence that TCs wanted more modeling from their science methods instructors about how to use children’s books to teach science in a Learning Cycle format.

68

S. Asim and J. McDonald

5.5.4.3 Post-reflections The post-reflection included a prompt that asked about their confidence in using global/cultural perspectives as a part of their teaching for the first time. These artifacts were completed after the design and implementation of lessons. The post-reflections indicated that TCs felt more confident in their use of children’s literature to teach science with a global lens.

5.6 Findings TCs in this study were in their final year in teacher preparation, taking these courses just prior to student teaching. This was the first time for both authors using ISE with preservice TCs in our elementary science methods courses. We used open coding to analyze the written artifacts to find themes and patterns (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Siwatu, 2007). Since TCs are just learning about so many factors in science teaching and learning such as sensemaking, student-centered instruction, planning for student engagement, and misconceptions, they simply did not have enough experience to provide necessary context about the culture that went along with their children’s literature choice for their own students. The following themes emerged in the data: (1) Influence of Children’s Literature, (2) Facilitating Global Mindedness, (3) Social Justice, and (4) Different Culture and Languages (Table 5.2).

Table 5.2  Data analysis categories and themes Influence of children’s literature Relating science concepts to global issues outside the United States Facilitating global mindedness Demonstrating the ability to build on students’ background/prior knowledge as a means of having a global lens Social justice Disposition to act as agents of change Different culture and languages Varying instructional strategies to create diversified learning opportunities

Sharing about a scientist Sharing information about that is not from the United food, resources, and States architecture from other parts of the globe Using real-world examples Assisting students in effective during STEM lesson that communication and being impact global communities accepting of others

Advocacy for marginalized Encouraging students to communities question and/or challenge status quo Using real-world models from around the global to introduce concepts

Original to Authors: Data analysis Categories and Themes

Ensuring the voice of multilinguals is captured and respected

5  Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in…

69

5.6.1 Influence of Children’s Literature Several of the TCs utilized books to introduce concepts related to different buildings and structures (ex. bridges) around the world. Some of the structures highlighted different architectural features, different material resources from across the globe, various climates, and global histories. The first major category of ISE, children’s literature as a critical feature, defined by TCs as the inclusion of many cultures into their lesson design. Science content integration was demonstrated to some extent by all TCs during lesson plan design. All of the TCs in the study included aspects of architecture in order to make the content relevant and meaningful. The TCs also applied this concept of content integration by choosing children’s literature books featuring various types of buildings and structures that are not typically seen in the United States. One TC Wanda stated, “.. . the book I incorporated had lots of structures from all over the world. At one point in the lesson, I made sure to compare the structures [the illustrations] in the book with their actual structures by showing pictures. I also talked about geographic locations—rural and urban—and what makes them different… just like my own students … I don’t know much about diversity and cultures out of their own. The lesson helped me learn that I am going to have to be aware and knowledgeable of diverse cultures … and customs…” Another TC, Amy, in their end of semester reflection wrote, “[t]he most beneficial activities I learn throughout each course [this semester] for lessons with building structures, using Kahoot, and creating an interactive notebook. …Kahoot allowed me to understand different ways to present information or include several types of assessments for my diverse students …When analyzing my own lesson plans, I learned to value other cultures. [For example, I showed] a video of buildings around the world. I thought this is important for my students to show them unique buildings from all around the world, not buildings they see every day on TV or on their devices. Also, I use connections at the end of my lesson to show how our lesson relates to real life. We discussed how real estate agents, contractors and architects go through the process of building structures. Noticing cultural differences is a huge point in my class and it’s a value I will not take for granted.” Anna, a TC, also said that they “want to make sure to include all student voices.” An analysis of the books unveiled several insights to what particularly spoke to a global lens: (1) structures and architecture, (2) different languages, (3) food security, and (4) geographic locations outside the USA. The data shows the distribution below (Fig. 5.1).

5.6.2 Facilitating Global Mindedness The second major category, global mindedness, is defined as the TC’ abilities to build on students’ knowledge as they assist them in being globally minded. All of the TCs facilitated global mindedness to some extent during their semester. Taylor

70

S. Asim and J. McDonald

Fig. 5.1 Distribution of topics embedded in lessons. (Original to Authors: Data analysis Distribution of Topics)

said, “I have learned to value a culture other than my own by becoming aware of my impact and importance the cultures bring into a classroom. I have honored diverse voices in my lesson by ensuring that marginalized students get the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas in a way that makes them feel comfortable….” Another way the TCs demonstrated their knowledge of ISE was in their use of real-world examples to help students make global connections between their own lives, languages they spoke, and Western cultures. These types of examples were prevalent throughout artifacts of teaching and reflections. One such example came from a TC in her teaching philosophy, in which she stated: “I learned to value other cultures through my lesson by seeing how other cultures and countries use robots. Robots are a worldwide thing and are used in so many ways by different people. In the book, Clink [by DiPucchio] that I read there were several different robots who had several different purposes. The same translates into real life. No matter how people use robots, they are a part of our lives, and they continue to make their way into our lives more and more.” In the University B cohort of TCs, students were asked to provide some needed context about the culture of the unit overview, which required going beyond just using the chosen children’s book. In their post-reflections, several of the TCs describe wanting to share cultural insights with their field experience students. For example, one TC wrote: “It is important for rural Michigan students to know and learn about other cultures because when students learn about them, they become learners who can understand, respect, and value the practices, products, and perspectives that other cultures may have. Classrooms in rural Michigan can be very

5  Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in…

71

diverse and personal connections with students can be made when learning about other cultures.”

5.6.3 Social Justice The third category, social justice, is defined as TCs’ willingness “to act as agents of change” while encouraging their students to question and/or challenge the status quo and aid them in “the development of sociopolitical or critical consciousness” (Ladson-Billings, 1995a, b, 483). A few TC reflection pieces stated that they need to be advocates for the needs of all students and immigrant families. Betty mentions in her end of semester reflection, “as a future teacher I have learned from my educators that different cultures should not divide our classrooms, it should actually connect us. I have learned that the moment you step inside the school your judgment should subside and your optimism should take the place of that. Culture allows opportunities and new interests to form! I feel as though from my experiences I have learned that when celebrating different cultures other than my own it allows students to be better for our future generations to come. Culture is a celebration of our Earth and our histories; it shouldn’t be something that separates us in and outside the classroom. When it comes to a global perspective as well as honoring diverse voices, I have learned that both of these things should be incorporated into every lesson you teach. For my lesson I use[d], Here we are by Oliver Jeffers. The purpose of this book was to speak about Earth Day and sustainability as well as honoring culture and our fellow humans on Earth. This book incorporated gender equality, cultures, planet safety, and empathy… As culture and political norms become more relevant and in schools/classroom, I have learned it’s important to teach about what is happening in our lives as well as the past… I have set a goal to incorporate culture/diversity in all my lessons.” Clearly, this TC saw herself as an advocate for change. As we know from the literature, advocacy comes in many forms, and according to Villegas and Lucas, “Teaching is an ethical obligation. .. To meet this obligation, teachers need to serve as advocates for their students, especially those who have been traditionally marginalized in schools” (2007, 32). Several students in the University B cohort for this study also mentioned how it is important for their elementary students to learn about other cultures. For example, one student wrote, “science is done all over the world and in many different classrooms. It is important for rural Michigan students to see how science is done in other cultures because the experiences they get in rural Michigan are unfortunately limited.” This student thought that not all experiences are limited purposefully, but due to a lack of resources and a lack of diversity. So, learning about science around different parts of the world can educate students on diversity, different cultures, and different science experiences. This addresses social justice in science teaching and the importance of why it should be taught to all students, regardless of location or prior experience.

72

S. Asim and J. McDonald

5.6.4 Different Cultures and Languages Public schools in the USA are meant to educate and challenge young minds to think critically and to become productive citizens. In many ways, K-12 students can be agents of change themselves; however, due to structural inequities, public schools can also help to maintain power structures and the status quo. Both regions of the Midwest where the two studies were conducted tend to hold a relatively conservative perspective, and rapidly changing demographics of communities have not always been welcomed. Angie wrote, “I would consider that my lesson valued the opinions of others by having them collaborate and use several different ideas and opinions to reach a common goal. This is prevalent when you think about the world as people are all different from each other but bring value.” In the same manner Angie mentioned, “I enjoyed hearing all the stories that they have to share that related to the content they are learning about….” Another TC, Barb, wrote “I have grown a lot as a STEM teacher. I learned that it is essential to connect to the world around our students so they can gain an appreciation of those people and things that are different from us. I have learned to value the various cultures within the classroom by getting to know my students better. You can learn a lot about a person just by sitting down and conversing with them. I valued every student during my lessons by leveling the playing field and calling on all students to share their thoughts. When concepts were not grasped right away, I found ways to accommodate my students so they can have the same opportunities to learn. The video [https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=dA3Ak-­FLk_A] I shared during my STEM lesson was about famous buildings worldwide. I had my students make a connection to the world around them by determining one building they would like to visit someday.” Several of the University B cohort of TCs mentioned that they were careful about the books that they selected for their instructional design. A male TC working with kindergarten students wrote, “The children’s books in these lessons were able to provide the greatest amount of background and visuals for the students. By implementing these into instruction, I was able to provide the students with content that was age appropriate for them. This allows the content to benefit the students in ways that sharing cross cultural knowledge would not be possible outside of that implementation (Tandra).” A female TC, herself a product of rural education, mentioned, “I have learned what things to look for in multicultural books and have learned how to connect it with science instruction. It is easy to incorporate multiple cultures or countries when teaching science. This could be done through teaching about a scientist from a different country or culture and then relating what that scientist did to the lesson or unit (Max).” A theme running through the University B TC cohort was the importance of using children’s literature to expose rural students to how science is done in other cultures. One student stated, “I believe that it is important for rural Michigan students to be exposed to other cultures because they are normally sheltered. These students have grown up in an extremely small town where they have little to no diversity in their community. It is important that they are taught about other cultures

5  Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in…

73

and are exposed to things that they may not see or experience in their day to day lives. By teaching these students about different cultures it allows them to be better informed on the world for when they leave their small rural Towns (Mickey).” Another student mentioned, “Learning about other cultures can also show our students other ideas of how to live and ways that they can apply their science knowledge to the ways others implement science in their culture (Claire).”

5.7 Implications and Recommendations One of the implications of this study is that CRT needs to be modeled sustainably for preservice teachers by their science methods instructors as a foundation for ISE in order for CRT to be used effectively in their lessons. In examining the written artifacts of our TCs, while the children’s books were a central part of the instruction, we found a lack of cultural context in the lessons and units. Little time was spent on developing elementary students’ perspective on how the culture influenced the science in the books or why the science was a little different from their own cultural experience in the United States. Little time was also spent by TCs reflecting on how the use of CRT in science helped them learn various ways to engage their own students and how they could implement CRT into their own instructional design and delivery. Here are some recommendations for teacher educators after reflecting on our own instructional practice for future iterations: 1. Teacher educators need to continually, throughout the entire course, model the various ways to integrate globally-focused children’s literature to enable TCs to further discuss ISE approaches in depth. This includes breaking down each important component so that students can put it back together in their own instructional design for science. 2. Instructors need to allow for preservice student creativity to make space for the variety of ways TCs can approach ISE in lesson and unit implementations. 3. Teacher educators need to engage TCs in observations or video clips using children’s books to anchor ISE. This can include video clips of experienced classroom teachers or previous methods students teaching and then reflecting on their teaching.

5.7.1 Changes in Innovation Based on Findings At the core of this study was the use of children’s literature by preservice teachers to internationalize science. How a TC selects children’s literature can affect the presentation of the lesson or unit, alter the message that is at the core of science teaching and learning, and impact learning about science internationalization. There were a number of differing approaches that preservice teachers took when selecting

74

S. Asim and J. McDonald

their children’s literature for their lessons or units. The majority of students chose their book based upon the central message in the realm of internationalization that they wanted to focus on in their instruction. The contextual information about the country, culture, and type of science being done in the book were the main reasons why a particular book was chosen. In addition, if they selected a particular book, evidently TCs thought the story was compelling enough to generate elementary student interest or engage them on the topic. In essence the children’s literature served a number of purposes in the lesson or unit. Close to two-thirds of University B students stated that a particular book grabbed their attention and served as the basis for their own research for planning their instruction. This starting point set an agenda for them to find out more about how science was conducted in the culture of choice, how that scientific culture and practice differed from that of their targeted student audience, and what background information about the science would be important for their instruction. The matter of how important the book was to internationalize science is an issue that elementary science methods instructors need to be aware of. This is due to what the remainder of preservice teachers at University B mentioned when thinking about what book to use for their own instruction. The book needs to have a good balance of science and culture represented as well as having a compelling story that would be best suited. Therefore, as science teacher educators there needs to be criterion discussed about book selection for a particular science topic or learning outcome. About one quarter of preservice teachers at University B chose their book because it was a way to get students excited and engaged with instruction. These students chose the book because it had some connection to a culture but either did not address science at all or did not touch on internationalization at all. When examining the unit overviews of University B students who took this path in choosing their book, we found that the main focus was on the food or costumes of the culture and science was not even touched upon. The hands-on activities were related to cooking, geography, or history of the country under discussion. Subject matter integration was the main reason for this choice, and science internationalization was secondary as a consideration. This notion of integration is instilled in most elementary preservice programs as a way to allow more time for science instruction. However, when this assignment is done in a science related course, there would be different reasons for choosing a book. Science internationalization must be introduced systematically and early to rural preservice teachers in their methods courses, rather than waiting until a particular assignment comes up at the end of the semester to see how children’ literature is used with elementary science instruction. It is clear from book selection that preservice teachers have misconceptions about science internationalization and how it should be used in the classroom. The issues related to global science instructional strategies must be covered in depth in order to give TCs enough tools to teach global science effectively. Following the results of this study, we as teacher educators plan to address science internationalization earlier during our next semester of teaching. We will continue to investigate alternate and more effective strategies for introducing the science internationalization element into our own courses.

5  Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in…

75

One of the ways science methods instructors can prepare TCs for their own culturally oriented science lessons using children’s literature is to use the NRC Framework’s science and engineering practices to build an engaging, student-­ centered lesson and to choose fitting ISE children’s literature (Brown, 2017). Priorities must be made when selecting children’s literature and designing effective 5E science lessons to see if the book contributes to the science concept being taught. Science teacher educators should tie cultural and global examples to the NGSS science and engineering practices when introducing such concepts to TCs. Such an approach would provide TCs with consistent ideas rather than waiting for a special ISE lesson or unit to introduce these examples. Science lessons and unit design would be easier for TCs if they had more examples of how the practices could be used in many types of lessons. Science methods instructors can also take lessons from Moje (2004) and Calabrese-Barton (2008) to help TCs prepare better student-centered instruction that emphasizes ISE and CRT in science. It is important to emphasize the power of finding out elementary students’ prior knowledge, including their funds of knowledge. Formative assessment in the Engage portion of the 5E can give the teacher valuable information to use in their science instructional design and delivery using an ISE and CRT approach. Such information can guide the TC in choosing the appropriate children’s book, hands-on activities, and contextual information about the culture related to the science concept presented in the book chosen for instruction. Children’s literature offers an engaging vehicle for generating conversations about the internationalization of science. We see discussions about race in relation to children’s books as part of a larger effort to revise conceptualization of high-­ quality early childhood education to include teaching practices that intentionally address race. As Ladson-Billings (1995a, b) stated, addressing race in our teaching practices “challenge[s] us to reconsider what we mean by ‘good’ teaching” (163). The use of children’s literature can help elementary students explore ideas about their own culture and others’ cultures. These ideas form in early childhood, regardless of whether the topic of cultural difference is directly addressed, completely ignored, or actively suppressed in their classrooms (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). Each approach sends a message, intentional or not, about how children should think about and understand cultural differences at a time in their lives when they are beginning to notice and respond to race. Children as young as three years old are aware of racial differences, and by the time they are preschoolers, they make choices, based on differences, about what they think about different parts of the world (Katz & Kofkin, 1997; Van Ausdale & Feagin, 2001; Hirschfeld, 2008; Quintana & McKown, 2008). In the absence of intentional teaching, children are left to come to their own conclusions about how to think about their own culture. Research suggests that the common practice of ignoring other cultures in elementary classrooms is not satisfactory and that educators must take a more active, anti-­ bias approach to addressing issues of culture and if they are to enact positive change (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). The use of children’s literature in the elementary grades can present differing ideas and ways of doing science to students in rural areas and develop their own ideas about the internationalization of science.

76

S. Asim and J. McDonald

While many science teacher educators have explored strategies to attend to and value funds of knowledge in science learning, they are often unable to employ these strategies due to curricular or time constraints in the classroom. There is a need for educators to develop strategies to access and attend to students’ funds of knowledge in a more personal, pervasive, and sustainable way. One of the effective ways that this can be done in an elementary science methods course is by including formative assessment to determine prior knowledge about different funds of knowledge that can be incorporated into science instruction. Specific examples could be TCs designing formative assessment probes (Keeley, 2018) about cultural aspects of science. These could be incorporated into unit overviews or lesson plans that have a cultural or global emphasis. Science methods instructors need to be aware of multiple factors that situate the course, sequence and curriculum within the respective teacher preparation programs. The orientation and focus of internationalization of science education needs to be part of the whole process in teacher preparation rather than in just one course. The integration of purposefully modeling in methods courses is a phenomenon that occurs in methods courses. This study provides promising results related to the effects of using specific children’s books with TCs. A longitudinal study is needed to ascertain shifts in TC instructional practices over time and better understand conscious and subconscious instructional decisions related to ISE.  Increasing book selections of diverse populations should also include resources related to diverse abilities within different communities across the globe. Having TCs select children’s literature themselves may promote a sense of ownership and advocacy as a global leader. The process of further involving TCs may allow for more sensitivity towards fully embracing cultural, linguistic, and other ways of looking at science. For example, using turmeric for healing has been around for centuries on the Indian subcontinent. Using a cup of turmeric-infused milk to alleviate cold symptoms is a very common practice. Since COVID-19, turmeric shots have appeared in the refrigerator aisle of grocery stores across America. Acknowledging cultural knowledge through examples such as this should be shared in our classrooms when we talk about medicine. Becoming globally competent educators is an ongoing process, not only for future educators but also for current teachers and teacher educators; it is a sensibility that will be cultivated as a life-long learner. Reframing elementary science methods courses using picture books to develop globally competent science instructional practices will help remove barriers and empower teachers with qualities that will bolster global STEM literacy. Additional studies are needed to pinpoint the specific aspects of global science education moving forward. Teacher educators are in a position of privilege and power. What we teach within teacher preparation courses can have a huge impact over the years, so being intentional in the design of our courses is imperative as we think about the seeds we want to sow for the future of the world. Friere (1996, 2005) noted that in order for educators to enact change they must engage in critical consciousness, which consists of reflection and action directed at social structures and norms. The tasks that TCs engage in deepen their understanding and knowledge and enhance their ability to make meaningful connections to science content and the global context.

5  Reframing Elementary Science Methods Courses Using Literature to Bring in…

77

References Brown, J. C. (2017). A metasynthesis of the complementarity of culturally responsive and inquiry-­ based science education in K-12 settings: Implications for advancing equitable science teaching and learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1173, 54(9), 1143. Brown, P. (2020). Instructional sequence matters: Explore before explain. National Science Teachers Association. Bybee, R. (1997). Achieving scientific literacy. Heinemann. Bybee, R., Taylor, J., et  al. (2006). The BSCS 5E instructional model: Origins and effectiveness. BSCS. Calabrese Barton, A., Tan, E., & Rivet, A. (2008). Creating hybrid spaces for engaging school science among urban middle school girls. American Educational Research Journal. https://doi. org/10.3102/0002831207308641 Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (2005). Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. Jossey-Bass. Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. NAEYC. Edwards, B., Williams, D., Kuhel, K., & Epps, A. (2019). Developing a culturally and linguistically responsive teacher identity. In Recruiting, preparing, and retaining STEM teachers for a global generation (pp. 103–132). Brill Sense. Freire, P. (1996). Pedagogy of the oppressed. NY Bloomsburg Academic. Freire, P. (2005). Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare to teach. Routledge. Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. Teachers College Press. Hernandez, C., & Shroyer, M.  G. (2017). The use of culturally responsive teaching strategies among latina/o student teaching interns during science and mathematics instruction of CLD students. Hirschfeld, L. (2008). Children’s developing conceptions of race. In S. M. Quintana & C. McKown (Eds.), Handbook of race, racism, and the developing child (pp. 37–54). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jackson, J. (2018). Interculturality in international education. Routledge. Katz, & Kofkin. (1997). Race, gender and young children. In S. S. Luthar, J. A. Burack, D. Cicchetti, & J. R. Weisz (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Perspectives on adjustment, risk, and disorder (pp. 51–74). Cambridge University Press. Keeley, P. (2018). Uncovering student ideas in science. NSTA Press. Kim, D., Kim, S. L., & Barnett, M. (2021). That makes sense now!: Bicultural middle school students learning in a culturally relevant science classroom. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 23(2), 145–172. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v23i2,2595 Kopish, M. (2017). Global Citizenship Education and the Development of Globally Competent TCs. Journal of International Social Studies, 7, 20–59. Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The Dreamkeepers. Jossey-Bass Publishers. Lincoln, Y. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995a). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849509543675 Mahzoon-Hagheghi, M., Yebra, R., Johnson, R.  D., & Sohn, L.  N. (2018). Fostering a greater understanding of science in the classroom through Children’s literature. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 6(1), 41–50. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995b). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465. https://doi.org/10.2307/1163320 McGinnis, P. (2020). Using literature in the science classroom, Science Scope, 44(2), Article. Retrieved from https://www.nsta.org/science-­scope/science-­scope-­novemberdecember-­2020/ using-­literature-­science-­classroom Mensah, F. (2011). A case for culturally relevant teaching in science education and lessons learned for teacher education. The Journal of Negro Education, 80(3), 296–309.

78

S. Asim and J. McDonald

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Sage Publications, Inc. Moje, E.  B., Ciechanowski, K.  M., Kramer, K., Ellis, L., Carrillo, R., & Collazo, T. (2004). Working toward third space in content area literacy: An examination of everyday funds of knowledge and Discourse. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(1), 38–70. Nieto, S. (1996). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Longman. Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93–97. Quintana, S.  M., & McKown, C. (2008). Introduction: Race, racism, and the developing child. In S. M. Quintana & C. McKown (Eds.), Handbook of race, racism, and the developing child (pp. 1–15). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Siwatu, K.  O. (2007). Preservice teachers’ culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs. Teaching & Teaching Education, 23, 1086–1101. Sleeter, C. (2001). Preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools: Research and the overwhelming presence of whiteness. Journal of Teacher Education, 52, 94–106. UNESCO. (2015). Global citizenship education: Topics and learning objectives. France. United Nations, The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals: An opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean (LC/G. 2681-P/Rev. 3), , 2018. Retrieved from https://sdgs. un.org/goals Van Ausdale, D., & Feagin, J. R. (2001). The first R: How children learn race and racism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Yoon, B. (2022). How does children’s literature portray global perspectives? Journal of Global Education and Research, 6(2), 206–222. https://doi.org/10.5038/2577-­509X.6.2.1090

Chapter 6

Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students’ Globalized Science Investigations in Pre-­service Teachers’ Practicum Experience Selina Bartels

6.1 Introduction It has become increasingly evident with the recent pandemic that the world is an interrelated and global place. The actions of one country/region have an impact on many other places around the world. Now more than ever the world is a connected place. It is important from the early grades that students understand they are part of a global community and this education begins in elementary school. The goal of science education is for students to be able to participate as informed citizens in the world. Although there are many varying opinions on the definition of scientific literacy, science standards around the world are written with the focus of developing a scientifically literate student (Roberts, 2008). Scientific literacy has three broad parts students need to understand: science content (biology, chemistry, physics, geology, and astronomy), what science is (nature of science), and how scientists do their work (scientific inquiry) (Roberts, 2008). Most elementary teachers focus on teaching the science content and leave the understandings of nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry (SI) up to implicit learning (Bell et al., 2003). Studies have found that students do not learn through implicit teaching strategies and that an explicit reflective teaching method is one effective method to learn understandings of NOS and SI (Khishfe & Abd-El-Khalick, 2002). Many preservice elementary teachers do not know how to intentionally teach towards all three components of scientific literacy and this study seeks out how to not only teach towards scientific literacy but also to become a reflective practitioner and understand how to S. Bartels (*) Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_6

79

80

S. Bartels

support their students to move forward towards making scientific decisions in their everyday life. Rooted within scientific literacy students will gain the understandings of how science connects on a global stage utilizing global competencies (Tichnor-­ Wagner & Manise, 2019).

6.1.1 Nature of Science There is not one agreed upon list of aspects of NOS for K-12 students. There is a large literature base and seven targeted aspects of NOS that come from the research for students in grades K-12. These aspects are tentative, empirically-based, necessarily subjective, creative, derived from observations and inferences, is composed of theories and laws, and is socially and culturally embedded (Lederman et al., 2002). However, these aspects are not all obtainable for students in grades K-5 (Lederman & Bartels, 2018). Students in primary grades can understand four aspects of NOS: tentative, subjective, creative, based on observations and inferences, and is empirically based. The understanding that science is composed of theories and laws and is socially and culturally embedded is not in the grasp of students under grade five (Bartels & Lederman, 2022). The understanding of theories and laws students are not exposed to this content until middle and high school science when the deeper understanding of the content areas is taught. Science as a human enterprise is practiced in the context of a larger culture and its practitioners (scientists) are the product of that culture. Science, it follows, affects, and is affected by the various aspects of the culture in which it is embedded is the aim of the aspect of NOS that focuses on cultural and social embeddedness. While students in young grades are capable of understanding that science is global and the world is interconnected, they cannot understand the nuance of the impact of culture upon science at a young age.

6.1.2 Scientific Inquiry Understandings of scientific inquiry is knowing how scientists go about doing the work of science. Understanding these processes is important to knowing how scientists develop the knowledge in their field. For students in grades K-12, there are eight aspects of SI students should be able to understand by the time they graduate from high school. This list is not an exhaustive list of the aspects of SI, but research has shown that these aspects K-12 students are able to learn and understand. Students should know that: scientific investigations all begin with a question and do not necessarily test a hypothesis, there is no single set of steps followed in all investigations (i.e. there is no single scientific method), inquiry procedures are guided by the question asked, all scientists performing the same procedures may not get the same results, inquiry procedures can influence results, research conclusions must be consistent with the data collected, scientific data are not the same as scientific evidence,

6  Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students…

81

and that explanations are developed from a combination of collected data and what is already known (Lederman et  al., 2014). Although students should know these eight aspects of SI by the time they finish 12th grade, not all of these aspects can be taught to students who are in grades preK-5 (Lederman & Bartels, 2018). The aspects that are appropriate for students in these grades are as follows: scientific investigations begin with a question, there is no single method to conduct science, procedures are guided by the question asked, scientists performing the same procedures may not get the same results and conclusions must be consistent with the data collected (Bartels & Lederman, 2022).

6.1.3 Global Competency In a post COVID-19 era, now more than ever, it is clear how interconnected the world is as a virus that started in one location in the world impacted a whole planet. This pandemic made evident that teaching students that science is an international endeavor and that the study of the world and how it works can impact everyone. Science phenomena affect people locally and globally. The lens of teaching towards global competency has become even more urgent and clear. Understanding how science is connected internationally fits in nicely with the teaching towards scientific literacy and knowing that science is socially and culturally embedded. For the purpose of this study learning how to investigate the world specifically; posing significantly research about questions, selecting varied relevant evidence, analyzing integrating and evaluating sources as well as developing evidence-based positions and drawing conclusions were the subsections of global competency that were focused on for this study (Tichnor-Wagner & Manise, 2019). These subsections were selected from the larger picture of the Asia Society’s competence framework. These were selected for two reasons, one being that the focus of the study was on scientific literacy and these aspects of global competency are tightly aligned with several aspects of scientific literacy that were being examined in this study. Secondly, this grade band was selected due to the age of the students in the study.

6.1.4 Embedded Field-Work Experience Immersive practicum experiences are important to preservice teachers’ efficacy about teaching as well as their delivery lessons. Effective field experiences should occur at the same time as methods courses which builds up preservice teachers’ confidence in delivering lessons in the various content areas (McDonnough & Matkins, 2010). Repeated teaching experiences prior to student teaching allow for preservice teachers to move their instructional methods away from teacher centered lesson delivery to a more student-centered instruction across all content areas

82

S. Bartels

(Chiu, 2017). An immersive practicum experience allows for preservice teachers to put theory from their methods coursework into practice along with witnessing their cooperating teachers deliver lessons (Kazempour et al., 2020).

6.2 Research Question This study looked to answer the question if an embedded rural practicum experience can support preservice teachers to teach towards scientific literacy utilizing a global competency lens.

6.3 Theoretical Framework There were several components of this study: scientific literacy, global competencies, pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and embedded practicum experiences. This study draws from the research that for teachers to be able to deliver effective science lessons they must be scientifically literate and have a deep understanding of how to effectively deliver science lessons. For this study, the focus is on how preservice teachers develop PCK for elementary science teaching through an embedded rural practicum integrated methods block. All preservice teachers understand the aspects of scientific literacy (content knowledge, scientific inquiry, and nature of science) and are now utilizing research-based practices for the delivery of elementary science lessons. Embedded within nature of science specific attention is paid to understanding that science is a global entity and that the world is interconnected. The preservice teachers participated in a three-week full day embedded practicum which encapsulated four content areas associated with methods courses on campus (mathematics, science, literacy, and PE). This study looked at if the embedded practicum experience impacted preservice teachers to deliver and reflect on lessons teaching towards scientific literacy.

6.4 Design and Procedures 6.4.1 Sample and Timeline This study took place in the Spring semester of 2022. The university was a small liberal arts institution located in the Midwest surrounded by farmland and next to a Great Lake. The main source of employment in the area where the study was conducted was agriculture and steel mills. There were 9 preservice teachers in the study who were in the third year of a traditional undergraduate preservice teachers’ program. All the preservice teachers identify as female, 20% identify as BIPOC and 40% are first generation scholars. This sample was of convenience as this was the

6  Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students…

83

entire enrollment of the methods block for this semester. The university where the study took place operates on a cohort model- all education courses are taken as a unit with their graduating class. In the first and second year the preservice teachers take foundation coursework in education as well as general education courses and courses in their selected minors. The foundation coursework has fieldwork embedded in it so prior to the third-year practicum they have had two semesters of field experience. In the third-year preservice teachers take all the same coursework together throughout the entire third academic year. There were two separate practicum experiences one in the Fall and one in the Spring semester. This study took place in the Spring Semester, so preservice teachers already had one three-week practicum experience before this study. This practicum is three weeks and full school days. Preservice teachers arrive with their cooperating teachers in the morning and stay until class is completed and prepared for the following day. Semesters are 15 weeks long and preservice teachers take class for the first eight weeks then are in practicum for weeks nine through 11. Then preservice teachers return to campus for weeks 12–15 to reflect on their field experience. In the fall semester preservice teachers take four methods courses: Foundations of Literacy, Methods of Social Studies, Curriculum and Instruction, and Fine Arts Methods. In the spring semester preservice teachers take a second literacy course, Methods of PE, Methods of Mathematics and Science. This study took place during the spring semester of the third year of preservice teachers’ undergraduate elementary education program. The science methods course meets twice a week throughout the first eight weeks of the semester and the last three weeks of the semester. During the first few classes model lessons were delivered by the researcher. The researcher has over a decade of experience in K-12 classroom science teaching, five years of teaching science methods at a university as well as PhD focusing on science education. The model lessons demonstrated how to intentionally deliver elementary science lessons with a scientific literacy and global competence lens (Akerson et al., 2000). The lessons would be modeled as if they were being taught to K-sixth grade students where the preservice teachers would actively participate as elementary students. Then after the lesson was modeled it would be debriefed to focus on how the lesson was taught intentionally towards scientific literacy and global competency. Specifically, the rubric for Global Leadership sub-rubric “Investigate the World” was utilized (Mansilla et al., 2013) as it focuses on aspects that overlap with scientific literacy (e.g., posing a broad question with local/regional significance and its global connection; relying on a single source; providing a basic summary from reliable local, regional, and global sources; restating an opinion with supportive evidence on a global question). These identified aspects of global competency are tightly woven with the aspects of scientific literacy which also have students ask questions, analyze, synthesize information, and draw conclusions. The model lessons had preservice teachers reflect on how the science process relates directly to the global perspective. Prior to practicum preservice teachers were then assigned a science state standard and prepared a micro teaching lesson which they delivered to their peers. Then they met with their cooperating teachers for the practicum and planned three science

84

S. Bartels

lessons for their grade level. The practicum school district was selected based on a grant project that the education department had a partnership with to create a networked professional learning community, although this project was not funded through this grant the practicum placement itself was formed by this grant. The practicum district for this study was located on the shores of a Great Lake in a mainly factory working town. The students in this study were 40% white, 38% black, 10% multi-racial, and nine percent were LatinX. The school district has 58% of students on free or reduced lunch and 20% receive special education services. Each preservice teacher was placed in a classroom for three weeks with their own cooperating teacher grade. Five preservice teachers were placed in kindergarten and four were in grade two.

6.4.2 Data Collection To answer the research question if an embedded rural practicum experience can support preservice teachers to teach towards scientific literacy utilizing a global competency lens, several pieces of data were collected. During the science methods course, the preservice teachers wrote and delivered four lesson plans (one micro teaching and three practicum) all lessons were video recorded. Lesson plans were written on the education program’s standardized template. The videos were recorded on an online platform, GoReact, a website that allows for video recording, peer review, timestamps, and coding for researchers. As another part of the practicum requirements all preservice teachers also administered the Young Children’s Views of Science (YCVS) (Lederman & Bartels, 2018) to their practicum class. The YCVS is a valid and reliable instrument used to measure young children (or people who cannot read or write) understandings of science, scientists and how they do their work. This instrument can be administered to nonreaders and readers (Bartels & Lederman, 2022). Two class sessions for the preservice teachers on campus focused on how to administer and score this instrument prior to preservice teachers participating in practicum. This training was administered by the author of this chapter who has a background in early childhood education as well as in the development of these instruments. Preservice teachers analyzed the data collected and wrote papers summarizing their practicum students’ understandings of scientific literacy as well as steps that should be taken next for their students to have a more developed understanding of SL. The last piece of data collected was the rubric for Global Leadership, Investigate the World for grade three (Tichnor-Wagner & Manise, 2019). Grade three was selected because although the grades taught in this sample were grades kindergarten and two, this was the lowest available rubric. This rubric was used to guide preservice teachers as they planned their lessons making sure not only to teach towards SL but also to help students think globally. The preservice teachers got several supports about teaching and thinking globally. These supports were to include a real-world example within each science lesson to demonstrate how science within the

6  Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students…

85

classroom connects to science in the world. Additionally preservice teachers were to intentionally make this connection clear to their students. This was first modeled in the mock lessons taught on campus during methods classes as well as in the debrief when they reflected on the lessons they taught in the field.

6.4.3 Data Analysis There were four sets of data that needed to be analyzed to answer the question; if an embedded rural practicum experience can support preservice teachers (preservice teachers) to teach towards scientific literacy utilizing a global competency lens? The data collected were preservice teachers lesson plans, videos of teaching, global competency rubrics and preservice teachers essays about their practicum classes’ understandings of science, scientists and how they do their work. All lesson plans were coded for intentional planning of any NOS or SI aspects that are appropriate for K-2 students. This coding was done in Google documents with a tag developed and then tabulated for which aspect and the number of times an aspect was planned for. The videos were then watched to see if the planned intentional teaching was delivered in the lesson taught to the practicum students. Besides just the delivery of the planned aspects the coding in the video looked at how the aspect was delivered. Codes were created if the preservice teachers intentionally taught or mentioned the aspect or if the preservice teachers had the students make the connection in the lesson. For example, in the case of teaching that scientists use observations, a teacher centered delivery would be the following, “scientists use their sense to make observations. Today you will make observations with your senses.” However, a student-­ centered code is when the preservice teachers say something along the lines of, “What is an observation? How do scientists make observations? What observations did you make?” Along with the coding of the lesson plans and videos the global competency rubrics were used to see how preservice teachers worked towards planning for their students to think globally Both the lesson plans and videos were analyzed for this piece of data. Each preservice teachers was given a score based on how they planned and delivered on each aforementioned aspect of these rubrics and were assigned a level of student engagement from the least developed, emerging, developing, proficient and to the most developed advanced. These rubrics are meant to categorize student development but for the purposes of this study they were used to categorize the type of opportunity the preservice teachers gave the students in each sub-rubric. Finally, the preservice teachers wrote essays about the understandings of SL of their practicum class. In order to write these essays, the preservice teachers administered the YCVS to their entire practicum class. They analyzed the results of the YCVS and wrote SL essays. The SL essays were analyzed using the thematic coding method (Xu & Zammit, 2020). Each essay was read in its entirety looking for repeated meanings across a data set. These repeated meanings will be identified as a theme which is a specific pattern found that captures some crucial information

86

S. Bartels

about the data in relation to the research questions and features patterned meanings across the data set. Once these themes are developed a repeat analysis of the SL essays will be done by rereading the essays and coding for these themes. Once all four sets of data are analyzed a general overview looks for the potential impact that the embedded practicum experience had on preservice teachers’ ability to plan and deliver intentional SL lessons to students in a rural setting with a global focus.

6.5 Results 6.5.1 Lesson Plans The focus for this study was looking to see if the embedded practicum experience impacted the preservice teachers to teach towards scientific literacy and global competency in a rural setting. The preservice teachers in this study planned four lessons, one that they taught to their peers and the other three within their practicum classroom. All lessons were submitted on the university’s lesson plan template. These lessons were coded for the aspects of scientific literacy that are appropriate for K-3 students. There were four aspects of NOS: tentative, subjective, creative, based on observations and inferences, and empirically based. As well as four aspects for SI, scientific investigations begin with a question, there is no single method to conduct science, procedures are guided by the question asked, scientists performing the same procedures may not get the same results and conclusions must be consistent with the data collected. It should be noted there is overlap between the Global Competencies (Tichnor-Wagner & Manise, 2019) aspects and the scientific literacy aspects. Because of this overlap the data were coded together for these aspects. The aspect from global competency of “pose significant research questions” was coded as “starts with a question”, the global competency aspect of “select varied relevant evidence” was coded as “data and evidence”, the global competency aspect of “analyze, integrate and evaluate sources” was coded as “data and evidence” for scientific literacy, and the global competency aspect “develop evidence based position and draw conclusions” was coded for scientific literacy as “conclusions are based on data and previous knowledge.” There were 36 lesson plans analyzed for this study. Overall, the preservice teachers intentionally planned for aspects of SL 39 times in their lesson plans, see table one below for this data. The most planned aspect was connecting the lesson to science and scientists. For example, preservice teachers would write, “this is a science lesson because we are exploring the world, we live in.” Another aspect that was planned for frequently was observations and inferences. Frequently preservice teachers would plan to say, “students make an observation” or “what is your observation?” There were four aspects that were planned for only a few times over the 36 lesson plans analyzed for this study. These aspects were; science begins with a question, same procedures do not yield the same results, creative and multiple methods. The aspects that were not planned for at all in 36

6  Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students…

87

lesson plans were; tentative, data and evidence, subjective, empirical, procedures are guided by the question asked, and conclusions are based on data and previous knowledge. There were nine preservice teachers in the study. All names in this study are pseudonyms. Four preservice teachers taught second grade and five taught kindergarten. In table two each preservice teacher is listed and the aspects they intentionally planned to teach towards in each lesson plan. Only one preservice teacher did not plan to teach an aspect of SL in any of their four lessons, Ellianna who taught second grade. Three preservice teachers in the study intentionally planned to teach at least one aspect of SL in each of their lessons, Teresa, Breanna and Gretchen. Breanna and Gretchen taught grades two and Teresa taught Kindergarten. Kelsey and Brenda both taught kindergarten and intentionally taught SL aspects in two out of four lesson plans. One preservice teacher, Kaitlyn, intentionally planned to teach SL in three out of four lesson plans (Tables 6.1 and 6.2).

6.5.2 Delivery of Lessons All lessons that had intentionally planned for aspects of SL in their lesson plans were watched and coded. There were nine preservice teachers in this study but only eight out of the nine planned for intentionally teaching towards one aspect of SL in their lesson plans. See table three below for a chart on lesson delivery and student versus teacher focus. For micro teaching, six out of the nine lessons were specifically planned to teach towards at least one SL aspect. The aspects that were delivered in the micro teaching videos were as planned in the lesson plans. The aspects the preservice teachers focused on in their videos for micro teaching were; what is science/scientists, observations, creative and same procedures do not yield the same results. Four preservice teachers taught about science and scientists with only one of them having the students directly make the connection versus the other three made intentional statements. Four preservice teachers also intentionally taught that science is made up of Table 6.1  Overall planned for aspects of SL and Global Competence in Lesson Plans Aspect What is science/who are scientists Observation/inference Begins with a question Same procedure may not yield same results Creative Multiple methods Total amount of planned aspects

Micro 5 4 0 2 0 0 11

LP1 5 5 1 1 0 0 12

LP2 3 2 0 0 0 0 5

LP3 4 3 2 0 1 1 11

Total 17 14 3 3 1 1 39

Aspects not addressed: tentative, data and evidence, subjective, empirical, procedures are guided by the question asked, conclusions are based on data and previous knowledge, and the global nature of science

88

S. Bartels

Table 6.2  Preservice teachers planned for aspects of SL and Global Competence in Lesson Plans preservice teachers (grade level) Kelsey (K) Kaitlyn (K) Kiernan (K) Teresa (K)

Brenda (K)

Maddy (2nd)

Breanna (2nd)

Micro Science Observations Observations NONE Science Same procedures may not have the same results Science Same pro not same results NONE

Observations Science Creative Gretchen (2nd) Observations Science Ellianna (2nd) NONE Total preservice 7/9 teachers planned at least one aspect

LP1 Observations

LP2 NONE

LP3 NONE

Number of LP out of four 2/4

Science Question Science Science Observations

Multiple methods NONE Science Creative

NONE

¾

NONE Science Creative

¼ 4/4/

Observations Science Same pro not same results NONE

NONE

NONE

2/4

NONE

Science Observations Question Observations

Science Observation

Science ¼ Question Observations Science 4/4 Observations

Science Observations NONE 4/9

Science 4/4 Observations NONE 0/4 4/9

NONE 7/9

observations and inferences. Three of these were delivered in a student focused method versus only one was a statement given by the preservice teachers. Overall, there were 12 aspects planned for and five of the 12 were delivered in a student-­ centered manner versus teacher centered. Lesson plans one, two and three were all delivered in the field in rural school practicum settings. The preservice teachers were placed there for three weeks for full school days where the preservice teachers taught math, science, and literacy lessons. For lesson plan one there were 13 aspects planned for in the lessons and taught in the videos. Seven out of the nine preservice teachers planned and delivered intentional SL aspects which was the highest number in all iterations of this study. Although only three of the aspects were taught in a student-centered way (by only two of the preservice teachers), lesson plans two and three saw a decrease in the number of aspects addressed with the least amount in this study of seven aspects in lesson plan two and the nine aspects in lesson plan three. Both lesson plan two and three videos had more student-centered teaching in regards to the delivery of the aspects than in micro teaching and lesson plan one (Table 6.3).

6  Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students…

89

Table 6.3  Preservice teachers planned for aspects of SL delivery in video teacher centered versus student centered preservice teachers (grade level) Micro Kelsey (K) Science Observations Kaitlyn Observations (K) Kiernan NONE (K) Teresa (K) Science Same procedures may not have the same results Brenda (K) Science Same pro not same results

LP1 LP2 Observations NONE

LP3 NONE

Teacher centered Number vs of aspects student addressed centered 2 1/2

Science Question Science

NONE

4

2/2

NONE

1

1/0

Science Science Observations Creative

Science Creative

4

3/5

NONE

5

4/1

Science 3 Question Observations Science 4 Observations

1/2

Science 2 Observations 4/5 Aspects planned: 9

3/4

Multiple methods NONE

Maddy (2nd)

NONE

Observations NONE Science Same pro not same results NONE NONE

Breanna (2nd)

Observations Science Creative Observations Science 7/5 Aspects planned: 12

Science Science Observations Observation Question Observations Science Observations 10/3 2/5 Aspects Aspects planned: 13 planned: 7

Gretchen (2nd) Teacher centered versus student Centered

7/3

Italic text indicates Student Centered intentional teaching

6.5.3 Global Competency Teaching Both lesson plans and videos were coded to see if preservice teachers were engaging their students in practicum to teach towards the Global Competencies in their rural teaching setting. Each preservice teachers’ lesson plans (lesson plans one through three) were coded to see how they planned to teach towards posing questions, selecting evidence, analyzing data and developing evidence-based conclusions. These aspects are taken from scientific literacy and global competencies mentioned above in the coding section. If any of these aspects were intentionally being taught towards in lesson plans one through three, they were then given a code

90

S. Bartels

of emerging, developing, proficiency and advanced depending on how it was planned within their lessons. There were 27 lesson plans written and delivered in the rural practicum setting. Five out of the 27 lessons did not address any areas of the Investigate the World rubric for global competency. The remaining 22 lessons addressed at least one area on the Investigate the World rubric. Twenty out of these 22 lessons focused on the aspect that focused on; analyzing, integrating, and evaluating sources. These lessons were labeled as “proficient” for this aspect. Mainly the lessons had students gathering and analyzing a global problem such as bee population and invasive plants and animals. Students then were asked to provide a basic summary of the evidence from this data about their specific global issue of bees or invasive species. The other two lessons worked towards the aspect of posing a significant research question. In both of these lessons students were shown pictures of real world global activities and encouraged to create researchable questions. This was coded as emerging as students were prompted to select a regional issue to study. Although preservice teachers taught towards the aspects assessed in the Global Competency rubrics (analyzing, integrating, and evaluating sources) they did not teach towards the overall understanding that science is globalized. The preservice teachers laid the groundwork for this understanding but were not intentional in their teaching much like many other aspects of teaching towards SL.

6.5.4 Understanding Young Children’s Views of Science, Scientific Literacy Essays Preservice teachers administered the YCVS to all students in their practicum class (nine classrooms). The preservice teachers were given the ability to decide how the assessment was administered either orally in small groups or written. If the written assessment was given at least 20% of the class was interviewed to ensure accurate interpretation of the responses. If a student did not provide an answer for a question, that student’s response was coded as “no answer.” Students were assigned “inadequate” if their answer did not fit the understandings of NOS and SI for their grade level. The code of “mixed” was assigned if students had a partial understanding of that aspect for their age. The category of “adequate” was assigned if students had a firm grasp of the aspect for their grade level. After the preservice teachers scored each student’s YCVS they wrote a paper summarizing the overall findings for the class and their path towards scientific literacy as well as next steps that the preservice teachers recommend to continue to build the students’ SL. All the preservice teachers who taught kindergarten administered the YCVS orally and the preservice teachers in grade two administered it in writing except for students who had individual learning needs. Overall, the preservice teachers reported that their students had inadequate understandings of all aspects except for Elliana who was in a second-grade classroom and overall had students who had adequate understandings for the aspects of

6  Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students…

91

Table 6.4  Preservice teachers’ categorization of SL aspects as well as recommendations Preservice teachers (grade level) Kelsey (K) Kaitlyn (K) Kiernan (K)

Teresa (K)

Brenda (K) Maddy (2nd) Breanna (2nd)

Gretchen (2nd)

Elliana (2nd)

Aspects of SL All inadequate All inadequate

Recommendations Focus on creative- rube Goldberg activity More broadly- more science time and teach science vocabulary All inadequate Focus on multiple methods- have students design their own investigations Culturally embedded- observe plants All inadequate Focus on scientists as people and teach through their work Black box activity to teach what is science All inadequate Set up stations with different scientists Multiple methods- fossil investigation All inadequate Generic science lesson utilizing a gummy bear lab All inadequate Science begins with a question and multiple methods through creating a rain structure All inadequate Invite scientists and/or field trips to meet scientists Read science kids periodicals determine questions Adequate in multiple methods, Use pictures to create questions begins with a question and tentative

tentative, begins with a question and multiple methods. All the preservice teachers had generic suggestions for working towards SL with their practicum students. Five preservice teachers focused around meeting scientists and engaging in science activities. Four preservice teachers spoke specifically to specific aspects and offered ideas towards teaching those aspects. Kelsey, Kiernan, Brenda, and Breanna all offered specific activities to build understanding in specific aspects. The aspects they focused on were creative, culturally embedded, multiple methods and science begins with a question (Table 6.4).

6.6 Discussion This study looked to answer the question if an embedded rural practicum experience can support preservice teachers to teach towards scientific literacy utilizing a global lens. There were several sets of data collected to answer this question; lesson plans, videos, global competency rubrics and SL understandings for practicum classes. There were 36 lesson plans written for the practicum experience. Lesson plan one

92

S. Bartels

had the most amount of SL aspects planned for dropping off by half the aspects in lesson plans two and three. This suggests that the longer preservice teachers are in the classroom the less they intentionally teach towards SL. Perhaps the longer they are out of the university setting the less they think about implementing the focus of their preservice teaching methods coursework. The videos were watched to see how or if preservice teachers would deliver the intentional teaching of SL aspects. Overall, the aspects that were planned for were delivered in the lesson. This provides an interesting focus of analyzing how the aspects were delivered. The delivery was analyzed to see if the aspect was taught through teacher centered or student engaged method. Lesson plan one had the most aspects delivered but only three were engaging the students. In lessons two and three more aspects were student centered for teaching SL but very low in intentional teaching. Both lesson plans (two and three) had five student centered aspects taught but across two lessons only had six overall teacher centered taught aspects. This also aligns with the time away from the university and changes delivery of a lesson shifting from student centered to teacher centered the more time the preservice teachers are in the practicum experience and away from university coursework. The Global Leadership rubric focusing on Investigating the World was utilized for this study. Although all nine teachers taught in grades two or kindergarten, this was the lowest grade level rubric available so it was selected with the understanding that the students may perform at the emerging or developing level because of their academic grade levels. The aspect most of the preservice teachers focused on was analyzing, integrating, and evaluating sources. This aspect may have been focused on for two different reasons. First, because the students were so young, their ability to differentiate from different sources may not be sophisticated enough. Second, because they only have three lessons in the field, the preservice teachers may have felt this was the easiest aspect to focus on, with the other aspects requiring deeper/ longer class time. The preservice teachers found in large part their practicum classes inadequate for their age in their understandings of SL. This may have led to the preservice teachers’ overall recommendations for building SL understandings to be more generic focusing on what is science and what scientists do. Four preservice teachers offered specific aspects to teach towards. This may show that preservice teachers think the foundation of SL is understanding what science is and how scientists do their work. This could shape how teaching towards SL happens in elementary schools. Overall, the embedded practicum created experiences for preservice teachers to teach science lessons. Although they did all teach three science lessons the intentionality of teaching towards SL decreased from lesson one to lesson three. Also, the focus of the lesson shifted from student centered lessons to more teacher centered lessons from lessons one to three. Preservice teachers were able to effectively deliver student centered SL within micro teaching and transfer into lesson one but by the third science lesson they revert to the practices of their co teacher.

6  Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students…

93

6.7 Implications This study looked at an embedded practicum for teaching science in a rural setting. This sample showed that the embedded practicum allows for preservice teachers to write and deliver science lessons. The lessons are the most aligned with SL and global competencies the closer they are to their methods of coursework. The longer the preservice teachers were in the field, the less likely they are to teach aligned with their methods and coursework research-based practices. This study applies most to teacher educators showing that the connection between coursework and practicum experience directly transfers from university to school, but the longer preservice teachers are out in the field, the less likely they are to apply the strategies they learned in methods class specifically about teaching towards global competencies and SL.

6.8 Further Studies This study implies that the closer to methods coursework preservice teachers are the more likely they are to interweave SL into their lesson planning and delivery. This opens the door for further studies looking at how to support preservice teachers in the field focusing on teaching towards SL. This could be shaped through university partnerships as well at looking at the cooperating teachers the preservice teachers are placed with. Preservice teachers in this study thought more broadly about teaching students what science is and who are scientists before they drilled down into the aspects of SL. Another study could look at the aspects of SL preservice teachers chose to teach and how that may or may not transfer into their own classrooms after licensure.

6.9 Changes to Innovation The implementation of this action research project was looking to see if an embedded fieldwork within a science methods course would affect preservice teachers’ ability to write and deliver lessons teaching towards scientific literacy and global competencies in a rural school. All preservice teachers in this study were enrolled in four connected methods courses in their third year of their undergraduate program for elementary teaching. The methods courses were; math, science, literacy, and PE. The first eight weeks taught the preservice teachers how to write lesson plans and they practiced delivering at least one micro teaching lesson. Inservice teachers (CTs) were recruited from a specific district to host the preservice teachers for a three-week full day practicum experience. The district was in a rural area about

94

S. Bartels

30  min from the university campus. CTs came to campus for nine professional development sessions learning to mentor and work with our preservice teachers throughout the practicum. Coursework stopped on campus for preservice teachers to experience a full teaching day over three weeks. Preservice teachers wrote and delivered nine lesson plans (three science lessons) over the course of the practicum. Preservice teachers returned to campus after practicum to reflect on their lessons and experiences for the remaining two weeks of the semesters. The innovation within this action research is the tight connection between the university professors and the CTs as well as teaching towards global competencies and SL in an elementary school. This communication and feedback are intended to support the preservice teachers in the field as they develop as teachers. The other innovation is the embedded practicum with the coursework being connected through the various methods courses as well as specifically connecting fieldwork with coursework. The intention of this model is to smooth the pipeline between university preservice teaching coursework and the practice of teaching. This study found that the first lesson delivered in the practicum classroom had the largest emphasis on teaching towards SL with seven out of nine preservice teachers intentionally teaching at least one aspect of SL. This number drops to only four out of nine preservice teachers intentionally teaching towards SL in their second and third lessons. Additionally, when preservice teachers deliver their science lessons the first lesson although had more intentional SL focus, was more teacher centered than student centered (10 out of 13 lessons were teacher centered). Lessons two and three had more student-centered lessons focusing on SL (five out of seven and five out nine respectively). This is an interesting trend perhaps indicating that preservice teachers who deliver intentional SL lessons focus on student engagement versus in lesson one where more preservice teachers intentionally included SL but only as the teacher stating the connection versus the students engaging and giving examples. Preservice teachers who participated in this intervention specifically interwove one aspect of global competencies into their lesson plans (posing questions) but did not expand to the other three aspects (evidence, evaluate sources and develop evidence-­based conclusions) or encourage their students to engage beyond the developing level. Although this was modeled in the methods course it did not transfer to the teaching in the field. Preservice teachers were able to identify their students’ understandings of SL but primarily focused on defining what science is and how scientists do their work versus the many aspects of NOS and SI that make up SL and are appropriate for young children. This is like the findings in another study that looked at preservice teachers’ reflection on their own teaching practices through video watching (Kerkhoff, 2020). Overall, from this action research embedded practicum with a tight connection to the university coursework can result in the implementation of student centered, SL lessons that focus on some aspect of global competencies in a rural school. Perhaps if the university had weekly workshops or touchpoints during practicum this impact would expand beyond one lesson. Additionally, preservice teachers need more time to teach towards SL than three lessons. Following up with these preservice teachers

6  Intentionally Teaching Towards Scientific Literacy: Its Impact on K-2 Students…

95

in both student teaching and in their own classrooms after they complete their program would be interesting to see if they carry these practices of teaching towards SL and global competencies into their own teaching which is truly the aim of this action research project.

References Akerson, V. L., Abd-El-Khalick, F. S., & Lederman, N. G. (2000). The influence of a reflective activity based approach on elementary teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, 295–317. Bartels, S. L., & Lederman, J. S. (2022). What do elementary students know about science, scientists and how they do their work? International Journal of Science Education. Bell, R. L., Blair, L. M., Crawford, B. A., & Lederman, N. G. (2003). Just do it? Impact of a science apprenticeship program on high school students’ understandings of the nature of science and scientific inquiry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 40(5), 487–509. Chiu, M. S. (2017). Repeated field teaching: Preservice Teachers’ changes in teaching efficacy and theories of mathematics teaching. Journal of Advances in Education Research, 2(4). Kazempour, M., Amirshokoohi, A., & Blamey, K. (2020). Putting theory to practice: Teaching the 5E learning cycle through immersive experiences for pre-service teachers. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 8(1), 67–75. Kerkhoff, S. (2020). Collaborative video case studies and online instruments for self-reflection in global teacher education. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 28(2), 341–351. Khishfe, R., & Abd-El-Khalick, F. (2002). Influence of explicit and reflective versus implicit inquiry-oriented instruction on sixth graders’ views of nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(7), 551–578. Lederman, J.  S., & Bartels, S.  L. (2018). Assessing the ultimate goal of science education: Scientific literacy for all! In S. Kahn (Ed.), Toward inclusion of all learners through science teacher education. Sense Publishers. Lederman, J.  S., Lederman, N.  G., Bartos, S.  A., Bartels, S.  L., Meyer, A.  A., & Schwartz, R. S. (2014). Meaningful assessment of learners’ understandings about scientific inquiry—The views about scientific inquiry (VASI) questionnaire. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51(1), 65–83. Lederman, N. G., Abd-El-Khalick, F., Bell, R. L., & Schwartz, R. S. (2002). Views of nature of science questionnaire: Toward valid and meaningful assessment of learners’ conceptions of nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(6), 497–521. Mansilla, V.  B., Jackson, A., & Jacobs, I.  H. (2013). Educating for global competence: Learning redefined for an interconnected world. Mastering Global Literacy, Contemporary Perspectives, 1–23. McDonnough, J. T., & Matkins, J. J. (2010). The role of field experience in elementary preservice teachers’ self-efficacy and ability to connect research to practice. School Science and Mathematics, 110(1), 13–23. Roberts, D. A. (2008). Scientific literacy/science literacy. In S. K. Abell & N. G. Lederman (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (pp. 729–780). Routledge. Tichnor-Wagner, A., & Manise, J. (2019). Globally competent educational leadership: A framework for leading schools in a diverse, interconnected world (p.  1). ASCD & the Longview Foundation. Xu, W., & Zammit, K. (2020). Applying thematic analysis to education: A hybrid approach to interpreting data in practitioner research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1609406920918810.

Chapter 7

From Local to Global: An Exploration of the Pre-service Teacher’s Perceptions of Climate Change Larry B. Collins

7.1 Introduction Despite overwhelming scientific consensus on the urgency of climate change, many citizens fail to acknowledge the growing impacts of a changing climate on society. While several reasons can account for this problem, one central problem is that citizens fail to understand and recognize the connections between the climate crisis in their local communities plus on a global scale. Recent policy documents including the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) position statement on Climate Change calls for the teaching of climate change as a global scientific phenomenon (National Science Teachers Association, 2018). In addition, Vision and Change in the Geosciences: The Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education describes the objective of teaching climate change as “students needing to be able to analyze and explain the Earth’s changing climate over various time scales and analyze the environmental, social, and geological impacts of these changes” (Mosher & Keane, 2021). These two statements demonstrate a clear need for undergraduate students to learn about climate change and its societal impacts on a local and global scale. As the American Psychological Association states, social scientists, including educational researchers, also have a critical role in calling for action on climate change (American Psychological Association, 2022). Furthermore, the teaching of climate change calls for individual awareness of scientific problems in one’s local community and the world. One potential avenue is to start with future generations as children can have an impact on their parents’ beliefs. Thus, training pre-service teachers on how to teach climate change as a global scientific phenomenon is an avenue for increasing acceptance of climate change (Boon, 2016). This presents an important L. B. Collins (*) Longwood University, Farmville, VA, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_7

97

98

L. B. Collins

question related to the incorporation of global learning and global learning outcomes in courses of pre-service teachers. How can pre-service teacher educators support pre-service teachers in making these connections from local to global? This question offers an opportunity for preservice teacher educators to identify new strategies and avenues for incorporating global learning and global learning outcomes in their science methods courses. American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) (2016) posits that students should be able to (1) become informed, open-minded, and responsible people who are attentive to diversity across the spectrum of differences, (2) seek to understand how their actions affect both local and global communities, and (3) address the world’s most pressing and enduring issues collaboratively and equitably. Addressing these global learning outcomes, relative to potentially controversial topics such as climate change, can be accomplished through the incorporation of frames in a science methods course. Frames consist of storylines that allow one to identify a connection between their individual values and a problem or crisis in one’s community (Ennes et al., 2021; Nisbet & Mooney, 2007). Furthermore, frames fit the definition of global learning as this phenomenon can be described as the act of developing global competence through intentional educational activities (Tichnor-Wagner & Manise, 2019). Frames can also aide in an individual’s understanding of why an issue in a community is not worth ignoring, where the responsibility lies that may have caused a particular issue, and a systematic approach for identifying potential solutions to this problem. For example, the usage of air and water pollution as frames in Ecotheology: A Christian Conversation aides a reader in understanding why Christians should care about the climate crisis and other related environmental problems on earth. Lastly, frames can also provide a venue for helping students make connections between science in their local communities and globally. As a vehicle for incorporating globalization into a pre-service elementary science methods course, one can draw on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNFCCC, 2015) as they can promote the incorporation of global learning, global learning outcomes and increase student’s awareness and understanding of others with diverse cultural backgrounds. As pre-service teacher educators, we can aide in transforming rural science teacher education by increasing our preservice teacher’s awareness of other cultural backgrounds and global competence through the teaching of phenomena such as climate change. While the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) advocate for a knowledge of scientific practices and global scientific phenomena, the need for global competence continues to grow in all fields related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education). Furthermore, the need for diversity within STEM disciplines continues to grow. As diversity in these fields continue to grow, global competence is of increasing importance so that professionals know how to communicate with one another and teach their students how to communicate with others from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds (Deardorff, 2017). GC is important for fostering a sense of common values among diverse individuals (Deardorff, 2012). Identifying common values also offers a window of opportunity for pre-service teachers to teach global scientific phenomena and promote

7  From Local to Global: An Exploration of the Pre-service Teacher’s Perceptions…

99

acceptance of controversial science topics (i.e., climate change, vaccines, GMOs, etc.) The following study describes an intervention in an elementary science methods course that offers a systematic approach to teaching an integrated unit on climate change through the incorporation of global learning outcomes as a mode for developing global competence in students. The descriptions below offer modes for assessment of student knowledge, attitudes, and ICC.

7.2 Innovation At a minority-serving institution in the southeast, students enrolled in an undergraduate elementary science methods course participated in this innovation. Prior to the onset of this section of the course, the students read two articles and completed a unit on culturally responsive pedagogy. Within this course, the next topic has a central focus of teaching controversial science topics. This innovation seeks to integrate global learning outcomes within the already designed unit on teaching controversial science topics. Through examples of literature that make explicit connections between local and global impacts of climate change, the author sought to serve as a cognitive apprenticeship to students by providing literature that was local or takes place in settings that most students would be familiar with since 90% of participants were from the Gulf coast states. While reading the forthcoming stories, students were challenged to answer three questions as part of their reflections: (1) What is the central problem in the discussion with a relation to climate change in this story? (2) What cultural, scientific, religious, or related values does the author have that have prompted them to write about and/or want to enact change? (3) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed solutions offered in each short story? For instructional design purposes, the author reviewed student responses prior to the next day of class to ensure that students were following the stories and meeting the learning outcomes established. The forthcoming description of this innovation focuses on the incorporation of global learning outcomes and global competence. Students were asked two specific prompts: (1) Describe the difference between weather and climate and (2) What characteristics must an individual hold in order to have an appreciation for diversity and culture? These two questions allowed students to draw on their pre-existing knowledge first to check for understanding of the science we are getting ready to study (climate change) and the importance of values and diversity in understanding the impacts of climate change on local communities. This also allows students to understand how diversity plays a role in climate resilience and adaptation within communities. To begin this unit, the instructor assigned this book for student reading: Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret by Catherine Coleman Flowers (Coleman Flowers, 2020), Founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and Rural Development Manager for the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. The book takes place in Lowndes County,

100

L. B. Collins

Alabama also known as “Bloody Lowndes” for its violent, racist history and was the cornerstone of the Selma-Montgomery marches during the Civil Rights movement. Flowers describes the issue of many black communities not having access to basic sanitation and/or failing septic systems. She provides a detailed account of raw sewage that flows into people’s yards and how flooding has only exacerbated the issue in these rural black communities. Throughout the book, she expands on this topic and her work by explaining how this issue of access to basic sanitation is also a problem in many other states. Lastly, Flowers makes the explicit connection between flooding that exacerbates the sewage issue to how climate change is increasing the amount of floodwaters that these communities have to bear. Her second explicit connection models how the climate crisis in these rural areas is an issue of environmental justice and requires one to understand the root causes of the climate crisis and how our cultural values can play a role in understanding the climate crisis here and around the world. The book provides an excellent example of how climate change is occurring in our local region and makes explicit connections to the global climate crisis plus values that will enable students to develop global competence. Climate change has also been heavily politicized, analogous to other issues such as wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and evolution. Acknowledging that students may view the issue in this manner, the author also included a couple short stories from Sudden Spring: Stories of Adaptation in a Climate-Changed South by Rick Van Noy (2020). These two stories also offer a view of climate change that is not doom and gloom, but a hope and courage perspective from people who live in the same geographic region as the majority of students enrolled in this course. Tombstone by the Sea and Springing Back: Resiliency on the Gulf Coast, Louisiana, and Texas were the two chapters that students read. Each of these chapters offered observations made in local communities of how climate change is impacting the livelihood of residents in the southern United States. The stories also share examples of communities are coming together to build resilience and adaptation toward a changing climate. The overall purpose for inclusion of these stories was to model to students how climate change can be depoliticized and communities can center their focus on resilience and adaptation. Recognizing that the audience in this course also consists primarily of students who are faith-based and centered on recommendations from the research of Elizabeth Barnes and Sara Brownell, we also offered a view on climate change action from Christian scientists and theologians. One such book bears the title Ecotheology: A Christian Conversation edited by Kiara Jorgenson and Alan Padgett. Hearing a voice from someone who shares the same or similar religious identity can enable students to feel as if their identity is not negatively challenged if they come to accept climate change from a scientific perspective (Barnes & Brownell, 2018). The learning unit incorporated selected readings from this book because the material challenges learners to complete two tasks: (1) “Just as God loves creation, so are Christians called to care for it. With the current climate crisis, how should Christians respond to the degradation of our planet? (2) How should Christians enact change and reflect on responsibility toward other living organisms?” (Jorgenson & Padgett, 2020). As the book presents climate change from a multi-disciplinary perspective

7  From Local to Global: An Exploration of the Pre-service Teacher’s Perceptions…

101

involving the natural sciences, biblical studies, and Christian ethics, students read the foreword and two essays from this book by authors Katharine Hayhoe, Richard Bauckham, and Cynthia Moe-Lobeda. The structure of the book presents each essay in a roundtable format where the author presents their stance on the climate crisis along with their Christian values. Other authors present a response to each essay and outline points in which they agree and disagree with. The roundtable style of this book presents climate change as a conversation and models to students how these types of challenging conversations can progress with others. Furthermore, the book outlines how Christian scientists see widespread pollution on our planet and offer suggestions on how Christians can come together to offer practical solutions. While there were five short stories read throughout this unit, the purpose was to not exhaust the students from reading. However, the instructor sought to share a perspective on climate change and cultural values from individuals in which they are more likely to share identities with. After students completed reading the last two essays, students came to class to build concept maps illustrating the major themes of the books that centered around two questions. While reflecting on each of these stories, the instructor challenged students to identify the values that each author shared which prompted them to enact change in their local communities. Second, students had to describe how they modelled these changes. The SDM (Structural Decision Making Framework) used in this unit originates from research in the social sciences. This framework can reduce students’ cognitive biases in decision making and allows the steps in decision making to be more explicit (Dauer et al., 2017). Students identified an issue in their local community that was similar to the climate-related issues that were discussed in the aforementioned examples of local literature. Based on a description in Dauer et al., students worked through the following steps of the Structural Decision Making Framework: (a) What is the problem that you are focusing on in your community? Why does this problem matter to you? (b) What is the cause of this problem and what resolution would you like to see to this problem in your community? (c) Identify two possible approaches for how your community can respond to this issue. (d) Describe the affordances and limitations of each approach that you identified in part C. (e) Choose one choice from part D that you think is the most effective response moving forward. (f) Reflect on the decision you made. Are there any other options that need consideration and why is it the best possible course of action? (g) Describe how your identified issue connects to climate change at a global level. The purpose of this study was to understand how student values impact their decision-­making skills about local impacts of climate change by using examples of local place-based literature and the SDM (Structural Decision Making) Framework. A second goal was to understand how the SDM and local place-based literature can influence pre-service teacher’s ability to develop a bridge between their local and

102

L. B. Collins

global perceptions of climate change risk and knowledge of global learning outcomes. Two research questions guided this investigation: (1) How does the SDM framework support student learning of connections between local and global effects of climate change? (2) How does the use of local literature and student’s cultural values influence preservice teacher’s global perceptions of climate change risk? Based on previous research, one can hypothesize that students will be more likely to draw upon scientifically researched solutions to the problem they are examining. Second, it is likely that identifying examples of how others of similar socioeconomic and/or cultural backgrounds experience the impacts of climate change may inspire others to act.

7.3 Methods Pre-service teachers enrolled in this study were primarily in either their junior or senior year of an undergraduate program in elementary education. Thirty-six students (100% of the total enrolled in the two sections) consented to research and completed a total of four reflections and SDM framework for a climate change-­ related issue in their hometown. Thirty-two students (89%) reported being from a rural town in the southeast and intend to pursue a career in teaching near their hometown. All participants had previously completed six credits of undergraduate science in the biological and physical sciences. The pre-service teachers enrolled in this course did not report any previous experience in decision-making regarding scientific decisions or learning about global science concepts. One common theme among all the participants is that they were from small rural towns across the state of Mississippi. The author did not share specific results or the analyzed data with the participants throughout the experiment. However, the author did construct several examples to model the types of thinking needed to be a globally competent learner. These examples were modeled in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development goals. With this approach, the author took on the role of modeler, instructional designer, and researcher. The author had established trust and confidence with the participants first so that students would participate in this intervention with maximum confidence in the author’s ability to facilitate this project. The researchers used and analyzed data from several sources in order to understand the effectiveness of this intervention. Given the first research question “How does the SDM framework support student learning of connections between local and global effects of climate change?” the overall framework for assessing final projects in which students completed their own SDM entailed a detailed rubric with the following categories. Each students’ hometown project received a score based on a scale from 0 to 4. Each of the evaluated criteria (adapted from the work of Romine et al., 2020) consisted of the following categories:

7  From Local to Global: An Exploration of the Pre-service Teacher’s Perceptions…

103

(a) Define the nature of the problem—What is the problem as you see it and why does it matter to you? (b) Why is this issue happening and what outcomes might you desire? (c) List at least two possible courses of action that your community could take to mitigate the problem defined in part A. (d) Describe the consequences of each option that you describe in the previous step and identify the possible pros and cons of each option. What does the science tell us might be the effects of each particular outcome? (e) Identify the choice that you will recommend from the previous step, and this should be the step that you think is optimal based on statements from the previous step. (f) Self-Reflection—What do you think of the decision you made? Is it the best possible course of action? Are there any other options that require evaluation? (g) Describe in at least five to seven sentences what you think the connection between the issue is at a local level to a global level. How might you explain this to members of your local hometown community? The Global Learning Value Rubric (AAC & U, 2016) was also used as a tool for data collection and analysis; however, this is not intended for grading. This rubric assesses global learning values based on three core principles which entail students becoming (1) informed, open-minded, and responsible for being attentive to diversity across a multitude of contexts, (2) understand how their actions can impact both local and global communities, and (3) address the world’s most pressing and enduring issues collaboratively and equitably (AAC & U, 2016). The design also included a useful framework for creating a progressive exploration of problems in a global context as studied through multiple frames of reference and disciplinary approaches that demonstrate one’s commitment to the development of a sustainable world. This use of this rubric allows for scoring student artifacts based on a scale from zero to four. If the student does not meet benchmark level one performance, they receive a score of zero. The other two categories include Milestone (levels 2 and 3) and Capstone (level 4). The categories described below explain the judgment used for capstone level criteria for this rubric: 1. Global Self-Awareness—Effectively addresses significant issues in the natural and human world based on one’s identity in a global context. 2. Perspective Taking-Evaluates and applies diverse perspectives within natural and human systems in the face of potential conflicting positions (i.e., cultural and ethical) 3. Cultural Diversity-Applies multiple worldviews, experiences, and power structures while initiating interactions with other cultures to address important global problems. 4. Personal and Social Responsibility-Takes informed and responsible action to address ethical, social, and environmental challenges in global systems and evaluates the local and broader consequences of individual and collective interventions.

104

L. B. Collins

5. Understanding Global Systems—Uses deep knowledge of the historic and contemporary role and substantial effects of human organizations and actions on global systems to develop and advocate for appropriate action to solve complex problems in the human and natural worlds. 6. Applying Knowledge to Contemporary Global Contexts-Applies knowledge and skills to supplement sophisticated, appropriate, and workable solutions to address complex global problems using interdisciplinary perspectives independently or with others. The second research question asked, “How does the use of local literature and students’ cultural values influence preservice teacher’s global perceptions of climate change risk? This entailed collecting students’ daily reflections that consisted of the prompts described in the description of innovation above and coding these responses to identify themes within the data related to the cultural values and perception of climate change risk that students describe in each of their responses. The collection of these reflections at the end of lecture allowed time so students could build on their reflections after class discussion if they needed revisions. The author of this paper returned to the data again 1 month later with a second coder to compare validity of the findings (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005).

7.4 Results Our data offered exciting results and this section will describe the effectiveness of this intervention as a support for developing students’ global competence by using global learning outcomes and climate change risk. The first research question asked, how does the SDM framework and local examples of literature support student learning of global climate change? To answer this question, we conducted a coding analysis of student artifacts and SDM Frameworks to identify the levels in which students demonstrated each of the following criteria. The following table demonstrates the distributions of scores on each outcome evaluated by the rubric published by AAC & U (Table 7.1). Table 7.1  Percentages of scores on each dimension of the VALUE Rubric from AAC & U

Global self-awareness Perspective taking Cultural diversity Personal and social responsibility Understanding global systems Applying knowledge to contemporary global contexts

Capstone (4) 14% 11% 9% 18%

Milestones (3) 30% 31% 28% 38%

Milestones (2) 36% 34% 38% 40%

Benchmark (1) 20% 24% 25% 4%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

18% 18%

34% 46%

38% 26%

10% 10%

100.0% 100.0%

7  From Local to Global: An Exploration of the Pre-service Teacher’s Perceptions…

105

The following results present the undergraduates’ reasoning, as displayed on their SDM frameworks. Student learning about climate change receives an assessment from their SDM Frameworks in five dimensions. Based on the work of (Owens et al., 2019), student learning about global climate change was based on their socioscientific reasoning skills related to the following constructs: complexity, perspective-­taking, inquiry, skepticism, and affordances of science. The following tables offer definitions (Table 7.2) and results (Table 7.3) for each subconstruct. Overall, 72% of participants were able to make at least one explicit connection between the local environmental problem of their choice and its relationship with global climate change. The identification of these relationships occurred when the students explicitly stated the cause of the issue they were investigating and how the science behind their issue affects other communities in different regions of the world. Their responses align with the following AAC&U’s outcome measures: (1) become informed, open-minded, and responsible people who are attentive to diversity across the spectrum of differences, (2) seek to understand how their actions affect both local and global communities, and (3) address the world’s most pressing and enduring issues collaboratively and equitably. Examples of Devin and Judy demonstrate these relationships: Devin: I am sorta different from everyone in this class. I am from West Texas and a bigger issue for me are droughts. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t be concerned about floods. The extended hotter, drier summers have made Table 7.2  Definition of sub-constructs related to socio-scientific reasoning skills SSR dimension Definition Complexity Climate change is a complex problem that is open-ended, lack simple solution, and the solution cannot be achieved with recognizing a multitude of factors Perspective-­ Solutions to climate change may be viewed differently based on the vested taking interests of different stakeholders which involve scientific and non-scientific viewpoints. Inquiry The problem is ongoing and research on solutions are going, while attempts to minimize uncertainty are investigated. Skepticism Information sources are critically examined for trustworthiness with the integration of social and scientific factors. Affordances of Science cannot account for all limitations related to socioscientific issues and science as compared to other implications such as ethical and social which may be important for pursuing resolutions to socioscientific issues. Table 7.3  Percentage of scores across each dimension of socio-scientific reasoning skills Complexity Perspective-taking Inquiry Skepticism Affordances of science

0 6% 0% 12% 24% 0%

1 12% 8% 16% 4% 12%

2 6% 28% 44% 40% 28%

3 40% 40% 8% 20% 44%

4 36% 24% 20% 12% 16%

106

L. B. Collins

water scarcity much worse in my hometown. A lot of people and me are aware of this issue so we do what we can which means conserving the amount of water we use. Finding ways to conserve water or transport water to areas stricken by drought is one way to help people in my community and other parts of the world. Climate change has caused our summers to be longer, hotter, and drier. This is similar to the example we talked about in class. The people in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa have longer periods of drought. I think it is much harder on them though because the poverty is also likely much worse than it is here. Just another way that climate change hurts the poor more than the rich. Working with other countries and states on this would be a great step forward. Judy: When I was growing up, flooding seemed rather than normal. I was born in 2002 and was a baby during Hurricane Katrina. I would always see streets partially flooded, but the waters never got that bad. In the last few summers especially and into hurricane season, the rains have been more intense and the flooding now extends from the streets into people’s yards. As we learned, this is primarily due to climate change. More water is getting dumped on us and it only has the choice to runoff more than infiltrate. This was similar to the catastrophic flooding that we learned about Germany and Belgium because those areas are not used to intense floods. A changing climate has impacted us, but big energy industries are the root of the problem and they make poorer people absorb more of the impact. I think countries talking to each other about climate change is very important. That may lead us to being able to find an approach that will help mitigate the problem so catastrophic floods do not continue to be so common and/ or happen in places where they are least expected. The second research question asked, “How does the use of local literature and students cultural values shape preservice teacher’s desires for action on climate change? This question entailed analyzing the reflections of students as they described the values that inspire them to want action on climate change. To answer this question, the author coded student responses to understand the social and cultural values that students were drawing on which may prompt them to advocate for climate change in their local communities. Second, the author did a follow-up analysis on the SDM frameworks to understand student’s ability to reflect on the connection between their local issue of choice and global climate change. These themes revealed where participants placed value on the needing for enacting mitigation efforts in a climate-changed south. Values that emerged from this coding analysis included family and preservation of land for future communities, environmental justice, and religion. Table 7.4 describes the definitions for each major theme and Table 7.5 presents the distribution of codes across these data.

7  From Local to Global: An Exploration of the Pre-service Teacher’s Perceptions…

107

Table 7.4  Definitions of student values related to perception of climate change Themes Family and preservation of land Environmental justice

Religion

Definition This value reflects one’s contemplation on the importance of family and the connection one feels toward family owned lands. This value reflects one’s recognition that climate change is a threat multiplier. Those of higher socioeconomic status perpetuate this issue; however, minorities and/or those of lower socioeconomic status absorb most of the impact. This value reflects one’s recognition of their religious beliefs and how their religious beliefs call for them to care for others and the environment.

Table 7.5  Distribution of codes related to student values across each reflection

Reflection 1 Reflection 2 Reflection 3 Reflection 4 Total

Theme 1: Family and preservation of land 11 (37.9%) 10 (40.0%) 13 (34.2%) 15 (33.3%) 49 (35.8%)

Theme 2: Environmental justice 6 (20.7%) 4 (16.0%) 7 (18.4%) 9 (20.0%) 26 (18.9%)

Theme 3: religion 12 (41.4%) 11 (44.0%) 18 (47.4%) 21 (46.7%) 62 (45.3%)

Total 29 25 38 45 137 (100%)

7.4.1 Family and Preservation of Land The first major theme that emerged was “family and preservation of land.” This code identified when participants described how the environmental issue they chose to investigate related to their family and how it would impact land within their family’s ownership. The code also captured any time they reflected on other areas of land that their families found value in, but did not necessarily own. Participants may have reflected on areas of land that their parents or close relatives owned or land with considerable valuable to them or past generations. This can also be described as geologic heritage where one recognizes the scientific, aesthetic, cultural, and/or other related values that a landscape can have (Clary, 2021). The following accounts from Rachel and Vivian demonstrated this: Rachel: My mom always talked about how visiting the Mississippi River was important to her. Lately, it looks even more muddy and how sediment pollution has only increased. It is sad to see a river that we value so much an area to recreate it become even more smelly and polluted due to increases in flooding. Our family has loved coming here for the last four generations, but the beauty of it seems to only fade.

108

L. B. Collins

Vivian: Lately, it is not uncommon for the street in front of my house to flood. The floods seem to happen more frequently each year. My mom’s parents lived in the house before we did so the house and property mean a lot to us. Despite this meaning, it is still hard to live here with the ongoing threat of water ending up in our house.

7.4.2 Environmental Justice The second major theme that emerged from the data related to environmental justice. This code identified when the reflection focused one’s recognition that climate change is a threat multiplier. Furthermore, those of higher socioeconomic status may perpetuate this issue, but minorities and/or those of lower socioeconomic status absorb most of the impact. The following two descriptions from Carol and Betty exemplify this theme: Carol: As Catherine Coleman Flowers describes in her book, rural black communities have often been ignored when their needs for basic sanitation are ignored. I have lived in Alabama all of my life and I can see how this is such a big problem. Rich, white people have the ability to escape poverty and areas where flooding may be happening. Most poor, Black people do not which is why I think these people need help. Betty: It really saddens me how many of the black people in my community have homes that they cannot afford to fix. Their yards normally have the most floodwaters in them. Those waters are places where pests can thrive making it a threat to their health. You don’t see this in other areas of the region. We cannot blame the people who live there, but we can blame our government for not helping them. If only they had money like rich companies, they might actually be able to get the help they need.

7.4.3 Religion The last major theme that emerged from this data related to religion. This code identified when students reported on the importance of their religion and faith as a mode for wanting action on climate change. Furthermore, this theme reflects a student’s ability to view religion as complements of another versus being against one another. This theme was also evident when one reflects on how their religious beliefs call for them to care for others and the environment. Most students reported Christianity as their primary religion. While this data was not officially collected in a survey, students self-reported their religious beliefs in reflections. The following two quotes from Regina and Merle reflect this theme from the reflections:

7  From Local to Global: An Exploration of the Pre-service Teacher’s Perceptions…

109

Regina: I think the Ecotheology book really showed me how I can be a Christian and love science for the betterment of my community. While our surrounding ­community continues to be impacted by increases in flooding and water pollution, I think, as a Christian, that I should try to help other people and do my part to help with what is causing this. I didn’t believe in climate change before, but I see now why we are the cause and why Christians are called to help each other by advocating for change. Merle: I may think that one little change in my community may have no effect, but it actually can. The change we want can also help other people in the world since climate change impacts everyone. I love being a Christian and I think this is reason enough to want climate change to be addressed. It is my hope that others will feel the same way I do. I have not always felt this way, but it was helpful to see how science and religion can work together.

7.5 Changes to Innovation This action research study provides support for the SDM and primary literature to serve as pedagogical tools in preservice science teacher education. Foremost, these tools can support students’ conceptions of how scientific knowledge develops, fosters growth in their decision-making skills, and recognizes the global aspects of science education, which can support pre-service teachers in internationalizing science learning their future classroom. Climate change is an excellent topic for teaching these ideas as climate change is a complex societal issue that needs more than just instruction on science content. Teaching about climate change as a societal issue can also support future generations in having a voice for strategies that will support climate mitigation and adaptation at the local and global levels. While the results offered insight on the efficacy of this intervention, there are also ways in which this intervention could be modified for future use. In the future, modification of this innovation could proceed in several ways. First and foremost, the study sought to understand how utilizing a SDM framework and local examples of literature could shape student perceptions of climate change. Second, the study examined student abilities to identify connections between local and global examples of the consequences related to climate change. When using the SDM framework, students are working through a framework that helps reduce cognitive bias and supports them in developing their decision-making skills. However, an important question to ask is what decision-making skills are students actually drawing upon when participating in this intervention? The type of decision-making skill that students engage in may vary by the type of problem they are investigating, their socioeconomic status, and their current level of global competence. A future use of this intervention may involve conducting an analysis of the SDM frameworks to code or identify the specific types of decision-making skills that students are engaging in when working through the analysis of a local issue of their choice. The

110

L. B. Collins

instructor could also choose to identify and define specific types of decision-making skills with students for their use in the future. Another modification to this intervention might entail investigating partnerships with other schools, internationally or nationally. Conducting an intervention, such as the one described in this chapter with other schools, may provide stronger insights into the factors that shape how one’s perceptions of climate change develop. This may be true because students can experience exposure to interactions with students in other parts of the world in which they are not familiar. Providing them with this opportunity would also enable them to develop stronger ICC as they communicate with others about the values that they mutually share which may inspire them to promote the need for climate change action in their communities. Another interesting finding is that the group of participants in this study reflected on the importance of their faith and Christianity to their personal lives. As this project demonstrates, it is possible for students to identify ways in which science and religion can co-exist. While there were 29 codes reflected in the data, these were codes which showed how participants were proud of their Christian faith and the importance of helping others. As individuals recognized that their faith proclaims they should love one another as they do themselves, this was a comment that several students made. Specifically, they viewed the need for action on climate change as a path towards helping their neighbors. It would be interesting to expand this study and investigate examples of literature from other authors who may be Muslim or another religion to compare findings and identify what relationships may exist between other religions and their ability to identify the importance of action on climate change. Similar trade books that are described above can also be used to identify global connections. In conclusion, small interventions such as the one described using the SDM and local examples of place-based literature can be useful pedagogical tools for supporting climate change literacy and developing globally competent learners. As the results suggest, students can learn how to identify connections within their communities to global scientific phenomenon. Utilizing these types of interventions in pre-service teacher education courses will provide the teacher with training in how to teach. In addition, the effect can be more as the students who have these pre-­ service teachers in the future will also learn skills that will promote their ability to be globally competent learners. As past research has suggested, children can shape the perceptions of their parents and one strong move toward collective action could be the incorporation of more interventions such as these in pre-service teacher courses so that many individuals and various stakeholders can benefit from learning about climate change and the values that others have which inspire them to desire action on climate change.

7  From Local to Global: An Exploration of the Pre-service Teacher’s Perceptions…

111

References American Psychological Association, APA Task Force on Climate Change. (2022). Addressing the climate crisis: An action plan for psychologists, Report of the APA task force on climate change. Retrieved June 15, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/science/about/publications/ climate-­­crisis-­action-­plan.pdf. Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2016). Global learning VALUE rubric. In D. M. Whitehead (Ed.), Essential global learning (pp. 30–31). AAC&U. Barnes, M.  E., & Brownell, S.  E. (2018). Experiences and practices of evolution instructors at Christian universities that can inform culturally competent evolution education. Science Education, 102(1), 36–59. Boon, H. J. (2016). Pre-service teachers and climate change: A stalemate? Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 41(4), 39–63. Clary, R. M. (2021). A critical review of Texas, USA fossil park sites and implications for global geoheritage sites. International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks, 9(1), 82–92. Coleman Flowers, Catherine. (2020). Waste: One woman’s fight against America’s dirty secret. The New Press. Dauer, J. M., Lute, M. L., & Straka, O. (2017). Indicators of informal and formal decision-making about a socioscientific issue. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 5(2), 124–138. Deardorff, D.  K. (2012). Human values continuum. In K.  Berardo & D.  K. Deardorff (Eds.), Building cultural competence: Innovative activities and models (pp.  126–127). Stylus Publishing. Deardorff, D. K. (2017). The big picture of intercultural competence assessment. In Intercultural competence in higher education (pp. 124–133). Routledge. Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). The sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). Ennes, M., Lawson, D. F., Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., & Jones, M. G. (2021). It’s about time: Perceived barriers to in-service teacher climate change professional development. Environmental Education Research, 27(5), 762–778. Jorgenson, K.  A., & Padgett, A.  G. (2020). Ecotheology: A Christian conversation. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Mosher, S., & Keane, C. (Eds.). (2021). Vision and change in the geosciences: The future of undergraduate geoscience education. American Geosciences Institute. National Science Teachers Association. (2018). Position statement on the teaching of climate science. Retrieved June 15, 2022, from https://www.nsta.org/nstas-­official-­positions/ teaching-­climate-­science NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next generation science standards. National Academies Press. Retrieved June 15, 2022 from https://www.nextgenscience.org/ Nisbet, M. C., & Mooney, C. (2007). Framing science. Science, 316(5821), 56. Owens, D. C., Herman, B. C., Oertli, R. T., Lannin, A., & Sadler, T. D. (2019). Secondary science and mathematics teachers’ environmental issues engagement through socioscientific reasoning. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, 15(6), 1–27. Romine, W. L., Sadler, T. D., Dauer, J. M., & Kinslow, A. (2020). Measurement of socio-­scientific reasoning (SSR) and exploration of SSR as a progression of competencies. International Journal of Science Education, 42(18), 2981–3002. Tichnor-Wagner, A., & Manise, J. (2019). Globally competent educational leadership: A framework for leading schools in a diverse, interconnected world. ASCD & the Longview Foundation. UNFCCC. (2015). Paris agreement (FCCC/CP/2015/L.9). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals Van Noy, R. (2020). Sudden spring: Stories of adaptation in a climate-changed south. The University of Georgia Press.

Chapter 8

Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development in an Elementary Science Teaching Methods Course Allison Freed

8.1 Introduction We live in a global society where citizens face global problems such as climate change, water shortages, and pandemic-level illnesses. It is paramount that teacher educators take on the responsibility of preparing teachers to be aware of the skills needed to prepare tomorrow’s global citizens and decision-makers. This project was completed as an effort to internationalize science education in rural communities around the United States. The study aimed to implement global competence standards, activities, and lessons to prepare pre-service teachers to become more globally aware and then be ready to teach their K-12 students to be more globally minded. Despite being responsible for preparing children to live in a globalized world, teachers are ill-prepared to bring global events, ideas, and viewpoints into the classroom (Carter, 2020). This happens because teachers are unlikely to complete a cultural exchange, study away or study abroad experience during their university teacher training. According to The Institute of International Education (IIE) Fast Facts (2021), over the last 20 years, undergraduate students studying education consistently make up only 3–4% of the U.S. students that study abroad. There are various reasons for the lack of international experience for pre-service teachers. Education students must complete comprehensive, full programs of study that are mandated and evaluated by the state and national departments and organizations. They also have many required field experiences in schools. These mandated requirements make it difficult for pre-service teachers to find the time and support to complete an international experience. Even though traveling abroad is an ideal way to develop global and cultural competencies (Freed et  al., 2019), the feasibility of A. Freed (*) University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_8

113

114

A. Freed

completing a study abroad program, as well as the cost of such programs, make it an unrealistic option for many pre-service teachers (Parkhouse et al., 2015; Kerkhoff et al., 2021). In addition, teacher education programs focus on content-specific concepts and content standards, not specific cultural or global standards, to help prepare students for a globalized world. Thus, only a subset of preservice teachers gets this exposure. Often, global competence skill, knowledge, and disposition development become an add-on instead of an integrated part of the overall program of study. Ongoing professional development focused on global competence development and cultural components should be an essential part of the overall training of teachers (Carter, 2020; Kerkhoff et al., 2021). Effective professional development requires long-term planning, assessment, and integration of experiences and reflection that allow pre-­ service teachers the opportunity to build the competencies necessary for teaching global competence. Teacher preparation programs at universities in rural settings have additional challenges in implementing global competence initiatives. According to Anthony-­ Stevens et  al. (2017), research on teacher preparation programs in rural settings “indicates there is little emphasis placed on preparing teachers to understand the complexities of cultural and linguistic diversity in their students” (p. 2). The lack of emphasis on diversity includes geographic isolation and the presumption that rural areas lack diverse populations (Panelli et al., 2009). In contrast, rural settings, especially in Arkansas, where this study occurred, are considered global. Arkansas is the home to the headquarters of global companies such as Tyson Foods and Walmart. In addition, rural communities in Arkansas are increasingly diverse, with communities of immigrants and refugees across the state. In 2019, Arkansans identified as 79% white, 16% black, 8% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% two or more races, 1% Native American, and 0.4% Pacific Islander. Pacific Islander and Hispanic groups saw the most significant percent growth in their populations from 2000 to 2019 (Smithwick, n.d.). This information further emphasizes the importance of including an internationalized curriculum in teacher preparation programs. According to the Longview Foundation (2008), globally competent teachers can use their developed global skills and understandings to impact their pedagogy, assisting their students in developing global competence. Internationalizing teacher education can assist pre-service teachers in gaining the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to teach their students to be productive global citizens (Longview Foundation, 2008; Kerkhoff & Cloud, 2020). To teach an internationalized curriculum, pre-service teachers “first need to develop intercultural sensitivity and competence themselves, to understand the viewpoints and perspectives of others properly” (Carter, 2020, p.  28). According to Tichnor-Wagner et  al. (2019), global competence is a set of knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to “thrive in a diverse, globalized society” (p. 3). The study examined the impact of using the topic of water as a conduit to studying the global implications of water use on the development of global competencies in elementary pre-service teachers. In the study, we developed a 6-week water unit examining the water cycle, including the social and cultural components of water use. The unit included the impact climate change has on water resources worldwide.

8  Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development…

115

The Globally Competent Learning Continuum (GCLC) survey (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2019) was used as a pre-and post-self-assessment for the pre-service teachers to examine and reflect upon their global dispositions and ability to use global issues in their planning and instruction. In addition, after activities, lessons, and international guest speaker events highlighted the water cycle as a global community resource, the pre-service teachers developed an elementary-level unit aligned to at least one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The units were analyzed using the Global Learning VALUE rubric (AAC&U, 2014). The research questions were: 1. How will implementing global water concepts influence elementary pre-service teachers’ global competence development? 2. How will implementing global science concepts influence pre-service teachers’ implementation of global competence skills in developing an elementary global science unit plan?

8.2 Methods Action research (Clark et al., 2020) was used in this study to provide a framework for analyzing and managing the impacts of implementing experiences and activities that included a global competence component in a science teaching methods course. The methods course had 13 students, with 12 participating in the study. The course was named Teaching Methods for STEAM and is the second of two science teaching courses that elementary and secondary science methods students take to complete their degree. The course emphasized integrating science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics into a science curriculum. Most of the students in the class were elementary pre-service teachers. The implementation of the unit was a collaborative effort between two faculty members at two institutions. Instruction was hybrid, including synchronous and asynchronous online sessions and in-person class meetings. Before the spring semester began, the two instructors met weekly to discuss the plan for the 6-week unit. The focus was on internationalizing the science methods curriculum to develop pre-service teachers’ global competence and skills needed to implement internationalized science lessons with their students. The instructors settled on the topic of water as a global resource. We determined that using the Sustainable Development Goals (The United Nations, n.d.) was an important foundation to begin our class discussions about internationalizing rural science education.

8.2.1 Innovation After a series of discussions about this project, we determined that water was one of the most globally connected resources. The innovation was to use the GCLC (Tichnor-Wagner et  al., 2019) and Sustainable Development Goals (The United

116

A. Freed

Nations, n.d.) to create a 6-week water and sanitation unit. The unit began with a focus on the fundamentals of global competence and an introduction to Sustainable Development Goals (The United Nations, n.d.). As the weeks passed, the focus shifted to applying the goals and competencies to interact with an international Biologist and complete a Project WET (Project WET Foundation, 2011) lesson called The Poison Pump focused on historic challenges regarding water sanitation and water-borne disease in London. Finally, students were asked to produce a water-­ focused unit aligned to water and water sanitation using a backward design unit plan. Students chose from five broad options: watersheds, oceans, river systems, groundwater, or lakes. Students were given 6 weeks to brainstorm and write their lessons. The instructors provided three different online and in-person drop-in sessions to provide students with guidance and help as they created their units. The units were presented to the class and turned in as their final exam. Units were analyzed using the Global Learning VALUE rubric (AAC&U, 2014). Students were asked to reflect on their understanding of the presented concepts throughout the innovation. At the end of the class, as another way to analyze the innovation, students were asked to complete the GCLC survey (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2019) again with additional questions about the various lessons and components of the unit that influenced their global competence development. Table  8.1 outlines the activities and assignments with titles, dates, and descriptions.

8.2.2 Data Sources GCLC Survey (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2019) measured students’ teacher dispositions, knowledge, and skills concerning global competence. Students selected their level of understanding or activity for each item ranging from advanced to nonexistent. Table 8.2 provides sample questions under each category. The survey included the pre-and post-measure of development and growth throughout the 6-week action research study. Students took the survey before the unit started; they reflected on their answers shortly after taking the survey. We asked them to identify areas for improvement and research ways to take action to develop at least the next level of competence. For instance, if a student initially scored at the beginner level, they were asked to examine the progressing level to determine what they may do to develop the skills, knowledge, or dispositions. They reflected on their analysis and research using Flip, formerly Flipgrid, a video reflection tool. The VALUE rubric for global learning developed and validated by the AAC&U was used to evaluate the science unit plan that students completed in small groups. The VALUE rubric was selected for its validity in measuring global learning in undergraduate students. It was used to analyze the preservice teachers’ ability to create a series of experiences for their students to enhance their global learning experience. The rubric had four possible scores for each category. A zero signified

8  Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development…

117

Table 8.1  Course Structure, timeline, and class assignments for the course Class assignment GCLC pre-survey Globally competent learning continuum reflection Flip discussion

Date assigned Early march March 31

Create an infographic on one sustainable development goals (The United Nations, n.d.) and have a group discussion with two other students about using the goals in teaching and learning

April 5, 7

Sustainable development Flip reflection/discussion

April 7

Guest lecture with Peruvian biologist: Impacts of tropical glacial melt on water quality

April 12

Sketchnotes on water sanitation sustainable development goal

April 14

Reflection on Poison Pump Lesson (Project WET Foundation, 2011) Water topic unit for elementary science-VALUE rubric on global learning (AAC&U, 2014)

April 14

GCLC post survey

May 3

Assigned: April 7 Due: May 3

Description Students completed the GCLC survey. Students were asked to reflect via Flip on their responses to the GCLC survey. Students identified areas for improvement and read the description for the next highest level to understand what they needed for growth. They described how they would take action using the resources linked to the next highest level. Students explored the sustainable development goals. They created an infographic with the appropriate information about the goals. They collaborated with classmates to determine how to use the goals in their teaching practices. Students watched a TED talk about the sustainable development goals and completed a discussion post. Students watched and read about the goals to better understand how they were used around the world. Students watched a video describing the work of Peruvian biologist Dr. Raúl Loayza Muro. They developed one question about his water purification work due to melting tropical glaciers. In preparation for the poison pump lesson and reflection, we asked students to watch a series of TED talks and read articles about water sanitation worldwide. We asked them to take sketch notes to show their understanding of the videos and articles. Then they shared their notes with a partner from class. The partner added notes. Reflection/formative assessment survey used after the poison pump lesson. Students collaborated with two other students to create a water topic unit that included global competence standards. The students also presented their units. The unit and presentation were analyzed using the VALUE rubric on global learning. Students retook the GCLC survey. The survey included reflection questions on the impact of the assignments throughout the globalized portion of the unit.

118

A. Freed

Table 8.2  Globally competent learning continuum survey sample items (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2019, p. 25, 76, 142) Category Teacher dispositions

Teacher knowledge

Teacher practices

Sample Items Empathy and valuing other perspectives Nascent: I have not yet explored how my personal beliefs have shaped my worldview. Beginner: I can identify my personal beliefs and experiences and recognize how they shape my view of the world. I recognize that I might hold stereotypes. Progressing: I understand that my beliefs and experiences are not universally shared. I can identify the influences that shape how others and I view the world. I am willing to explore the experiences and perspectives of people who challenge my beliefs. Proficient: I recognize biases and limitations of my own perspective and those of others’ perspectives. I recognize how my personal beliefs influence my decisions as a teacher. I empathize by seeking to understand the perspectives of others. Advanced: I challenge my personal assumptions to understand viewpoints that differ from my own. I value diverse perspectives, including those that challenge my own. Understanding of the ways that the world is interconnected Nascent: I have not yet considered the ways the world is interconnected. Beginner: I recognize that our world is interconnected and interdependent (e.g., economically, socially, culturally, and environmentally). I recognize that the ways in which the world is interconnected are constantly changing. Progressing: I understand ways that a global issue impacts my local context (including myself, my students, and my local community). I understand ways that a global issue impacts cultures or nationalities from my own. Proficient: I can explain ways that global issues impact my local context and individuals in other nations. I can explain global influences on local issues and local influences on global issues. Advanced: I can critically analyze ways that global interconnectedness contributes to inequities within and between nations. I can explain how actions I take at the local, national, or international level address inequities related to our interconnected world. Create a classroom environment that values diversity and global engagement Nascent: I do not yet consider global issues or diverse perspectives and cultures in my classroom. Beginner: I discuss global engagement and valuing of diverse perspectives and cultures in my classroom. Progressing: I engage students in learning about other cultures by emphasizing the relevance of global issues to students’ lives. I teach my students to respect diverse perspectives and cultures. My classroom contains resources that represent multiple global perspectives. Proficient: I teach my students to respect and learn from diverse perspectives and cultures. I provide opportunities for students to collaboratively discuss global issues. I consistently encourage students to use resources in my classroom for global learning. Advanced: I help my students develop a concern for global issues, an interest in learning more about diverse cultures, and a desire to take action.

8  Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development…

119

a work sample that did not meet the benchmark level. The lowest score was one, meaning the student was at the benchmark level. The milestone level was two and three. The capstone was level four. The constructs evaluated in the rubric are global self-awareness, perspective-taking, cultural diversity, personal and social responsibility, understanding of global systems, and applying knowledge to the contemporary global context. This instrument provided a standard measure of students’ ability to integrate global learning into their teaching practices at the planning level. Each instructor evaluated each unit plan by using the global learning rubric. After an iterative process, we provided students with a score. The process included discussions concerning contrary scores. We determined that our inter-rater reliability was at 100% agreement across constructs. We recognize the limitation of using this rubric because of the grain size issue. The VALUE rubric was developed as a programmatic, summative assessment. We used it as an evaluation tool for a small-scale course-level summative assessment (AAC&U, 2014). The unit was assigned, asking students to create an internationalized unit on the Sustainable Development Goals (The United Nations, n.d.) on water and sanitation. Students were to create a backward design unit plan that included a five to ten-day unit. The directions asked students to select a water topic (i.e., watersheds, oceans, river systems). They were instructed to integrate global competence and global examples into the science topics for elementary-aged children.

8.3 Findings Overall, the pre-service teachers increased their global competence. Based on the self-report GCLC (Tichnor-Wagner et  al., 2019) survey, the pre-service teachers shifted their understanding of each component during the 6-week intervention. In each of the three components of the GCLC, teacher knowledge, teacher dispositions, and teaching skills, there was a shift from nascent to beginner to progressing, proficient, and advanced. As outlined in Fig.  8.1, 38.9% of the survey responses were in the nascent and beginner level in the pre-survey data. In the post-survey, only 8.3% of the respondents were nascent and beginners. The most significant shift was in the teacher skills component of global competence. Based on the survey results, participants reported an increase in skills such as integrating learning experiences for students that promote content-aligned explorations of the world; creating a classroom environment that values diversity and global engagement; facilitating intercultural and international conversations that promote active listening, critical thinking, and perspective recognition; creating a classroom environment that values diversity and global engagement.

120

A. Freed

Fig. 8.1  Pre and post-globally competent learning continuum (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2019) survey results

8.3.1 Assignments and Experiences According to the qualitative data, when asked to identify and explain one concept that stuck out to them throughout the unit, students mentioned topic-based ideas, assignments, experiences, and specific concepts surrounding the GCLC survey (Tichnor-Wagner et  al., 2019). Students mentioned that they learned more about making their elementary classroom more international by integrating global, cultural, and science topics into other subjects by connecting them to state standards. Olivia (pseudonym) mentioned, “I really liked learning how there are topics that could be integrated into the curriculum by teaching about current issues. That gave me perspective on the importance of being informed.” The GCLC survey also had an impact on students’ global competence development. Students mentioned the survey, reflection, perspective-taking, and integrating different languages into their classrooms. Stella said the survey stuck out most because she “realized what I needed to focus my time on more.” Flora realized she was already more globally minded, “I regularly seek resources from varied perspectives and find opportunities to stay informed on local and global issues.” The Peruvian Biologist lecture was a meaningful experience students took away from the unit. Luisa said, “The guest speaker we had provided insights and had so much knowledge to offer and expressed the difficulties encountered with COVID.  He explained the process of developing the app to help people learn how to test their water.” Luke said, “...he was talking about climate change, and I feel as a community we can make a small difference.”

8  Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development…

121

8.3.2 Unit Plans Students worked with one to two other students to complete the Global Unit Plan. There were five unit plans in total. Most students worked with at least one other person, while one worked alone. The unit plan themes ranged from life underwater to watersheds. Table 8.3 includes a brief description of each unit. Table 8.3  Student unit topics and descriptions Unit title Life underwater

Watersheds around the world

Students (pseudonyms) Olivia, Luisa, Emily

Aurora, Sarah, Clara

River systems Stella

Every drop counts

Luke, willow, Flora

Watersheds

Keri and Shannon

Unit description The unit focused on teacher knowledge and integrating science knowledge while examining global components. Using project-based learning strategies, the unit taught students to be more socially and globally aware of the ocean’s major issues. Students examined the mariculture practices of the Philippines as they considered the conservation of ocean ecosystems and life. This integrated unit used teaching practices and inquiry-­ based models to ask students to compare watersheds worldwide. Each lesson was developed to teach these concepts: Watersheds are natural water drainage systems, and watersheds around the world share the same functions and key features. This unit provided integrated experiences for students to examine the world. In addition, it introduced students to inquiry-based learning and pattern finding. Students were challenged with the task of monitoring and evaluating how the Arkansas River changed over time. Using maps of the Arkansas River, they observed patterns of erosion. Students were asked to discover the differences and similarities between different images of the river. Students were then asked to make predictions of river flow patterns. This unit integrated a variety of global competencies. The unit asked students to understand global and current events by exploring local water use. Using the inquiry model, students were grouped to collaborate to create an action plan for their research topic to help their school eliminate excessive water use. The students were also asked to collaborate to create a presentation of their action plan to share with the class. This unit introduced students to watersheds and how earth plays a part in them. Throughout the unit, the students were to identify watersheds locally and internationally. By the end of the lesson, students were able to explain the process of watersheds. During the last lesson, students took a trip to a local watershed which showed an example of creating a local partnership to examine a watershed in a real-world context.

122

A. Freed

Table 8.4  Global learning VALUE rubric results for each unit Personal and Global self Perspective Cultural social Understanding awareness taking diversity responsibility global systems

Applying knowledge to contemporary global context

Total

2

2

2

2

3

3

14

Watersheds 0 around the world

1

0

1

0

1

3

River systems

0

0

0

1

2

1

4

Every drop counts

4

1

1

4

3

2

15

Watersheds 2

0

1

0

2

1

6

Overall mean score

.8

.8

1.6

2

1.6

Unit plan description Life underwater

1.6

When evaluating students’ internationalized science units at the end of the semester, we used the VALUE rubric for Global Learning from AAC&U (2014). Table 8.4 presents the analysis.

8.3.3 Unit Plan Scores on the Global Learning VALUE Rubric A wide range of global learning outcomes were found upon analysis of the plans. The Every Drop Counts and the Life Underwater units earned the highest scores on the VALUE rubric (AAC&U, 2014), with 15 and 14, respectively. Watersheds Around the World had the lowest overall score, with a 3. The students showed a benchmark understanding of global systems through the unit plans with a mean of 2. This result means that the units examined historical and contemporary roles, interconnections, and actions of humans in global systems. For instance, The Life Underwater unit focused on marine biodiversity and how humans have impacted the biodiversity in the natural world while also considering ways humans created environments to support fish growth for food production. The River Systems unit concentrated on local river systems and how systems change over time, asking students to analyze river maps and make predictions for the future. Overall, global self-awareness, personal and social responsibility, and applying knowledge to contemporary global context had a mean of 1.6. Table 8.4 shows that, on average, the unit plans were at benchmark or close to a milestone of global learning. The unit plans showed connections between personal decision-making and local and global issues, the personal and social responsibility around divisions that have a global impact, and a basic understanding of global challenges. The Every Drop Counts Unit earned a 4  in global self-awareness and personal and social responsibility. The unit focused heavily on water conservation and how personal and school-wide efforts contribute to conserving water, which has a global impact.

8  Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development…

123

The most absent or lacking areas were perspective-taking and cultural diversity, with a mean of .8 each. Students needed help with including multiple perspectives in their unit plans. Only one unit plan was scored at two or a milestone in perspective-­ taking and cultural diversity. The unit must include experiences of others historically or in modern times through cultural perspectives demonstrating openness to varied cultures and worldviews to score at the benchmark or level one in cultural diversity. The Life Underwater unit received a score of two in cultural diversity. In the unit, elementary students considered mariculture using a specific example in the Philippines. In the unit, students considered conservation efforts within the context of culture. The unit focused on fishing habitats and how the Philippines uses fish farming to conserve marine fish populations.

8.4 Future Plans Using Global Competence Students took various things from the global competence unit on water and water sanitation. Of the 12 students who completed the post-survey, all devised ways to use the components from the global competence unit in their future teaching practice. The plans included using the exact unit in their future classroom, taking a broader perspective to concentrate on helping others, building partnerships with international partners, and adding the Sustainable Development Goals (The United Nations, n.d.) in lessons to increase competence in sustainability goals, and utilizing topics such as water in their curriculum. Students realized that international partnerships were possible even at the elementary level. Olivia, one of the students who created the Life Under Water unit, said, “I plan on using the resources provided to create interactive activities for my students. Creating partnerships was a big part of what I learned from this project.” She ultimately plans to create lessons focusing on integrating different perspectives and cultures. Other students were hoping to take action in their school and community. Flora, an author of the Every Drop Counts unit, stated, “I plan on leading my students and others in my school to act on issues of equity locally and globally. This is something that will stick with me and that I plan to act on in my classroom because it’s so important to educate students on inequities so they are aware of global issues. I plan on having guest speakers come into the classroom to further educate students.” Aurora, a co-author of the Watersheds Around the World unit, was also determined to take action in her classroom. She commented, “I will be able to use it by being aware of my actions and what I teach in my classroom to make my students feel comfortable. By being aware of one’s thoughts and assumptions, it helps in being able to change the teaching instruction in a positive manner.” The qualitative data also showed that students were committed to the practical nature of using the unit and the skills learned from the Global Competence unit in their teaching practices. Students mentioned bringing in guest speakers, including water in their classroom, using Sketchnotes, field trips, and project-based learning

124

A. Freed

to emphasize understanding further, bringing in students’ cultures, and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (The United Nations, n.d.) into lessons. For instance, Luisa, an author of Life Underwater, said, “I plan to use more hands-on lessons to help my students better understand a unit/lesson. For example, in all the hands-on activities and field trips, many groups presented their Unit plans presentation. Another thing I learned that I would use is drawing our notes from reading/ videos into just use in words.” Luke, a co-author of the Every Drop Counts unit, explained that he would use his unit because of the importance of the topic. He explained, “I would teach a lot about my final project on water conservation and how every drop of water counts because it is important to save and not waste what we have, like your gray water you could water your garden. I think it’s very important to save what we have.”

8.5 Conclusions and Recommendations A variety of things were gleaned from the experience of implementing global competencies in an elementary science methods course. The analysis uncovered challenges when trying to teach across institutions in different modalities. By teaching this course, we determined that we could use different pedagogical practices to enhance our students’ experience and the impact of the lessons on pre-service teachers’ global competence. The curriculum could be adjusted to support more in-depth reflection, and we could include additional instruction and experiences on perspective-­taking while using the Sustainable Development Goals (The United Nations, n.d.).

8.5.1 Course Structure Through the experience of teaching across two institutions, communication became a challenge. It was determined that streamlined, consistent communication is necessary for engagement. We learned to be more systematic about communication. Next time, Google Classroom will be used to organize materials and assignments. Through the study, it became apparent that co-teaching involves consistent and clear responsibilities. Based on the observations of student participation, students were less engaged than predicted. Teaching this class in a blended way required preparing students to learn online. The students in this study were from a primarily in-person liberal arts institution, hence not accustomed to learning partially online. Even though there was an improvement in many of the categories of the GCLC (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2019), there is still more that can be done to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of pre-service teachers. In addition, we only know students’ initial takeaways from the unit. The long-term impact of a one-time 6-week unit in a content teaching methods course is still unknown. Placing global

8  Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development…

125

competence in one part of the class was not enough for long-lasting development (Kerkhoff & Cloud, 2020). Global competence is a multifaceted construct involving a more integrated, long-term approach to developing the disposition, knowledge, and skills necessary to be a globally competent teacher (Tichnor-Wagner et  al., 2019). In the future rendition of the course, the concept of water and global competence will be discussed throughout as the main theme of the course. In addition, the teacher education program could also benefit from being more systematic in how it introduces and integrates global competence development. Using the survey items, one way to include global competence into the curriculum is to continually and systematically ask students to connect and reflect on how each science methods activity relates to their global competence development. We can also be more explicit in our instruction on empathy, communication, and how to create partnerships with international partners.

8.5.2 Curriculum Design and Content Although the short, internationalized science methods unit did result in self-reported improvements in global competence, there are suggested improvements to the curriculum in Table 8.5. First, we would internationalize the entire science teaching methods course. The semester would begin with students taking the survey during Table 8.5  Proposed improvements to the curriculum based on the action research findings Class assignment GCLC pre-survey

Proposed improvements Have students complete the survey at the beginning of the semester. Have an in-class discussion around the survey and their reflection. Sustainable development Require students to link the goals to local community issues and goals infographic challenges or initiatives. Guest lecture with Peruvian Include additional days of instruction about global climate change biologist and its impacts on local and global water quality and water sanitation. Sketchnotes on water Require students to include analysis and exploration of local water sanitation sustainable and water sanitation issues. Include a local water sanitation development goals professional presentation. Ask students to use ArcGIS story mapping to map the watersheds in their local communities. Reflection on poison pump Expand the lesson to include more in-depth science content instruction. Water topic unit for Have students evaluate a typical elementary science unit. In elementary science-VALUE addition, ask them to revise it to include global topics and themes. rubric on global learning Be more explicit in how we open the assignment and the VALUE rubric. GCLC post-survey Add an end-of-the-semester interview or focus group to discuss the different components of the semester concerning the survey. Ask about the impact each assignment had on students’ global competence and what kind of impact it had on them.

126

A. Freed

the first week. Next time, the entire semester would be organized around the theme of internationalizing science education, and the topic would be water and water sanitation. The theme and topic would be reflected in the science content, teaching assignments, and activities.

8.5.3 Class Assignments The live lecture by a prominent Peruvian Biologist studying the impacts of global climate change on water resources in remote Peruvian locations was a great start to having conversations about the impacts of climate change on water quality around the world. However, this part of the course could be improved. Climate change is an overarching global topic to use in preparation for a science methods class, especially around water. According to Mansilla and Jackson (2011), “to equip students to understand and live through the instability that will take place because of climate change, educators must help students understand the workings of the earth, why and how climate change (past and present) takes place, and what consequences it is likely to have on various habitats and ecosystems, including their own” (p. 6). The lecture gave students an expert perspective on innovatively finding solutions to water issues due to climate change. His international perspective gave students a new context for understanding how other countries are experiencing the fallout from the planet’s warming. The AAC&U VALUE rubric on Global Learning (2014) was used on a small-­ scale level, even though it was meant as a large-scale assessment. We recognized the limitation of using this rubric because of the grain size issue. This rubric was meant as a programmatic, summative assessment, and we used it as an evaluation tool for a course-level summative assessment. However, we found it helpful as we collected initial data on these students close to their internship experience at the end of their teacher education program. This tool provided the instructors with valuable information about how students interpreted the expectations of the final unit plan and their ability to integrate global competence activities within a science unit for elementary students. In the future, we will organize a debrief session to discuss the rubric more deeply. This will also allow students to practice using the rubric to evaluate sample unit plans. It would also help to provide students with our feedback early and how it could be improved.

8.5.4 Perspective Taking During conversations with students, we observed deficit thinking when discussing water resources and sanitation in other countries. After reflection, we determined that leaving these conversations unchecked without adequate investigation of the water challenges in the United States perpetuated deficit mindsets about other

8  Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development…

127

countries. Naturally, students compared their experiences with water to the experiences of others in the developing world. Many of our students had not experienced a water-borne illness or had limited access to clean water. The plan moving forward is to develop assignments and experiences around building a critical, multiple-­ perspective approach to water and water sanitation. A colleague recommended a book named Waste: A Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, written by Catherine Coleman Flowers (2020), about poor water sanitation practices in rural Alabama. Using Waste would provide students with an example of the water sanitation struggles in rural communities in the United States. Next time, the goal is to take a critical stance by decolonizing the approach to classroom discussions on water and water sanitation. According to Kerkhoff and Cloud (2020), decolonizing the global learning curriculum is necessary because it includes critical and resource-rich perspectives. When exploring global issues through a decolonized frame, students “seek to read, formulate, and address” (p. 2) events, perspectives, and challenges from the viewpoint of marginalized people. This decolonized frame will improve how the Sustainable Development Goals (The United Nations, n.d.) are presented, discussed, and used in the class. The plan is to consider an asset-minded approach to reduce the likelihood of a deficit mindset around water topics and Sustainable Development Goals (The United Nations, n.d.). The intention is to implement lessons about the goals, including how to present the goals and scaffold learning about the goals in a critical, resource-based way reducing the likelihood of perpetuating stereotypes and maintaining a deficit mindset while teaching global issues in the K-12 setting. Teacher educators must model how to implement critical, decolonized practices for pre-service teachers because, without it, the likelihood of perpetuating hierarchies and dominance is high, defeating the purpose of global learning (Kerkhoff & Cloud, 2020). The plan is to first focus students’ attention on local water challenges (O’Connor & Zeichner, 2011) relevant to our pre-service teachers’ socio-political context (Kerkoff & Cloud, 2020) and issues before exploring international water challenges. In addition to taking a critical stance, the plan is to implement the Project Zero Global Learning Thinking Routines (Mansilla, 2017). Using the routines will provide students with a foundation for understanding and critically thinking about global issues and challenges. Cultivating ongoing international partnerships is another way to maintain a critical stance on global science learning. Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) brings professors and students from different countries to collaborate on projects, coursework, and discussions through technology (SUNY COIL, n.d.). Students and professors collaborate around a complete theme or topic using online learning methodologies. In the next iteration of the course, the instructors could partner with an international university to discuss water and sanitation topics. This method could reduce the deficit mindset and increase the critical decolonization perspective because students can ask questions, inquire and hear first-hand experiences from peers. Two-way communication would also increase the likelihood of students developing the ability to create partnerships with international partners, communicate about international issues and challenges (Lui & Shirley, 2021), and

128

A. Freed

consider multiple perspectives (Appiah-Kubi & Annan, 2020) while teaching in the K-12 setting. What happened in this study examining one science methods course in rural America was a good start to developing long-lasting global competence in pre-service teachers. Based on the study results, the author proposes that teacher education programs establish a goal to develop global competencies throughout the program of study, not only in one class. The goal should be more systematic in approaching the lofty goal of developing globally competent teachers.

References Anthony-Stevens, V., Gehlken, E., Jones, C., Day, S., & Gussenhoven, S. (2017). ‘I am assumed to be someone who doesn’t have to deal with diversity’: Countering the denial of diversity in rural teacher education. Multicultural Education Review, 9(4), 270–288. https://doi.org/10.108 0/2005615X.2017.1383813 Appiah-Kubi, P., & Annan, E. (2020). A review of a collaborative online international learning. International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.3991/ijep. v10i1.11678 Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2014). Global learning VALUE rubric. https:// www.aacu.org/initiatives/value-­initiative/value-­rubrics/value-­rubrics-­inquiry-­and-­ananalysis. Carter, A. (2020). In search of the ideal tool for international school teachers to increase their global competence: An action research analysis of the global competence learning continuum. Journal of Research in International Education, 19(1), 23–37. Clark, J. S., Porath, S., Thiele, J, & Jobe, M, (2020). Action Research. NPP eBooks. 34. https:// newprairiepress.org/ebooks/34. Fast Facts. (2021). IIE open doors/fast facts. (2021, December 16). Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://opendoorsdata.org/fast_facts/fast-­facts-­2021/. Flowers, C. C. (2020). Waste: One woman’s fight against America’s dirty secret. The New Press. Freed, A., Benavides, A., & Huffling, L. (2019). Teaching, reflecting and learning: Exploring teacher education study abroad programs as transformational learning opportunities. In Pedagogy in basic and higher education-current developments and challenges. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88578b. Kerkhoff, S. N., & Cloud, M. E. (2020). Equipping teachers with globally competent practices: A mixed methods study on integrating global competence and teacher education. International Journal of Educational Research, 103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101629 Kerkhoff, S. N., Mardi, F., & Rong, H. (2021). An action research study on globally competent teaching in online spaces. In Handbook of research on the global empowerment of educators and student learning through action research (pp.  264–288). IGI Global. https://doi. org/10.4018/978-­6922-­1.ch012. Liu, Y., & Shirley, T. (2021). Without crossing a border: Exploring the impact of shifting study abroad online on students’ learning and intercultural competence development during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online Learning, 25(1), 182–194. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj. v25i1.2471 Longview Foundation. (2008). Teacher preparation for the global age: The imperative for change. Retrieved on 10 August 2022 from: https://longviewfdn.org/programs/ internationalizing-­teacher-­prep. Mansilla, V. B. (2017). Global thinking: An ID-global bundle to foster global thinking dispositions through global thinking routines, Project Zero, http://www.pz.harvard.edu/resources/global-­ thinking. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

8  Considering Water as a Global Resource: Global Competence Development…

129

Mansilla, V. B., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competency. New York: Asia Society. Retrieved from: http://asiasociety. org/files/book-global competency.pdf. O'Connor, K., & Zeichner, K. (2011). Preparing US teachers for critical global education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 9(3–4), 521–536. https://doi.org/10.1080/1476772 4.2011.605333 Panelli, R., Hubbard, P., Coombes, B., & Suchet-Pearson, S. (2009). De-centering white ruralities: Ethnic diversity, racialization and indigenous countrysides. Journal of Rural Studies, 25(4), 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2009.05.002 Parkhouse, H., Glazier, J., Tichnor-Wagner, A., & Montana Cain, J. (2015). From local to global: Making the leap in teacher education. International Journal of Global Education, 4(2), 10–29. http://www.ijge.net/index.php/ijge/article/view/20/20. Creative Commons Attribution-­ NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Project WET Foundation. (2011). Project WET curriculum and activity guide 2.0. Project WET Foundation. Smithwick, K. (n.d.). Aspire Arkansas. Aspire Arkansas. Retrieved August 8, 2022, from https:// www.aspirearkansas.org/. SUNY COIL. (n.d.). SUNY COIL Center. Retrieved August 16, 2022, from https://coil.suny.edu/. The United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 Goals. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://sdgs.un.org/goals. Tichnor-Wagner, A., Parkhouse, H., Glazier, J., & Cain, J. M. (2019). Becoming a globally competent teacher. ASCD.

Chapter 9

Connecting Local Questions to Global Issues: An Investigation with Elementary Pre-service Teachers Jessica Stephenson Reaves

9.1 Introduction Research shows that children can develop meaningful understanding of science ideas and processes when they engage in making sense of natural phenomena (Bang et al., 2017; National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Mathematics, 2022). Providing opportunities for pre-service teachers to observe and make sense of local science phenomena while modeling inquiry is important, but even more-so when considering pre-service teachers who are from rural areas, and who plan to teach in rural areas. The recognition of the dimensions of rural science knowledge and expertise are often under-valued (Avery, 2013), and as Avery and Kassam (2011) note, “have yet to be explored as a rich context for learning science.” Considering a rural context for learning draws heavily from place-based education (Smith & Sobel, 2010; Sobel, 2004) and utilizes local socioecological systems, involves students within the socioecological context, provides interdisciplinary opportunities for learning, and real-world applications of knowledge. However, our local interactions have global implications, and global interactions have local implications (Nespor, 2008), as we’ve seen and experienced first-hand over the last 3  years of a global pandemic. It is, indeed, a small world after all, which is reflected in changing demographics in US classrooms. The National Center for Education Statistics data from the 2018–2019 shows that roughly 47% of school students in the United States were White, while 79% of teachers identified as non-­ Hispanic White (Schaeffer, 2021). This is also evident in teacher education preparation programs, where we see pre-service teachers placed in increasingly diverse classrooms which require global competency and sensitivity to global contexts, J. Stephenson Reaves (*) Science Education at Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_9

131

132

J. Stephenson Reaves

including the “knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to thrive in a diverse, interconnected world” (Tichnor-Wagner & Manise, 2019, p. 2). Of interest to science educators, particularly those in pre-service elementary programs, how might we incorporate global issues and competencies for our students who come from rural places, while also investigating the content? Considering the Global Competence Matrix for Science (Mansilla & Jackson, 2011), if we focus on the competence of “investigating the world” and encourage students to “interpret and apply the results of a scientific inquiry to develop and defend an argument that considers multiple perspectives about a globally significant issue” (p. 106), could we combine our local content investigations with developing global competencies to make connections to global investigations in meaningful ways to encourage these habits of mind? Yet, at the same time, in an elementary pre-service teacher program, how do we push back against the notion of capitalistic globalization (Bencze & Carter, 2011) to provide our future teachers with the tools to be globally competent (Tichnor-Wagner & Manise, 2019), yet socioecologically responsible citizens (El Halwany et  al., 2021)? More specifically, how do we engage pre-service teachers in equitable sensemaking of science phenomena (Bang et al., 2017) by leveraging their local rural knowledge (Avery, 2013), while making connections to global issues in science education? To answer this question, I posed two interconnected research questions, both focusing on pre-service elementary teachers in a science content course about Earth and Life Sciences. First, how did pre-service teachers investigate local issues in ecology and sustainability and relate them to global contexts, and second, did connecting these local issues to global issues influence pre-service teacher understanding of global conditions and events? My goal for my pre-service teachers was to be able to pose an investigation question, recognize different perspectives, communicate their ideas, and to take action based on their investigations. These goals are also outlined in the Global Leadership rubric for Grade 3 (Asia Society, 2013), which are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States, 2013) and the disciplinary core ideas (DCI), science and engineering practices (SEP) and cross-cutting concepts (CCC) that are standards for the class (NRC, 2012). Specifically, my students engage in the science practices of asking questions, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing data, constructing explanations, engaging in argument from evidence, and communicating information as part of their learning throughout the course. Pre-service teachers use a modified Claim, Evidence and Reasoning framework (McNeill & Krajcik, 2011) to develop their argumentation and explanations of phenomena, and complete written and drawn models of phenomena to explain their reasoning. Because the goals for this content course are so closely tied to the NGSS, the Global Leadership Rubric for Grade 3 provided a good framework for incorporating global competencies into their science investigations.

9  Connecting Local Questions to Global Issues: An Investigation with Elementary…

133

9.2 Innovation The learning context in this case study is an elementary pre-service science teacher content course about Earth and Life Sciences. The course covers content from the classification of living things, cellular biology, genetics, evolution, plate tectonics and geology, to weather patterns, global currents, oceanography, seasonal fluctuations, Earth and Moon interactions, and human effects on the environment. When I began teaching this course, I made a conscious effort to use local examples to help students make connections to experiences they may have had, or to things they may have seen in their local ecosystems. We use native Georgia animals and plants for our classification activities, we study the Chattahoochee watershed when we discuss the water cycle, and we investigate the different ecosystems across the physiographic provinces of Georgia when we look for examples of the rock cycle. As I took this course on during the pandemic, we did many remote class sessions, and I utilized the Learning in Places (Learning in Places Collective, 2021) curriculum to engage students in “wondering walks” around their neighborhoods to work on making observations of phenomena we were discussing in class. During a wondering walk, students are encouraged to take time to notice things around them and write them down or discuss them with a partner. Their data could include weather conditions, the time of day, interesting plants or animals they observed, or any other questions they might wonder about as they explore their communities. Students took wondering walks every 2 weeks, some with a specific prompt to observe and wonder about, from noticing where the Sun is located in the sky at different times of day, or how the moon might look over the course of a week, to observing water and where water might collect or flow. These observations were collected in an online collaborative journal where students could see and comment on others’ observations, and I found it to be a helpful exercise in sharing what students noticed, how those observations were similar or different, and how they related their observations to the content in the course. However, I felt like we struggled when trying to connect these local observations to global environmental issues. For example, in our unit about local watersheds and making connections to the water cycle, during in-class discussions students noted the importance of clean drinking water, but beyond generalizing “desert” areas, had difficulty identifying global issues related to clean water, like drinking and sanitation. Other global topics like ecosystem dynamics, biodiversity, energy production, sustainability, and conservation showed similar disconnects. Students seemed unaware of global issues in general, particularly environmental or scientific issues. The singular exception was pandemic-related, as nearly all students indicated some knowledge or understanding about viruses during our in-class discussions. Indeed, for most students, this was their first opportunity to investigate local environmental phenomena, so they didn’t have the luxury of longitudinal observations or longer data sets to draw from.

134

J. Stephenson Reaves

Based on this disconnect between local observations of scientific phenomena and local environmental issues, to global phenomena and environmental issues, I decided to make an explicit connection between local issues and global issues to assist students in making the connection between their experiences in their local ecosystems and life on Earth. As part of their final unit on human effects on the environment, I adapted the Learning in Places “should we” framework (Learning in Places Collective, 2021) with an added global dimension. The Learning in Places “should we” framework begins with a local issue that students have noticed in their wondering walks. “Should we recycle more on campus” might be an example question that students would wonder after noticing that trash was overflowing from trash bins, but not from recycling bins. After picking a “should we” question to investigate that was interesting to the students, related to a local issue, has a human relationship to another ecological component, involves ecological components we discussed in class, has data that can be collected, has no obvious right or wrong answer, and relates to socioecological timelines (Learning in Places Collective, 2021), students also had to identify a global issue that connected to their local issue. To support students in their investigations, they were provided with a brainstorming sheet with two questions: 1. What do you wonder about? Identify a topic that we have discussed in class that also relates to human effects on the environment. 2. What does this issue look like locally? Identify a question to investigate related to your wondering. After identifying some topics or questions students wondered about, they were prompted to describe or identify a local question related to this wondering. After identifying their “should we” question, students were provided with the Investigation Summary Table from Learning in Places (Learning in Places Collective, 2021), which is provided in Table 9.1. Once students completed their investigation summary, they were asked two reflection questions. 1. Why is this a local issue? Be sure to describe how humans are affected or affect the investigation question in this region. 2. What is the global component to this issue? Think broadly—why is this issue also a global concern? Table 9.1  Investigation summary table Our “Should we…” question is: ___________ Activity What data What did we How Description: do we learn from does this what are we need to our relate to trying to collect, or observations any of figure out? have we related to our our class collected? “should we” content? question?

What should we make sure to include in a final model or explanation? (Include at least 5 socio-­ ecological components)

What can we learn from our activity that helps answer our investigation question?

What can we learn that helps us answer our “should we” question?

9  Connecting Local Questions to Global Issues: An Investigation with Elementary…

135

Table 9.2  Sample “What do you wonder about?” response 1. What do you wonder about? Identify a topic we’ve discussed in class that also relates to human effects on the environment We wonder about types of recycling, especially glass recycling and why it isn’t more widely available Does anyone recycle glass anymore? 2. What might this issue look like here, locally? Identify an issue to investigate, related to your question/wondering Recycling of plastics, paper and metal are readily available from our individual trash companies. Why do we no longer recycle glass in through our trash companies? And should we start doing it again?

To support making connections to global issues, in class we discussed a variety of topics related to human effects on the environment, including energy production, consumption of natural resources, water quality, and climate change. During their independent investigations, students were responsible for identifying supplemental connections in global events that related to their “should we” investigation question. For example, one student group asked the question “Should we be recycling glass?” as there are no glass recycling centers on campus or in the surrounding community. Their investigation question responses follow in italics in Table 9.2, “What do you wonder about?” The students had noticed that their local community had recycling for aluminum, paper, and most plastics as part of regular trash removal, yet glass bottles were filling trash cans. The students knew that glass was recyclable but wondered why it wasn’t being taken with other recycling pickup. As part of their investigation, students did independent research to find information related to their “should we” question. In the case of these students, they quickly identified how much carbon dioxide was reduced by recycling, but then wondered what glass was made from. Upon finding that it was produced from mixtures of silicon dioxide, which is a non-renewable resource, they wondered why people weren’t recycling more. Their iteration of questions and answers follows in the Example Investigation Summary in Table 9.3. The students learned that while it’s possible to reduce carbon emissions through glass recycling, it’s also expensive. Transportation of glass is costly, glass can only be recycled at limited facilities, and some types of glass must be sorted and separated before being recycled. They also learned that by recycling glass, we would limit what goes to landfills, and it would create more jobs in the local economy. The students used the amount of carbon dioxide that a car produces as their unit of measure, to help their classmates think about carbon emissions, as that was a topic we had discussed at length in class. In the final section of the investigation, students answered two questions about why the issue was a local concern, and how the issue had a global impact. Their responses are in italics in Table 9.4. The students noted that the local issue was that glass items were being sent to the landfill where they aren’t breaking down and are only taking up space. Local citizens must collect, sort, and transport their glass items to recycling centers that may

136

J. Stephenson Reaves

Table 9.3  Example investigation summary Activity Description: What Why do we no longer recycle glass? are we trying to figure out? What data do we need to 1 ton of CO2 is reduced for every 6 tons of recycled glass collect, or have we collected? What is glass made of? Glass is made of minerals that themselves are non-renewable, but isn’t that a reason to recycle? Glass doesn’t lose purity or quality if recycled Glass doesn’t break down on its own in a landfill Manufacturers benefit from: recycled glass has fewer emissions and less consumption of raw materials There is always a market need for glass containers by manufacturers Recycled glass is always part of the recipe for newer glass products, its more profitable in the long run lowering costs for glass container manufacturers and benefiting the environment Food grade glass cannot be mixed with other types of glass containers Lack of recycling centers for glass In 2018 less than 40% of beverage glass containers were recovered for recycling Manufacturers of fiberglass/containers recovered 3.35 million tons of glass, remelted, and repurposed for new containers and products (1.5 times that went into landfills) Across the country only 63 glass recyclers in 30 states provide recycled glass for 44 manufacturing plants 18% of beverages consumed are at bars/restaurant Glass container weight has been reduced approx. 40% over the past 30 years Recycling 1000 tons of glass creates slightly over 8 jobs Cost $70-$90 to process 1 ton of glass ($420 to reduce 1 ton of CO2 emissions) US recycling of glass only captures 1/3 of our consumption of 10 million tons annually 1 automobile emits about 4.6 tons of CO2 per year (the US use) What did we learn from our Humans don’t recycle very much of their glass It is possible to lower carbon emissions by recycling glass observations related to our There are not many recycling facilities across the US “should we” question? A lot of sorting has to happen at the plants To cancel out emissions for 1 car over a year 30 tons of glass would need to be recycled It would cost about $420 per ton of glass to recycle (Plant) Individuals would need to take their own recycling to a glass recycling center Glass doesn’t breakdown in landfills Glass doesn’t lose quality as it’s recycled It’s made of non-renewable resources but recycles well. How does this relate to any Standard 3: Environment: Greenhouse Gasses, Pollution of our class content? Standard 5: Human activities Conservation (continued)

9  Connecting Local Questions to Global Issues: An Investigation with Elementary…

137

Table 9.3 (continued) What should we make sure to include in a final model or explanation? (Include at least 5 socio-ecological components)

1. There are so few recycling centers so it’s prohibitive for individuals to take their glass to a center 2. CO2 emissions if not mediated will continue to rise, glass could help with that 3. Recycling can provide more jobs (8 jobs per 1000 tonscanceling out 217 cars per year) 4. We could lessen what goes to the landfills 5. If we can work to regulate the excess carbon, we can lessen the effects of climate change since there is less carbon being emitted. We can reduce carbon on the front end of manufacturing glass by recycling the carbon that was used the first time What can we learn from our There are not enough centers activity that helps answer our It takes a lot of glass to cancel out not very much carbon, but every bit helps investigation question? Other nations such as Europe are using almost 50% recycled glass in their glass production so it can be done If we do nothing, we will eventually run out of resources to make new glass What can we learn that helps We should recycle glass, however, that would mean creating more recycling centers, educating individuals and businesses, us answer our “should we” making transportation of the glass to the center more accessible, question? be willing to not be lazy Table 9.4  Investigation Questions Investigation questions: 1. Why is this a local issue? Be sure to describe how humans are affected or affect the investigation question within the region This is a local issue because especially in the US we use LOTS of glass products every day (beverage containers, food storage containers, etc.). At this point, unless individuals or businesses on their own collect these items and transport them to recycling centers then they just end up in the landfills. Landfills leave less usable land for wildlife or usable land for humans or planting of crops. Also since glass doesn’t break down on its own it will just sit in landfills taking up space 2. Is there a global component to this issue? Think broadly—why is this issue also a point of global concern? This is a global issue because if we do not re-use the glass, we have already made then we will continue to use precious non-renewable resources to make new glass that will be used and then end up in landfills as well. Most of the carbon emissions that go into making glass happen on the front end, so if we used recycled glass those carbon emissions have already been used and are not needed for the second round of glass being made, and we won’t be using as many or any more non-renewable resources because they are already in the recycled glass product. This also means that we will not be contributing as much to global warming (or it may become a carbon neutral process) so we will not be perpetuating the problem of global warming. This also puts less into our landfills or oceans and allows those spaces to be used for other things

138

J. Stephenson Reaves

be far away if they want to recycle glass. From a global perspective, the students noted that many countries in the EU currently recycle and reuse up to 50% of their glass, and that by recycling glass we could be saving non-renewable resources, and limiting carbon emissions, in addition to producing less waste that ends up in landfills or in the oceans. The students were able to make a clear connection from a local issue about unavailability of glass recycling to several global issues, including ocean and landfill pollution, non-renewable resource use, and climate change through carbon emissions. In addition, students were able to identify local actions they could take to increase recycling efforts in their community, like increasing the number of glass recycling options, creating an educational campaign for businesses and individuals about the importance of glass recycling, improving access to transportation for recycling, and creating more jobs in the community to support glass recycling efforts.

9.3 Methodology This class activity presented an excellent opportunity for an action-research-­oriented case study, as it was “descriptive, holistic, heuristic (and) inductive” (Rossman & Rallis, 2012, p. 103). Due to the small number of students, I chose to use qualitative research methods, paired with student pre-and post- surveys, and student artifacts. Students in this course are typically sophomores in standing, with self-described hometowns as “rural” or “not urban”. Given the location of the university and the number of commuting students, many students would qualify as having lived in a rural school district or are currently living in a rural school district (The Rural School and Community Trust, 2013). Students completed a self-assessment to determine their opinions of their attitudes before the activity, and again after the activity. The self-assessment was based on the Global Leadership Performance Outcomes Grade 3 rubric (Asia Society, 2013), and included the self-assessment questions listed in Table 9.2. The Global Leadership Performance Outcomes Grade 3 rubric was used because the students in this program are eventually teaching in PreK-through 5th grade settings, and third grade standards met the expected needs of the students. Students were asked to rate their ability to pose research questions, select relevant data, analyze and evaluate evidence, develop evidence-based positions, to understand global contexts, to identify opportunities for personal or collaborative interaction, to assess options and plan options for action, and to act creatively and responsibly. For each question, they completed a Likert scale to identify themselves as emerging (1), developing (2), proficient (3), or advanced (4). In both pre-and post-surveys, students were also asked an open-ended response question “Prior to taking this course, I was concerned about or interested in global issues that might affect me. Explain why or why not.”. This question was included to determine the extent, if any, that students were interested or engaged in issues of

9  Connecting Local Questions to Global Issues: An Investigation with Elementary…

139

Table 9.5  Research questions, categories, and subcategories Research Question Categories How did pre-service teachers investigate local Personal connection to issues in ecology and sustainability and relate issues them to global contexts?

Did connecting these local issues to global issues influence pre-service teacher understanding of global conditions and events?

Community connection to issues Increased interest/ awareness Personal relevance

Shift in thinking

Subcategories Human effects on ecosystems Choices in consumerism Policy decisions Taking action Complexity of issues Lack of knowledge Hopelessness Increased understanding Agency to make decisions

global concern, like climate change. Student responses were coded using an open, iterative process (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) to develop major themes. These themes were compared with student artifacts for further triangulation, and relevance to the research questions. Table 9.5 identifies research questions, related categories, and sub-categories.

9.4 Results The most obvious change in student thinking and self-perceptions about global issues was related to their self-scores on their ability to pose a significant research question to investigate on their own. From Table 9.2, the increase in student scores was the greatest in that area, followed by their self-reported ability to analyze, interrogate, and evaluate sources of evidence related to their research problem. Also notable was the increase in self-perception of their ability to develop an evidence-­ based position and draw conclusions from evidence, as we had practiced Claim-­ Evidence-­ Reasoning statements throughout the semester, but the “should we” project didn’t include the same scaffolding for CER statements. While the number of students was too small to be of statistical relevance, as an instructor, this data indicates that students feel more confident in many of the measures of global competency from the Global Leadership Performance Outcomes Grade 3 rubric (Asia Society, 2013). A complete list of the questions from the survey, as well as pre/post and change data are presented in Table 9.6. When analyzing the pre-survey open-response question asking about student interest or awareness of global issues, half of students reported some interest in global issues, while about 30% of students indicated they were not interested in or aware of global issues. An additional 20% reported that they were somewhat interested, or occasionally interested in global issues. The post-survey open-­response

I can: PrePostChange

Pose significant research questions 1.8 3.93 2.13

Select relevant evidence 2.94 3.93 0.98

Table 9.6  Pre- and post-survey data Analyze, interrogate, evaluate sources of evidence 2.11 3.60 1.49

Develop an evidence-based position and draw conclusions 2.52 3.73 1.21 Understand contexts 3.21 3.60 0.38

Identify opportunities for personal or collaborative action 2.89 3.66 0.77

Assess options and plan options 2.63 3.80 1.16

Acts creatively and responsibly 2.73 3.53 0.79

140 J. Stephenson Reaves

9  Connecting Local Questions to Global Issues: An Investigation with Elementary…

141

question garnered 90% of students indicating that they were more interested in, or more aware of, global issues after completing their “should we” projects and completing the course. In the pre-survey, students were more likely to mention that either their lack of knowledge or understanding about global issues lead to their disinterest, along with feeling like global issues were not of consequence to them. Student responses included statements like “Not understanding global issues caused me to not pay attention to it because I am not confronted with it every day” and “I was not as concerned about it as I should have been because I didn’t know or understand the severity of it.”. Another common theme was the personal relevance to students, and how that might influence their interest, as one student said “[I was interested] like not on a scientific basis but on a how will this affect my life point of view”. Many students noted that they might be more concerned or interested in global issues if they felt they were more personally relevant. Students also indicated their feelings of hopelessness around global issues in the pre-assessment. “I always thought that I couldn’t make a difference, so there was no point in my trying” and “I know that there are several global issues that likely have an effect on me and on future generations, but I had the mindset that there wasn’t something that I, as only one individual, could do to make a change, so I somewhat ignored it.”. Students who were interested in global issues also noted some feelings of helplessness, as one student mentioned, “I have been seeing many things in the news about climate change and how we are close to the “no return” point. It’s just a very scary thought.” However, in the post-assessment, there were no comments that contained codes for helplessness. Instead, student statements moved towards acknowledging the complexity of global issues and mentioned taking action or having the ability to take action. One student noted that “After listening to and developing my own “Should We” question, I realized that there are so many issues with various solutions and outcomes. It is difficult to fix the issues without creating new ones.”, while other students stated, “it is important to try and advocate for change especially when it is crucial now more than ever,” and “I actually want to make sure I am doing what I can to take care of the environment.” Noting the importance of doing research, one student wrote “I am more willing to do research [about global issues] and learn more about what I can do to help.” The dichotomy between pessimism and hopelessness about global issues and acknowledging complexity and taking action seem to support Ojala’s (2012) findings about the positive influence of “constructive hope” when considering climate change. While this study did not present students with a survey about questions related to how hopeful or pessimistic they feel about climate change, the students in this study focused on investigating their “should we” questions with a frame of positive action. For example, in the sample student work included in Tables 9.1, 9.2, and 9.3, students investigated a question, identified important data, determined what additional information they needed, and determined next action steps to address their problem.

142

J. Stephenson Reaves

While it was initially uplifting to see more interest in global issues from the pre-­ assessment to the post-assessment, it was inspiring to see a shift in student narratives about global issues from negative and helplessness to recognizing the complexity of these issues and finding ways to address what they can. As one student noted, “I am definitely more interested and concerned about the global issues that might affect me. I think this because this class has opened my eyes to all of the global issues that are happening around the world, I have learned how human affect these issues, and now have seen how I play a role in these issues and how to solve them.” Students also noted their increased interest in global issues in their post-­ assessments, with one student explaining “I am interested in global issues now more than before because this class reminded me how complex and fragile the world is and that we need to be more careful with our planet.” Another student indicated that “I am more aware of the effects that we have in our earth. Also, how seemingly easy, though expensive, it would be to change.” Discussing how they felt more empowered to find more information, one student wrote “I am more interested now on global issues and how they can affect me over time. I am more willing to do research on them and learn more about what I can do to help.”

9.5 Conclusion I was unaware of how important it is to help students make connections from their daily lives, their daily choices, their daily routines to global issues like non-­ renewable resource consumption, climate change, energy policies, water quality, food and supply chains, resource conservation, and human effects on the environment. Part of my teaching has always been to help students connect the content to their personal experiences but engaging in the activity of extending their personal experiences to those of the global community was new. Given how many students indicated they weren’t interested or aware of global issues because they saw no relevance to themselves, and how many students indicated they now understood how their personal choices were related to issues of global consequence, has made me rethink how I help students connect to these issues in meaningful ways. If we teach for climate change, we should teach in such a way that helps students not only understand the science of climate change, but also recognize the human impacts and effects of climate change, as well as the socioeconomic and socioecological components. Providing students with a framework for considering a local issue of importance to them, like glass recycling, provides a starting point for extending this learning outward into regional issues and national issues. When we consider national implications of an issue like glass recycling, comparing the amount of CO2 used for melting and reuse to that of the amount of CO2 used for transporting glass across long distances, it becomes easier to consider the global implications of a seemingly simple choice, like recycling a glass jar or looking for alternative packaging.

9  Connecting Local Questions to Global Issues: An Investigation with Elementary…

143

It was surprising that most of our in-class discussions about student “should we” projects ended up with students talking about consumerism, financial decisions, and global capitalism, while connecting these topics back to the content ideas in the course. Even on a regional level, discussing how it’s too expensive to haul glass to a nearby town for recycling, even though it might be the ethically “right” thing to do, it’s not the financially logical thing to do, kept students thinking about the implications of consumer choice and allowed us to consider ethical implications of policy choices and government decision-making. A notable challenge in teaching about climate change, and other global issues, is the sense of helplessness that often accompanies global challenges. If the problem feels too big, or too disconnected, it’s easier to ignore, as my students candidly shared in their responses. By tasking students with their choice of local issues to investigate, they can slowly scale up the problem. In starting with a local issue, often students will recognize options for local actions they can take—even if it’s calling their town council member and asking a question about an issue, they still have some agency in how to respond to the issue. As we connect these local issues to global concerns, this models a similar problem-solving and research-finding strategy that students can employ to investigate the issue at multiple scales, from local to regional, to national and global. In future iterations of this project, I will take baseline global competencies data at the beginning of the semester, rather than before the project, as it seems that in debriefing activities and teaching about some of the global topics in the course, I’ve been modeling local and global connections more explicitly than I expected. I also think that this project of local-to-global issues could take longer than the 3 weeks I originally planned and would allow for students to go more in-depth in their research, and to provide more formalized presentations for their peers. Another interesting addition to this project would be to collaborate with an international partner university, after both groups of students have completed their “should we” investigations. The students in both groups would complete a more formal presentation outline to share with their peers and with their international peers, receiving peer feedback using a gallery walk or other formative assessment tool. It would be interesting to see the co-construction of knowledge by “investigating the world” (Asia Society, 2013) and sharing experiences between different peer groups. Another option to consider is to use a slightly different framework for the student research portion of the project, to introduce research methods for case studies in education at an earlier point in the program of study, using the Hopscotch model (Abellán, 2016). In this model, which has some similarities to the Learning in Places Framework, was specifically designed for educators to use as they plan classroom action research. Pre-service teachers identify their research lens, their problem, evidence supporting the problem, the methods of study, driving questions, data collection, data analysis, trustworthiness of analysis, and guiding ethics. Because this framework is shared in courses later in the plan of study, using it earlier to investigate a scientific issue would provide good practice for future action research applications, and would be a good fit into course standards around planning and

144

J. Stephenson Reaves

investigating phenomena. However, the Learning in Places framework is an excellent model for future teachers to use in their classroom settings, and modeling its use for pre-service teachers is also a meaningful experience. Moving forward, our “should we” project will continue to evolve just as local and global issues change, but I will continue to make a conscious effort to help pre-­ service elementary teachers use their local knowledge and experiences to help make connections to global challenges, not only for their own growth in global competencies, but for their ability to work with and teach our increasingly diverse students.

References Abellán, I. M. J. (2016). Hopscotch building: A model for the generation of qualitative research designs. Hopscotch, 7, 31–2016. Asia Society. (2013). Global competence outcomes and rubrics. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://asiasociety.org/education/leadership-­global-­competence Avery, L.  M. (2013). Rural science education: Valuing local knowledge. Theory Into Practice, 52(1), 28–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/07351690.2013.743769 Avery, L.  M., & Kassam, K. (2011). Phronesis: Children ’ s local rural knowledge of science and engineering. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 26(2), 1–15. http://jrre.psu.edu/ articles/26-­2.pdf Bang, M., Brown, B. A., Calabrese Barton, A., Rosebery, A. S., & Warren, B. (2017). Toward more equitable learning in science. In C. V. Schwarz, C. Passmore, & B. J. Reiser (Eds.), Helping students make sense of the world using next generation science and engineering practices (pp. 33–58). NSTA Press. Bencze, L., & Carter, L. (2011). Globalizing students acting for the common good. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(6), 648–669. El Halwany, S., Zouda, M., & Bencze, J.  L. (2021). Stepping into STS literature: Some implications for promoting socioecological justice through science education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 16(4), 1083–1096. Learning in Places Collective. (2021). Learning in places. http://learninginplaces.org/ Mansilla, V. B., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competency. Asia Society. Retrieved from: http://asiasociety.org/files/book-­globalcompetence.pdf McNeill, K. L., & Krajcik, J. S. (2011). Supporting grade 5–8 students in constructing explanations in science: The claim, evidence, and reasoning framework for talk and writing. Pearson. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2022). Science and engineering in preschool through elementary grades: The brilliance of children and the strengths of educators (p. 10.17226/26215). The National Academies Press. National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. The National Academies Press. Nespor, J. (2008). Education and place: A review essay. Educational Theory, 58(4), 475–490. Next Generation Science Standards Lead States. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. The National Academies Press. Ojala, M. (2012). Hope and climate change: The importance of hope for environmental engagement among young people. Environmental Education Research, 18(5), 625–642. https://doi. org/10.1080/13504622.2011.637157 Rossman, G., & Rallis, S. (2012). Learining in the field (third). Sage.

9  Connecting Local Questions to Global Issues: An Investigation with Elementary…

145

Schaeffer, K. (2021, December 14). America’s public school teachers are far less racially and ethnically diverse than their students. Pew Research Center. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-­tank/2021/12/10/americas-­public-­school-­teachers-­are-­ far-­less-­racially-­and-­ethnically-­diverse-­than-­their-­students/ Smith, G., & Sobel, D. (2010). Place- and community-based education: Definitions and antecedents. In Place and community based education in schools. Routledge. Sobel, D. (2004). Place-based education: Connecting classrooms and communities. Orion Society. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Sage. The Rural School and Community Trust. (2013). It’s complicated…. Why what’s rural matters. Rural School & Community Trust. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from https://www.ruraledu. org/articles.php?id=3127 Tichnor-Wagner, A., & Manise, J. (2019). Globally competent educational leadership: A framework for leading schools in a diverse, interconnected world. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Chapter 10

Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course for Pre-service High School Teachers Khadija E. Fouad

, Vivian A. Zohery, and Nasrin Qazizada

10.1 Introduction 10.1.1 Globalizing Education: Attending to Our Global Village Our global village is changing. In the past few decades, the ripples of impact created by science and technology have been felt throughout the world. The fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have become universal grounds for participation, inviting human beings from all walks of life to participate in enriching our scope of knowledge. Roberts (2007) describes the notion of a global village as the place where “world dilemmas such as poverty, immigration, globalization, technology, transportation, and transnational endeavors” are viewed and described in the same light as in countries with multicultural populations, such as the United States. Nations are no longer homogeneous in the way they were even a decade ago, and our world is changing at an accelerating rate (Roberts, 2007, p. 9). Given the drastic change we have seen in modern society in the first decades of the twenty-first century, from social media connectivity to unions formed between countries, our upcoming generations will no longer live in isolation; we are already members of a global village. The nature of our global connectedness can be traced back a few centuries. Globalization, according to Huckle (1996), is a process “whereby events, decisions and activities in one part of the world come to have significant consequences for K. E. Fouad (*) · N. Qazizada Department of Biology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA e-mail: [email protected] V. A. Zohery Department of Teaching, Learning, Policy & leadership (TLPL), Astronomy |Physiology & neurobiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_10

147

148

K. E. Fouad et al.

individuals and communities in distant locations” (Huckle, 1996, p. 31). Historical accounts place the start of this era with the sailing of Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic in 1492, with the ripple effects of that moment still being felt till this day (National Geographic, 2022). However, with the Information Age beginning in the 1970s, our global village has entered a new phase in its development, and is rapidly changing beyond our expectations (Castells, 1996). The outcomes of globalization present themselves in many different arenas. Our global village now has access to innovative technologies, including social media outlets that reach almost every home. We are also seeing new groupings of countries (e.g., the European Union). Most importantly, there is a discernible awareness that the world’s citizens are now members of a global community – one that unites us on a “common belonging that previously was limited in scale and scope” (Kissock & Richardson, 2010, p. 90; Bajunid, 2000; Jarvis, 2004). With this union, however, there is also disparity. Differences are made apparent, whether on an economic, social, or political scale, and the conversation on sustainable development of countries becomes a rather sensitive one. Not every country has the same access to resources and opportunities. In this situation, we need to ensure that our rising generations are well-rounded humans who have the empathy and understanding to address such global issues. At the core of this definition of globalization is the recognition that education and knowledge development is at the “epicenter” of the process, impacting all citizens of our global village. (Kissock & Richardson, 2010, p. 90). As educators, we have a responsibility to respond to these arising challenges. Given that we already live in a multicultural context, we need to incorporate in our pedagogies how we can learn from each other and cultivate a learning environment that allows for the understanding of the multiplexity of humanity. The current literature provides examples of how educators can go about this; borderless education, for example, talks about education as not bound by limiting factors such as time, space, and geography (Middlehurst, 2006). Regardless of approach, the key feature of global education is that as educators we can plan and manage our learning communities anywhere and anytime, especially with the help of technology. The world is already acting globally. We should as well.

10.1.2 Pre-service Teachers in a Changing World With this new era of amalgamation, it is imperative that we accommodate these changes by opening our minds to the diversity of our global village and reflecting on how we can meet the needs of its citizens. A critical accommodation is through the lens of education. Specifically, how can we raise and prepare the next generation to be mindful of the intricate interconnectedness that they participate in? We simply cannot opt out of the future. Our upcoming generation needs to understand that our actions will have consequences that can have an impact throughout the world. More

10  Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course…

149

importantly, in light of this, our future teachers need to be aware and prepared to address the needs of these generations. A teacher’s impact goes beyond time and space. It is hard to think that our current pre-service teachers will be teaching students who will live to witness the next century. We also often think our teachers will be limited to teaching in the immediate community. Not only is that not promised, the surrounding community is also a participant of the global village with modern technologies and social media breaking barriers. When it comes to knowledge dissemination, we can no longer rely on the teaching methods we were brought up with. Especially in a post-pandemic world, we have quickly learned that schooling is no longer limited to in-person interaction between student and teacher. Knowledge acquisition and access are nearly universal thanks to the internet. Students no longer rely on teachers to provide them with traditional instruction when they can easily watch a CrashCourse video. Preparing teachers for a fast-changing world has been a conversation held since the 1990s. Hicks (1994), for example, recommends that teacher educators should think about long-term goals for rising youth, instead of short-term goals, to allow them to acclimate into their future worlds. Darling-Hammond (2006) adds to the conversation by providing an outline of how teachers should shift their focus when they understand that their students will be subject to differing socio-economic contexts. This includes how many of their students will be living in poverty, will have learning difficulties, or will be a part of a racial and/or ethnic minority. As for how teachers should prepare, Kissock and Richardson (2010) put forth a plan of action for teacher educators, including: (a) embracing a global perspective, (b) adopting and achieving global standards, (c) modernizing instructional processes, (d) serving our global village, and (e) broadening student perspectives.

10.1.3 Benefits of Creating Globally Competent Teachers Much of the research found on this topic discusses the impact of studying abroad for pre- and in-service teachers. For example, Kabilan (2013) reports on an international teaching practicum that lasted 6  weeks in the Maldives for six teachers. Researchers found the following benefits for the pre-service teachers’ professional development: (1) confidence in speaking and communication, (2) teaching confidence & skills, (3) the opportunity to practice and enhance their interpersonal skills, (4) new world views of education and culture, and (5) adapting to new working cultures. Additional benefits included gaining mutual respect as well as learning and understanding in ways the teachers never thought were possible (Kabilan, 2013, pp. 205–206). In some studies, pre-service teachers developed global competencies by leveraging resources in their local communities. Kopish et al. (2019) involved pre-service teachers in activities including dialogs with foreign students on campus, various workshops presented by people from different countries, and an immersion program

150

K. E. Fouad et al.

in a local immigrant community. The participants reported that these experiences helped them to rethink their conceptions of global issues so that they saw them as interconnected. They also gained new insights on power and inequality. Parkhouse et  al. (2015) analyzed trajectories of several globally competent teachers. Although some had experiences abroad, others had no experience abroad and only encountered people from other cultures in their local communities. The teachers all had different paths to becoming globally competent. Their global competency developed over time as they accumulated experiences that fostered these abilities. They saw the development of global competencies as an ongoing process. The implications for training of pre-service teachers and for professional development of in-service teachers is that incorporating multiple and varied experiences can foster global competency.

10.1.4 Internationalizing of STEM Education STEM Education finds itself in a peculiar situation as it may be the most globally tangible. Nations worldwide recognize the fundamental importance of preparing their rising youth for work in STEM fields due to the economic, political, and even social relevance those jobs can provide. The National Science Teachers Association recognizes how science education can have “profound consequences for the betterment of a society and the global community” (NSTA, 2022). This includes the significant impact it can have on the living conditions of members of our global village. UNESCO’s Science for a Sustainable Future initiative also places emphasis on the importance of nations attending to science education: Creating knowledge and understanding through science equips us to find solutions to today’s acute economic, social, and environmental challenges and to achieving sustainable development and greener societies. As no one country can achieve sustainable development alone, international scientific cooperation contributes not only to scientific knowledge but also to building peace. (UNESCO, 2016)

10.2 This Present Study The reality of our progress in internationalizing education is largely unknown (Roberts, 2007). It is not considered a priority, nor is it part of lesson planning or teacher training programs. The only time this conversation is briefly mentioned is when discussing things like intercultural understanding. At Appalachian State University where this research was conducted, there is an emphasis on including global considerations in classes in the General Education Program. The four goals for the General Education Program are as follows: 1. Thinking critically and creatively 2. Communicating effectively

10  Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course…

151

3. Making local to global connections 4. Understanding responsibilities of community membership. The rationale and learning outcomes for goal 3 are elucidated in Exhibit 10.1. Exhibit 10.1 Appalachian State University General Education Program Goal Making Local to Global Connections (Appalachian State University, 2022) III. Making Local to Global Connections Rationale Appalachian State University is both in and of the southern Appalachian region, and it is also part of a world that is globally connected. Life in the twenty-first century requires an understanding of the connections and multi-layered interactions among diverse local and global human cultures, as well as between humans and the natural and physical environments. In this context, the general education program helps to cultivate an active understanding of global change and the effect of human agency on both natural and cultural environments. Students should understand the importance of biodiversity, ecological integrity, and the need to achieve sustainable benefits for communities. Knowledge of other cultures, diverse cultural frames of reference, and alternative perspectives are essential to thinking critically and creatively and to understanding the responsibilities of membership in local, regional, and global communities. The cultivation and maintenance of intercultural relationships require active cultural understanding, which is achieved by exploring multiple strategies for interacting with other peoples and cultures. Student Learning Outcomes • Global Self Awareness: Students will evaluate the effect of human agency on natural and cultural environments. (Local to Global) • Consequences of Global Change: Students will evaluate the effect of global change on local natural and cultural environments. (Global to Local) • Systemic Drivers of Global Change: Students will evaluate systemic factors as drivers of global change in order to advocate for appropriate responses. • Ecological Integrity and Sustainability: Students will demonstrate the importance of ecological integrity, from local to global scales, as essential life support for sustainable communities. • Cultural Diversity: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of other cultures, worldviews, and frames of reference to contextualize local and global issues. • Cultural Interaction: Students will integrate diverse perspectives to demonstrate an appreciation of the complexities of cultural interactions.

152

K. E. Fouad et al.

The secondary science methods course serves as a Writing in the Discipline course as a part of the General Education Program. As such it is an appropriate course to internationalize by providing local to global connections. In this present study, we investigated whether incorporating some aspects of internationalization into a secondary science methods course impacted pre-service teachers’ perceived global competencies. We also examine tensions involved in incorporating internationalization into the methods course given the limitations of time and the already challenging workload for pre-service teachers. We incorporated aspects of intercultural understanding and empathy into a lesson on diversity, equity, and inclusion pre-service teachers use to adapt lesson plans for learners with special needs. During another lesson pre-service teachers explored resources for globalized science and then designed a draft unit plan including a global component.

10.3 Intervention To avoid adding to the already substantial workload for both the pre-service teachers and the instructor, the first author designed a stand-alone activity confined to a single 2-h class period. Although it required time to design the lesson it required no advance preparation from the pre-service teachers. As it was confined to a single class there was no work to submit or grade following the lesson. Pre-service teachers were introduced to the concepts of global competence and internationalization of science education. They then worked in groups to examine resources and to decide how to incorporate one or more of these into a science unit. The finished units were robust enough to share with the pre-service teachers to add to their resources for future use.

10.3.1 Globally Competent Learning Continuum (GCLC): A Framework for Globalizing STEM The Globally Competent Learning Continuum (GCLC) is an online interactive tool created to help educators to develop globally competent teaching practices by providing twelve concrete elements, along with definitions of what each would look like at varying levels of development. We used it as a framework for fostering attitudes, knowledge, and skills to cultivate global competence, or a set of “knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to live and work in a global society” (Cain et al., 2014, p. 1). Participants were pre-tested during the first week of the course and post-­ tested during the last meeting of the course using the GCLC modified by asking participants to explain in writing why they chose each item.

10  Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course…

153

10.3.2 Context The study was conducted at Appalachian State University, a comprehensive university in a rural area of a Southern US state. The context was a secondary science methods class for future high school teachers taught by the first author. The field experience for the methods course places pre-service teachers in nearby public schools serving rural areas. Five female students agreed to take part in the study. The main goals of the secondary science methods course are for pre-service teachers to create inquiry-based learning cycle lesson plans based on state and national standards, to incorporate both formative and summative assessments into lesson plans, to engage in reflective practice to continually improve teaching, and to apply these practices in a field experience used to scaffold a practice version of the teacher licensing portfolio exam, edTPA. A secondary goal is to provide resources pre-service teachers can use in their future classrooms or add to their teacher toolkit. From the instructor’s point of view, effective science teaching has many facets and aspects. It is simply not possible in a single semester to include every aspect. These tensions have been examined in the context of including the Framework for K12 Education and also diversity, equity, and inclusion in secondary science methods courses (Entress, 2022). Including internationalization of science education created similar tensions in this study. Because design and implementation of inquiry lessons using a learning cycle model is critical to effective science instruction, imparting these skills to pre-service teachers constitutes the bulk of the course. Teaching pre-service teachers the different aspects of the learning cycle, and then evaluating and providing feedback on learning cycle lesson drafts is time-­consuming. Supervising and coordinating the field experience so pre-service teachers can implement their lesson plans is also demanding. Evaluating the practice version of edTPA associated with the course and providing useful feedback for pre-service teachers takes many hours. The secondary science methods course is challenging for pre-service teachers. They routinely report that they spend more time and effort on this class than in their other classes. Since most pre-service teachers have not had much experience with inquiry learning, designing lessons using this format can be quite challenging for them, often requiring multiple revisions for their first attempt. The associated field experience is often the pre-service teachers’ first experience crafting their own science lessons for high school students. They work in teams to plan and implement formative assessments and lessons with high school students and to engage in reflective practice with team members. The field sites are 40  min from campus. These factors contribute to a heavy workload for the field experience. The edTPA is high-stakes because passing scores are needed for certification in our state. The practice version of edTPA based on the field experience can take pre-service teachers 25 or more hours to complete for the first draft and then even more time for revisions.

154

K. E. Fouad et al.

10.4 Study Design 10.4.1 Research Questions 1. Will incorporating some aspects of internationalization into a secondary science methods course impact pre-service teachers’ perceived efficacy in using internationalization in their future science teaching? 2. How can we meaningfully incorporate internationalization into the methods course given the limitations of time due the need to prepare pre-service teachers for incorporating inquiry into their lesson design and planning, and the need to prepare them for edTPA by taking them through a practice version?

10.4.2 Lesson on Differentiation The course included a lesson on differentiating lesson plans to meet the needs of students with differing abilities, learning styles, and interests as well as students from different cultural backgrounds. One segment of the lesson focused on differences in looking someone in the eye. I introduced this segment with an excerpt from a behavior management plan taken from The Tough Kids Book by Jenson, Rhode, and Reavis (as cited in Simandle, n.d.) Look students in the eyes: Request eye contact when giving a student a command. For example, “John, look me in the eyes. Now I want you to … [”]

In the context of the lesson, I discussed cases when asking a student to look someone in the eyes might not work. In the mainstream American context looking an authority figure in the eyes when they are speaking to you is considered a sign of respect so that failing to do this could be taken as a sign of disrespect. People from some African and Asian cultures view looking an authority figure in the eye as a sign of disrespect. People from these cultures may feel uncomfortable looking a teacher directly in the eye precisely because of their respect for the teacher. I described a different cultural context where a young man explained that he did not look people in the eyes because he was from a rough neighborhood and if you look people in the eye, they could beat you up. In the violent cultural context in which he lived looking someone in the eyes could lead to a physical confrontation, so in his case failing to look an authority figure in the eyes was for self-preservation and not due to disrespect for the authority figure. Some people with autism spectrum conditions feel uncomfortable looking people in the eye as well. Again, for them it is not a sign of disrespect or inattention, but a way of avoiding the discomfort they feel when looking someone in the eye. My advice for the pre-service teachers was that if someone doesn’t look you in the eye, ask why. Don’t assume it is due to rudeness.

10  Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course…

155

10.4.3 Global Lesson I began the global lesson by reminding pre-service teachers about the cultural differences around eye contact that we discussed in the lesson on differentiation. I explained personal, cultural, and community assets using the definitions from the edTPA Secondary Science Assessment Handbook (SCALE, 2019) and Understanding Rubric Progressions (SCALE, 2018). I directed the pre-service teachers’ attention to edTPA rubrics 3 and 7 that specifically mention students’ assets. I defined deficit thinking and explained how this would negatively impact edTPA scores according to the rubrics. I linked internationalization of science education to global education priorities set by the state of North Carolina (Task Force, 2013) and to the part of edTPA dealing with personal, cultural, and community assets. A third stated goal was for the pre-service teachers to add global resources to their teacher toolkit. I use the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework (Winklemas, 2014) to make class expectations explicit for students. The research base for this technique supports the idea that this is helpful in supporting first-generation college students. I made the expectations for the class explicit as shown in Exhibit 10.2. I explicitly discussed my use of this technique to support first-generation students in achieving course goals. I then gave an example of deficit thinking for a hypothetical professor who did not use this technique. The hypothetical professor blamed the first-generation students for their failure to meet course goals instead of reflecting on their own failure to properly scaffold the first-generation students’ learning. Exhibit 10.2 Transparency in Learning and Teaching framework applied to global lesson Purpose • Internationalization –– Recommended priority for NC education –– edTPA cultural and community assets • Explore global resources for science education • Add global resources to your teacher toolkit Tasks • Examine global resources • Discuss how to incorporate one or more resources into a science unit Criteria • Actively read artifacts and analyze them to complete the class activities • Actively participate in group and whole class discussions

156

K. E. Fouad et al.

Many of the pre-service teachers are from Southern states. In the associated field experience pre-service teachers work with students in rural school districts in North Carolina, a Southern state. For this reason, I played a short comedy video set in Boone, NC where our institution, Appalachian State University, is located (Comedy Central, 2019). In the video two Southerners go to a restaurant where they perceive a cultural clash with hipster culture. When the customers meet the cook, who is clearly Southern, their perception of a cultural clash diminishes. Following the video, I posed the question, “What were some examples of asset and deficit thinking from the video?”1 The following discussion ensued. Instructor: So, the two men who first walked in the restaurant … how were they viewing the restaurant? A Student: It couldn’t be good because it’s not what they were expecting Instructor: So, hipsters and vegans definitely can’t do restaurants. That’s their deficit idea. Therefore, the restaurant must be a bad restaurant. And then what changed their thinking about that? Another student: As soon as somebody spoke their language about Doc Watson and ketchup versus vinegar-based sauces they were okay. This cook at least knows what he’s talking about so the food must be good. Instructor: The cook was speaking their language. He shared their cultural background and so he could explain what was going on in a way that made sense to them. Once they realized somebody like them is in charge of the restaurant then maybe the rest wasn’t … also notice the cook. He validated; he was validating their cultural assumptions.

I made an explicit connection between the video and the mountain culture of the students the pre-service teachers work with in their field experiences. I discussed the actors in the video and how they were speaking in Southern dialect because that is how they actually speak. I contrasted Trae Crowder, who played the cook in the video, with Stephen Colbert, another comedian with Southern roots. Trae Crowder is from a small town in Tennessee and Stephen Colbert is from South Carolina, both neighboring states. Trae Crowder retained his Southern accent, but Stephen Colbert did not. I used Trae Crowder as an example of asset thinking because he leverages his Southern dialect in his comedy. I used Stephen Colbert as an example of deficit thinking because he deliberately changed the way he spoke so that he wouldn’t sound like a Southerner in order to advance his career. I went on to explain. Sometimes I’ve had situations where people come from the piedmont. Maybe they’re from Charlotte or someplace like that. They come up here and they’re working in the schools with the mountain kids and sometimes that sort of deficit thinking creeps in, rather than thinking that people in Appalachia have a rich cultural heritage that should be as respected as anybody else’s culture. How can I leverage this in my classroom?

I then went on to use myself as an example of overcoming deficit thinking to acquire asset thinking about the rural culture where I began my teaching career. I’ll tell a little story on myself. I mentioned I grew up in Chicago. In Chicago, people looked down on people from Appalachia. We didn’t think anything of it because everybody did, except those poor people, poor as in unfortunate that they had to live with us, from  All quotes from the instructor and students eliminate filler words, such as “like” “so” or “um” and are edited for clarity. 1

10  Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course…

157

Appalachia who lived in our neighborhood. I didn’t really examine those beliefs or think about it. On TV, people would make fun of people from the country, like Beverly Hillbillies. I guess it’s a classical culture clash show where they made fun of their country ways and how they didn’t fit into California and that sort of thing. That was the whole point of the show. Although they did have really good Bluegrass in the beginning [students laugh] so that’s why I like Bluegrass. But then in my first year of teaching I ended up in a little old country school in the bootheel of Missouri. That’s actually in the Ozark mountains, and there’s a lot of similarity in the mountain culture there and here. I lived there for a year, I became a member of the community, and I really came to appreciate it … So, I really came to understand the culture. After I left, I was at this presentation and the people were making fun of country people. I was really offended. I remember thinking before I lived in the Ozarks, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. I might have laughed. But I was just offended that they were making fun of country people after having lived in a very rural area. So, it was like you knew you got to the town because there were a few more houses on the edge of the highway than normally and then they would be spread out. That’s how small this town was. It makes Boone look like a metropolis. So, I just want you to be aware that maybe you have some unexamined prejudices. So, I didn’t really examine this until I had that particular experience of interacting with that culture. So maybe you have some unexamined prejudices that you haven’t really thought of before if you’re not from this area. So, think about that when you’re interacting with your students. I just want to make that pitch. So that’s how this will relate to edTPA.

Following this discussion about understanding cultural differences as cultural assets for edTPA, we then began the main activity. Students worked in biology and chemistry subject area groups depending on their major. There was only one geology major, and she elected to work on her own rather than with one of the groups. Students were directed to examine global resources on their own and then to decide in their groups how to incorporate them into a unit in their subject area. Each unit should address a North Carolina standard and should utilize one or more of the global resources to support student learning. Once they began working in their groups the pre-service teachers requested global competency standards. They all decided to use the Asia Society’s (2013) 10th grade Global Leadership Rubric standards, Investigate the World, Recognize Perspectives, Communicate Ideas, and Take Action.

10.5 Impact 10.5.1 Student Designed Units The biology group unit focused on ecosystems as shown in Exhibit 10.3. Students would investigate ecosystems they currently live in and those where their ancestors lived. They would focus on human impacts and how they differ according to location and culture. The chemistry group focused on global warming. As part of their unit students would examine global differences in how humans contribute to global warming as well as differences in how humans combat climate change. The geology student’s unit focused on human impacts on the lithosphere, particularly

158

K. E. Fouad et al.

urbanization, agriculture, and mining. As part of students’ explorations, they would examine different urban areas throughout the globe to compare them and draw conclusions on how urbanization impacts an area. Similarly, they would explore agriculture and mining in different locations across the globe. The three units were robust enough that we shared them to add to the pre-service teachers’ teacher toolkits. Exhibit 10.3 Sample student-designed unit from the biology group Unit: Ecosystems Standard/Objectives: Bio.2.1 Analyze the interdependence of living organisms within their environments. Bio.2.1.1 Analyze the flow of energy and cycling of matter (such as water, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen) through ecosystems relating the significance of each to maintaining the health and sustainability of an ecosystem. Bio.2.1.4 Explain why ecosystems can be relatively stable over hundreds or thousands of years, even though populations may fluctuate (emphasizing availability of food, availability of shelter, number of predators and disease). Bio.2.2.1 Infer how human activities (including population growth, pollution, global warming, burning of fossil fuels, habitat destruction and introduction of nonnative species) may impact the environment. Outline of Unit: 1. What is an ecosystem? a. Characteristics (types of ecosystems, organisms present in each) b. Students will start their project by finding an ecosystem for the area they were born in or the area their ancestors are from. They will find pictures and identify the ecosystem type and organisms present.

i. AirPano1 OR Google Earth2 ii. Students can use the above linked resources to find images of their chosen ecosystem. iii. https://speciesplus.net/3 (students can use this link to find species for their ecosystems) 2. How does an ecosystem function?

a. Food chains i. Primary producers ii. Primary consumers iii. Secondary consumers iv. Tertiary consumers (continued)

10  Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course…

159

Exhibit 10.3  (continued) b. Energy Flow c. For their project students will identify the food chain in their chosen ecosystem.

i. Focus on a native species from their chosen ecosystem (energy flow)

3. Do we as humans impact/rely on ecosystems? a. Urbanization, pollution, deforestation, invasive species b. Human reliance on ecosystems c. The final addition to the project will be for each student to identify a human impact on their ecosystem and will then discuss strategies to help improve the area. 4. Assessment

a. Ecoselfie Project4

Incorporation of Global Focus: 1. Overarching project over the course of the unit prompting students to research the environment of their hometowns or ancestral regions.

a. Research of particular region i. Type of ecosystem ii. What exists in the ecosystem iii. How ecosystem functions iv. How humans have impacted the ecosystem b. Creation of a visual representation of research

2. Presentation at end of unit to share their ecoselfies a. Different cultural perspectives and regional issues are shared and discussed 1. Team (n.d.) 2. Google Earth (n.d.) 3. Species+ (n.d.) 4. Collaboration  – IEARN Collaboration Centre (en-US) (n.d.)

10.5.2 Pre- and Post-test Analysis Pre-service teachers were asked to rate their global competencies and write brief justifications for their ratings using the Globally Competent Learning Continuum. Pre-service teachers reported improvements in their global competence for science teaching as shown in Table 10.1. They attributed these improvements largely to their field experiences which afforded them opportunities to develop their abilities to teach high school students. Some aspects of global competence, such as

160

K. E. Fouad et al.

Table 10.1  Students’ perceptions of their global competence related to teaching globalized science using the globally competent learning continuum

Teacher dispositions 1. Empathy and valuing multiple perspectives 2. Commitment to promoting equity worldwide Teacher knowledge 3. Understanding of global conditions and current events 4. Understanding of the ways that the world is interconnected 5. Experiential understanding of multiple cultures 6. Understanding of intercultural communication Teacher skills 7. Communicate in multiple languages 8. Create a classroom environment that values diversity and global engagement 9. Integrate learning experiences for students that promote content-aligned explorations of the world 10. Facilitate intercultural and international conversations that promote active listening, critical thinking, and perspective recognition 11. Develop local, national, or international partnerships that provide real world contexts for global learning opportunities 12. Develop and use appropriate methods of inquiry to assess students’ global competence development Overall

Pre-test average

Posttest average

Gain

3.8 2.8

4.6 3.2

+0.8 +0.4

3 2.6 2.6 2

4 4 3.8 3.8

+1 +1.4 +1.2 +1.8

1.8 1.4

2 3.8

+0.2 +2.4

1.6

3.2

+1.6

1

1.4

+0.4

1

1.2

+0.2

1.2

2

+0.8

2.1

3.1

+1

competency 1, empathy and valuing multiple perspectives, are addressed throughout their education curriculum. Others specific to science education, such as competency 9, integrate learning experiences for students that promote content-aligned explorations of the world, were explicitly addressed in the global lesson in the methods class. Pre-service teachers reported that applying these competencies and then reflecting on their practice in their field experiences helped them in developing their abilities related to these competencies. The first and third authors mostly concurred with the pre-service teachers’ self-­ assessments of modest gains for some dispositions and remaining stationary in others based on the evidence pre-service teachers provided. In a few instances, we thought the post assessments were a bit inflated. For example, student 1 considered herself as beginning for disposition 7 communicate in multiple languages on the pretest, but as progressing on the posttest despite not providing any evidence to support growth in that area. We thought she should remain the same at the beginning level. Despite these few differences we do agree that the pre-service teachers made modest gains in some areas over the course of the semester. In cases where pre-­ service teachers experienced perceptions of increased competency in areas where they had not done anything to enhance their related skills, we can infer that their subjective sense of growth in many domains led them to perceive themselves as

10  Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course…

161

having improved overall, even in global competence domains they did not address during the semester. On the pre-test several pre-service teachers mentioned that they rated themselves low on the GCLC because they did not yet have classroom experience. For example, in answer to item 2 on commitment to promoting equity worldwide, S5 gave the following reason for her self-assessment. “I put myself here because I have yet to teach in an actual classroom, so I have not yet had the opportunity to take responsibilities for helping my students recognize inequities.” On the posttest several pre-service teachers cited the field experience related to the methods class and other field experiences they were enrolled in during the semester for their growth in global competence. For example, S2 stated the following in response to item 6, understanding of intercultural communication. Having accumulated over 55 hours in a classroom setting this semester, I have been able to observe first-hand that different cultures have different ways of communication. I can use strategies that can enhance intercultural communication, such as mixed grouping and model creation.

Despite the value of their field experiences in developing their global competencies, tensions existed between pre-service teachers’ desire to increase their global competence in science education and the format of their field experiences. S2 described these challenges as follows. Throughout my time in the classroom this semester, I tried to make it one of my priorities to discuss global engagement and diverse perspectives and cultures in my classroom. Unfortunately, due to inexperience and typically running out of time, I was unable to teach students to respect diverse perspectives/give resources that represent multiple global perspectives.

S4 expressed her commitment to global competence on her posttest in response to item 8, create a classroom environment that values diversity and global engagement. Having students explore ideas of global differences and concerns is something I will always do in the classroom as I find it very important for students to see these issues when learning different topics. I think using global issues in the engagement phase is a great way to incorporate these ideas into lessons.

In mentioning the engagement phase of a 5E lesson this pre-service teacher was demonstrating her ability to integrate global aspects into the design of inquiry-based learning cycle lessons, a major outcome for the methods course. Another key competency for the methods course is to align content with state and national science standards. As part of the instructions for designing their globalized science units, pre-service teachers were directed to align their units with North Carolina state science standards. On their posttests pre-service teachers specifically addressed how they could incorporate global aspects in a manner that aligns with science standards in response to item 9, integrate learning experiences for students that promote content-aligned explorations of the world. S3 worked on a globalized science unit on climate change in the context of a chemistry class during the global lesson. She stated, “I know I could connect some of the reaction standards with climate change.”

162

K. E. Fouad et al.

Several pre-service teachers identified global resources they could use on the post test. Although S1did not perceive herself as having progressed on the GCLC, she stated in response to item 11, develop local, national, or international partnerships that provide real world contexts for global learning opportunities, “I have not had opportunities to do this yet, but I think doing projects in the future that require students to have interactions with people outside of the school system about things like environmental problems would be beneficial.” In response to item 8, S3 explained a progression from nascent to progressing as follows. For create a classroom environment that values diversity, I rated myself progressing. I don’t have my own classroom yet, but when I do, I hope to highlight chemists from diverse backgrounds. I would also like to make connections between chemistry and global issues like climate change. [S3 post]

Interestingly, she mentioned climate change as an area where she could globalize her chemistry class. Although she did not specifically mention the methods course in her explanation, this was the topic she worked on during the global lesson. S5 discussed the tensions between wanting to implement global aspects in science education and the constraints of working within the context of a field experience in a summary statement at the end of her posttest. I believe that my score for each of these categories will grow once I have my own classroom. Teaching one lesson here or there does not provide me with enough time to cover or be advanced in all of these categories. However, with more time in a classroom and more experience under my belt, I am sure I will grow in each category.

Interestingly S4 mentioned cultural differences between the Northern and Southern US. Regional differences within the US were the cultural differences that were specifically used to frame the lesson for designing the global units. On the pretest she stated the following. For [items] 1 and 2, I put myself on the proficient continuum. I see and understand that my background will be very different than many of my students. I understand the difficulties students and others may face with these different backgrounds and I believe I am able to provide a safe and effective learning environment for all, as well as bringing it to others’ attention to learn from each other’s backgrounds and be accepting of other backgrounds.

On the posttest she was more specific as to how her background differed from many of her students as she discussed the impact of the class and field experiences on her growth related to item 1, empathy and valuing multiple perspectives. I believe I have truly understood how different my background will be from many of my students, especially moving from the North to the South. I learned throughout the field and class that students will have different backgrounds than me and their peers. I really got a grasp for this idea in the field and got to see students’ thoughts and how they may differ from mine all because of where I grew up and where they are growing up.

Pre-service teachers rated themselves as improving in their abilities to teach globalized science over the course of the semester. They specifically credited the field experiences they were engaged in throughout the semester as contributing to their growth. Their exposure to global resources and sharing ideas on how to implement

10  Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course…

163

these in a classroom with their peers likely contributed to identifying resources and strategies they could use in their future classrooms on their posttests.

10.6 Discussion, Conclusions, and Implications Incorporating a global lesson into a secondary science methods class was effective in developing pre-service teachers’ ability to design unit plans with globalized science lessons. The pre-service teachers were able to design a standards-based and inquiry-based science unit with a robust global component. Framing the assignment by linking to North Carolina’s goals for global education and instructing pre-service teachers to give the science standards for the lessons helped them make these connections in their units. In addition, pre-service teachers’ perceived efficacy in using globalized science in their future science teaching increased over the course of the semester as shown in Table 10.1. During the field experience some pre-service teachers worked outside of their science specialty. They discussed how this made planning more challenging. They needed to deepen their understandings of the science concepts behind the lessons they were teaching in the field so they could properly scaffold their students’ learning. By allowing pre-service teachers to work in subject-area groups for the global lesson they were able to leverage their content knowledge to concentrate on the global aspects of the unit without getting bogged down in trying to learn new science content. In addition, giving the global lesson after pre-service teachers had already learned how to design and differentiate lessons afforded them an opportunity to apply these skills to a new context. The pre-service teachers seemed to genuinely enjoy the lesson. They were actively engaged throughout the lesson in exploring global resources and in discussing with their peers how to include them in unit planning. Afterwards one of the pre-service teachers specifically praised the lesson as a valuable opportunity to learn about internationalization of science education. From the vantage point of the instructor, I had several concerns about introducing internationalization in the methods course. I feared that including it in a single lesson would be just one more thing and not meaningfully add to the pre-service teachers’ understandings of lesson design and implementation. What actually happened was that the global lesson provided pre-service teachers with an opportunity to transfer their lesson planning skills to a new context. Their products were much more robust than I had anticipated when I designed the lesson. Therefore, I decided to create a folder so each group could upload their unit plans to share with the other groups. It is likely that many of the pre-service teachers will end up teaching outside their subject area at some point during their teaching careers. For this reason, I felt that all three units would make valuable additions to their teacher toolkit. After teaching and reflecting on the lesson there are several improvements I would like to incorporate when teaching this in the future. One would be to include the North Carolina statement on global education (Task Force, 2013) and the Asia

164

K. E. Fouad et al.

Society’s (2013) secondary level global competence standards early in the semester during the unit on standards. That way students would be introduced to global competence in the context of standards early in the course. In the lesson on differentiation, I could explicitly relate some of the items to global competence, particularly to teacher dispositions related to empathy and to awareness of one’s own culture and of others’ cultures and how they differ. This would provide opportunities for pre-­ service teachers to think about global competence and teaching globalized science during the whole course instead of just during a single lesson. In the future I would like to make the connections between globalization and edTPA more robust. In the present lesson the main connection was to asset vs. deficit-­ thinking, which is important for edTPA rubric 3 Using Knowledge of Students to Inform Teaching and Learning. This is also important for rubric 7 Engaging Students in Learning. Here scoring well involves leveraging students’ assets for instruction. Providing language support for students who know more than one language would relate edTPA Planning Rubric 4 Identifying and Supporting Language Demands (SCALE, 2019) to Disposition 7 communicate in multiple languages from the GCLC (Cain et al., 2014). One could relate the acquisition of scientific language demands, such as vocabulary, to the idea of communication in multiple languages for students who are English Language Learners or native English speakers who have learned one or more other languages. Making this explicit could help bridge the gap between scientific vocabulary and other languages. Allowing students to describe scientific phenomena in their own language before introducing vocabulary terms, and then using their language as a bridge to scientific vocabulary would be an effective support for this language demand. To score well on edTPA Rubric 6 Learning Environment involves promoting a learning environment where students exhibit mutual respect and “express, debate, and evaluate differing perspectives about content with each other” (SCALE, 2018). Using global resources to find varying perspectives from different countries and cultural contexts related to the content that students could then evaluate and discuss could provide opportunities to demonstrate these skills. The globalization lesson could be strengthened by adding more explicit references to ways that globalizing science lessons could provide opportunities for improvement of edTPA scores. These could be provided by the instructor. Alternatively, pre-service teachers could be tasked with going through the edTPA rubrics and the teacher dispositions from the GCLC to make those connections themselves. These could then be shared with their peers. This would give them more practice in applying edTPA to lesson and unit design and to instruction. Given the success of the global lesson in the methods class and plans to strengthen internationalization of science teacher education in this class we have included this aspect in the learning outcomes for the course. As a part of renewing the Writing in the Discipline status of the secondary science methods course for the General Education Program we explicitly listed the Global Self Awareness and Cultural Diversity student learning outcomes from the Making Local to Global Connections goal listed in Exhibit 10.1 along with the other course learning outcomes.

10  Including Internationalization in a Secondary Science Methods Course…

165

References Appalachian State University. (2022). General education program goals. https://universitycollege. appstate.edu/programs/general-­education-­program/program-­goals Asia Society. (2013). Grade 10 global leadership performance outcomes. Center for Global Education. https://asiasociety.org/education Bajunid, I. (2000). Rethinking the work of teachers and school leaders in an age of change. In C.  Day, A.  Fernandez, T.  E. Hauge, & J.  Muller (Eds.), The life and work of teachers: International perspectives in changing times (pp. 175–194). Falmer Press. Cain, J. M., Glazier, J., Parkhouse, H., & Tichnor-Wagner, A. (2014). Globally competent teaching continuum. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Castells, M. (1996). The information age: Economy, society and culture. Blackwell, 1997, 1998. Collaboration – IEARN Collaboration Centre (en-US). (n.d.). iEARN Collaboration Centre (en-­ US). https://iearn.org/collaboration-­center Comedy Central. (2019, March 1). Is it southern or hipster? – wellRED comedy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbRVr0_ak48 Darling-Hammond, L. (2006). Constructing 21st century teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 57, 300–314. Entress, C. (2022). “You can’t do everything”: In search of better and more equitable secondary science methods courses. Doctoral dissertation. https://doi.org/10.7916/pjbw-­jb23 Google. (n.d.). Google Earth. https://earth.google.com/web Hicks, D. (Ed.). (1994). Preparing for the future. Adamantine Press. Huckle, J. (1996). Globalisation, postmodernity and citizenship. In M. Steiner (Ed.), Developing the global teacher: Theory and practice in initial teacher education (pp. 27–36). Trentham Books. Jarvis, P. (2004). Globalisation, the learning society and comparative education. In S. Ball (Ed.), The Routledge Falmer reader in sociology of education (pp. 72–88). Routledge Farmer. Kabilan, M. K. (2013). A phenomenological study of an international teaching practicum: Pre-­ service teachers’ experiences of professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 198–209. Kissock, C., & Richardson, P. (2010). Calling for action within the teaching profession: It is time to internationalize teacher education. Teaching Education, 21(1), 89–101. Kopish, M. A., Shahri, B., & Amira, M. (2019). Developing globally competent teacher candidates through cross-cultural experiential learning. Journal of International Social Studies, 9(2), 3–34. Middlehurst, R. (2006). A world of borderless higher education: Impact and implications. In The virtual university: models and messages – Lessons from case studies (pp. 71–88). UNESCO. National Geographic. (2022, May 20). Globalization | National Geographic Society. Education. nationalgeographic.org. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/globalization National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). (2022). An NSTA position statement: International science education and the national science teaching association. National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Parkhouse, H., Tichnor-Wagner, A., Cain, J. M., & Glazier, J. (2015). “You don’t have to travel the world”: Accumulating experiences on the path toward globally competent teaching. Teaching Education, 27(3), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2015.1118032 Roberts, A. (2007). Global dimensions of schooling: Implications for internationalizing teacher education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34(1), 9–26. Science for a Sustainable Future. (2017). In UNESCO 2016 (pp. 104–117). United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Simandle, S. (n.d.). Handy-Dandy Guide to The Tough Kids Book (excerpts from The Tough Kids Book by William Jenson, Ginger Rhode, and H. Kenton Reavis). Species+. (n.d.). https://speciesplus.net/ Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE). (2018). Understanding rubric progressions: Secondary science. Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE).

166

K. E. Fouad et al.

Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE). (2019). edTPA secondary science assessment handbook. Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE). Task Force on Global Education for the North Carolina State Board of Education. (2013). Preparing students for the world: Final report of the state Board of Education’s task Force on global education. NC Department of Public Instruction. Retrieved from https://files.nc.gov/ dpi/preparing-­students-­for-­the-­world.final-­report.pdf Team, A. (n.d.). AirPano.com • VR production studio • virtual travels • 360° aerial panoramas and 360° video around the world. AirPano. https://www.airpano.com/ Winklemas, M. (2014). TILT higher Ed transparency in teaching and learning. https://tilthighered. com/abouttilt

Chapter 11

Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-­Focused Teaching Through the Development of Scientific Arguments for Climate Change in Secondary Science Brent Gilles

11.1 Introduction The internet and advances in technology have made the world more connected since the beginning of the twentieth century. Opportunities to connect continue to expand because students can be remotely taken to any part of the world, including the top of Mount Everest, to study any number of geologic, biologic, and/or anthropologic aspects of those areas. Furthermore, we can use this technology to engage students in the task of critically thinking through the issues that trouble our local communities by understanding how others might be addressing the same or similar challenge. Climate change is one such challenge that currently confronts us all, but how we address it in our communities can look vastly different. These challenges present an opportunity to engage students in the practice of scientific argumentation by analyzing how other parts of the world are addressing the same issue to determine which solution works best for their community. However, our educational standards continue to prioritize local issues without connection to how they contribute to global ones (Ferguson-Patrick et  al., 2012). This has left teacher candidates lacking an understanding of how their community’s issues fit into larger global issues, especially when it comes to climate change. The current generation of K-12 students do not necessarily understand how to utilize technology and the internet to expand their understanding of climate change and how it impacts different parts of the world. Unfortunately, most students’ conceptions of climate change come from social media, which does not provide the space or the time to give appropriate context for the words, pictures, and videos that are posted and sometimes go viral (Polanco-Levicán & B. Gilles (*) University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_11

167

168

B. Gilles

Salvo-Garrido, 2022). The short attention span of today’s society means that those viral moments only last 1–2 days before we have moved on to the next one, but the incorrect information and/or representation of a culture can last longer (Plettenberg et al., 2020). Instead of creating a sense of urgency or commonality amongst cultures, students are often left to feel a certain way about what they have been exposed to that reinforces their confirmation bias (Kang & Chung, 2017). The increasing reliance on social media as a news source for climate change is troubling because they often contain inaccurate information (Shearer & Gottfried, 2017). Fortunately, state standards do provide an opportunity for science teachers to address some of the content falsehoods that students are exposed to. Furthermore, scientific argumentation provides the appropriate pedagogical approach for students to develop the necessary critical thinking skills to address these falsehoods through the examination of evidence-­based claims (Driver et al., 2000). However, the content standards typically only focus on the community that students reside in and not the larger global community. These missed connections do not foster a sense of empathy and common cause with people from diverse backgrounds and locations around the world. Fortunately, secondary science classrooms are a good place for students to engage in climate change issues under the guidance of science teachers that are equipped with the understanding of how to help students engage in critical thinking to make connections between their community and those around the world. Additionally, preservice teacher programs can develop the necessary skills in their teacher candidates to foster their own students to be global thinkers in today’s global society (York & Hite, 2021). The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of secondary science teacher candidates in developing lessons that connect local issues to global ones using scientific argumentation. These issues are defined as globalization, which is the interdependency of nations on the movement of a broad spectrum of economic, cultural, and environmental transactions that can either help or harm each nation (American Council on Education [ACE], 2022). The teacher candidates will focus on the environmental aspects of globalization to develop lessons and the necessary empathy and problem-solving skills in their students. Detailing the experience of new teachers developing and implementing globally-­focused lessons can help science teacher educators engage their communities in internationalization, which is the intentional engagement with globalization to better understand its impacts on local, regional, and global communities (ACE, 2022). Three research questions were used to understand the experiences of these secondary science teacher candidates: 1. How did the teacher candidates’ perspectives of globally-focused teaching evolve as they developed and engaged their students in a climate change lesson? 2. How did scientific argumentation support the development and implementation of the climate change lessons? 3. How can I better support preservice teacher development to incorporate globally-focused teaching into scientific argumentation lessons?

11  Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-Focused Teaching…

169

11.2 Background The United Nations has recognized the importance of collaborative action to address global issues (UN, 2015). Furthermore, education has been identified as the most important factor in fostering this collaborative action (UNECE, 2016). This places a clear directive to understand how to best integrate globally-focused lessons into the science curriculum. However, this process can become complicated when individuals retreat to the comfort of their own belief systems (Crossley & Watson, 2003). Teacher candidates need experience with global education to identify cultural differences, collaborate across cultures, and to be able to adequately function in the global marketplace (Hunter et al., 2006). Secondary science teacher preparation programs are an ideal place for teacher candidates to learn these skills that they will need to pass onto their own students. Understanding teachers’ beliefs for teaching internationalization is important when training them to incorporate these topics into their curriculum (Strachan, 2020). However, regardless of teacher beliefs, there is a strong need for teacher preparation programs to prepare teacher candidates for the global economy that awaits their students (Markham, 2011). To teach globally-focused lessons effectively teachers need to have the knowledge base of global issues and develop skills to engage with students on these issues through pedagogical approaches such as scientific argumentation (Tye, 2009). These approaches should focus on engaging teachers in long term and direct personal experiences with people and contexts that are different from the ones they are familiar with (Cushner & Mahon, 2002). However, it is important that teacher educators navigate the challenges of curriculum, time, and certification requirements to incorporate meaningful globally-focused experiences for teacher candidates (Walters et al., 2009). There are a variety of resources available for examining the effectiveness of internationalization in the classroom. One such instrument is the Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) (Association of American Colleges and Universities [AACU], 2009), but it is aimed more for program level evaluation, however, individual rubrics could be used in specific courses. Another is the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum, which evaluates teacher disposition, skills, and knowledge, but is designed for self-reflection for teachers that already have some understanding of global competence (Tichnor-Wagner et  al., 2019). Fortunately, Asia Society’s (2005) global competence model is a good fit for science and teacher candidates because they can still focus on good globally-focused teaching but have an awareness of what makes a lesson globally oriented. Scientific argumentation is a good fit for the four domains of global competence because three of the four, investigate the world, recognize perspectives, and communicate ideas are fostered in this scientific practice. I use McNeill and Krajcik’s (2012) definition of argumentation, which is based on Toulmin’s (1958) model of argumentation. Their model differs from Toulmin’s because it collapses the components of backing and warrants into reasoning to

170

B. Gilles

utilize the claim, evidence, reasoning (CER) framework. This allows argumentation to be more accessible for the teacher candidates and their students because it makes the implicit nature of backing and warrants more explicit within the reasoning (McNeill & Krajcik, 2012). Their framework also does not treat scientific explanations as being much different than scientific argumentation because both utilize the CER framework, with the difference being that the latter includes counter claims. It is an ideal pedagogical choice to investigate the world because of its focus on examining evidence-based claims. Once a claim has been established, communication is a key aspect of argumentation because it compels students to engage each other discursively using questioning (Evagorou & Osborne, 2013). Additionally, this process will help students recognize perspectives, though there will need to be some intentionality on the part of the teacher candidate to ensure that these perspectives are global ones and not simply students arguing from their own similar worldviews (Rudsberg et al., 2017). Furthermore, the critical analysis needed to consider multiple perspectives in developing an evidence-based claim would likely lead to an appreciation for other cultures and regions of the world (Asterhan & Schwartz, 2007).

11.3 Innovation The teacher candidates developed globally-focused lessons by choosing a local climate change issue that they have in common with another part of the world and engaging their students in scientific argumentation to decide how to address the issue. By choosing scientific argumentation as the pedagogical approach, teacher candidates were able to place an emphasis on the content, which is their strength, and focus on fostering the four domains of global competence. Exploring common challenges helps students to better empathize with other people and cultures. Solving common problems provides the opportunity to engage these people in ways that are familiar with students. One common problem that all communities across the world have is climate change. My state in the southeastern United States has a mix of coastline and mountainous areas that make climate change issues vary widely by locality. Thankfully, our science state standards are based on the next generation science standards (National Research Council [NRC], 2013), which provides each of the content areas a climate change specific standard or a standard that can adapt to cover a climate change issue. The other issue the teacher candidates had is that we conducted these lessons during the spring semester when they did not have the benefit of choosing from any of their standards, they had to adapt to what they still needed to cover. We did create a list of possible topics they could cover in our methods class to address this potential issue. A few did struggle to choose a topic even with the list (Table 11.1), but they were able to find appropriate standards.

11  Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-Focused Teaching…

171

Table 11.1  Climate change topics brainstormed by teacher candidates Food sources Genetics – UV impacts Fossil fuels Acid rain Greenhouse effect Geothermal power Water use or scarcity Heat wave Economy (resources) Tourism

Drought Genetics – Agriculture Decrease in glaciers Smog Solar power Wind power Tornadoes Infrastructure Conservation Mortality/health

Floods Ocean acidification Ecosystems – producers Deforestation Hydro power Adaptations Hurricanes Migration Carry – Capacity Milankovitch cycles

There continues to be a call to develop scientifically literate students (NRC, 1996). One way to develop scientific literacy skills is to engage students in scientific argumentation (NRC, 2012). Using this pedagogical approach provided the teacher candidates an opportunity to develop critical thinking skills within their students and develop empathy for a different part of the world. The purpose was for the teacher candidates to use argumentation to identify a potential solution for their issue by making connections to how others have solved a similar problem. The focus on linking evidence with claims helps students to keep their assessment of the issue as objective as possible because some of the teacher candidates live in communities where climate change is not fully accepted and focusing on facts is one way to combat these attitudes. The other benefit of focusing on the evidence is to combat potential stereotypes students might hold by focusing on a similar set of facts between areas to equip students with prior knowledge that can help build common ground and lead to empathy. This approach is innovative because it is approaching internationalization from a different perspective even though the outcome should hopefully be the same, developing empathy and respect for others. Instead of the focus being on the people, we initially considered a common issue without considering the human element beyond it being a problem for people in both locations. The things that students see on social media, television, movies, and/or the internet often project stereotypes that students might hold. This approach allows students to consider the problem and then how the people in that location might have solved that problem. It breaks down some of those barriers by finding common ground before students have the chance to allow any stereotypes to influence the way that they view the issue and people. For most of these rural students, it will be one of the few times they have had the opportunity to consider how they might be alike as opposed to different from people that do not look or necessarily think like them.

172

B. Gilles

11.4 Methodology I took a participatory action research approach to this study because I wanted to be a part of the development of the climate change exploratory lessons. Participatory action research emphasizes creating change in the classroom by inviting the subject of the research to critically analyze their actions (Creswell, 2012). This approach allowed me to understand how to create change in my own secondary science teacher preparation program by engaging with my teacher candidates on the design and implementation of their lessons. I was able to critically analyze how our process aided or hindered their experience of enacting a globally-focused lesson in their own classrooms. The teacher candidates were invited to journal about each of the preparation steps, and once they had taught the lesson to reflect and analyze their own experiences and those of their students. This was done in a manner that provided an opportunity for professional growth (Osterman & Kottkamp, 1993) – theirs and mine. I engaged with the teacher candidates as they planned, analyzed, and evaluated their efforts, which are critical components of action research (Kindon et al., 2007).

11.4.1 Content and Participants This study was conducted with secondary science teacher candidates in a teacher preparation program in the Southeastern United States. The program was master’s level, because each of the participants already achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in a science content area. The class consisted of eleven total teacher candidates (2 males, 9 females). Furthermore, ten of the participants were already teaching full-time on temporary teaching licenses (until they graduated from the program), and the other student chose to not pursue a full-time teaching position until after completion of the program. The course that this study was conducted was a secondary (considered grades 6–12) science methods course that was a hybrid delivery. The course was conducted mostly online but met face-to-face for 7 h on three different Saturdays over the course of the semester. These face-to-face experiences are where we did most of the internationalization discussions and planning, but the teacher candidates examined globally-focused lessons as examples and completed their journals during the online portion of the course. The teacher candidates were tasked with designing a globally-focused lesson that utilized a climate change issue that impacted their community, which they would connect to other area(s) in the world that have the same issue. The goal of the lessons was for students to develop critical thinking skills using scientific argumentation and to develop a solution to the issue through examining how the other area(s) were addressing the same issue. The teacher candidates were located from all over the state and their locales range from being near the coast of an ocean to mountainous areas.

11  Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-Focused Teaching…

173

11.4.2 Data Sources and Analysis The following types of data were collected: teacher candidate journals, lesson plans and all associated materials developed, teaching videos of the lessons, and video of the class where the internationalization training occurred. The teacher candidates were asked a series of questions throughout the semester to document their prior experience with globally-focused teaching and to capture their planning and debriefing of the teaching of the lessons. The journals were important in understanding the candidates’ beliefs prior to engaging in the planning and implementation of their lessons because it is important to understand what prior knowledge they had with this sort of content and/or understanding of other cultures. The questions that were asked throughout the project can be found in Table 11.2 below. The journals were coded by categorizing entries based on the themes of what the candidates wrote. I wanted to understand if the candidates’ focus was on the pedagogical approach (i.e. explanation or argumentation), science content, empathy for the people of another culture, or a combination. For instance, on question one, prior lesson design, a candidate wrote:

Table 11.2  Journal questions that teacher candidates answered throughout the project Beginning of the semester 1. Have you ever connected your science content to issues that have impacts on people in other parts of the world? If so, provide 1 example of how you did this. If not, what is a topic that you could easily accomplish this? Prior to lesson design 1. What does it mean to teach a globally-focused lesson? 2. Have you ever engaged your students in a global lesson? If yes, what was the lesson and the product students created? If no, what is a lesson that you have upcoming that you could easily modify? (connect this to first one above from week 1, interesting results on how individuals changed.) 3. Is it important that we engage students in topics of global importance? Why or why not? 4. What might we be able to learn about another culture by studying a common climate issue? Provide at least 2 specific examples 5. What is your comfort level identifying and discussing a climate change issue within your own community? Post lesson implementation 1. What challenge(s) did you have in planning your lesson? 2. What aspect of your lesson are you most proud of? Explain why 3. What did you learn about the topic of your lesson? How did this change your opinion/view of the international location you linked the local issue with? 4. What did your students learn (knowledge and empathy) about another part of the world through designing and engaging them in this lesson? 5. What changes need to be made to this lesson? 6. Will you do this lesson again in the future? Why or why not? 7. What changes need to be made to help YOU better prepare for a lesson of this type?

174

B. Gilles One of the challenges that I noticed from the start is finding a topic that they are being taught in another class that the kids thought was an interesting subject. Once a topic was chosen, then another problem came when I was trying to scaffold the project over several days. I wanted to make sure that the students had enough time to complete the seminar without having empty time throughout the lesson.

This entry was coded as science content because of their focus on the “topic” that would most interest the students. There is also a noted focus on meeting the students’ needs, which contrasts with what another candidate stated on the same question: I believe the biggest challenge was planning on how I wanted to present my lesson. PowerPoint, worksheets, or Nearpod. I then decided to create a Nearpod, then this started my challenge of creating my Nearpod from scratch. I have only used Nearpod once before and I learned Nearpod is not as user friendly as PowerPoint. Upon talking to coworkers, I was taught that I can create my main pages on PowerPoint, then upload them to Nearpod. This is what saved the most time in creating my lesson.

This teacher candidate was clearly concerned about pedagogy and how they were going to present the material to the students. This also contrasts with the previous entry because of its focus on themselves and not the students’ needs. Each of the questions required coding like this and the codes were adapted given the question to understand how the candidates viewed the content, pedagogy, and internationalization aspects of their lesson plans. The videos of their teaching were used to align with their lesson plans and answers to the journal questions to explore how their globally-focused lessons integrated scientific argumentation and climate change in an internationalization lesson. I wanted to understand how the candidates were able to plan for a complex task that required the content of climate change and the pedagogical approach of scientific argumentation within the context of internationalization. I explored how their lesson plans matched with the teaching and how their own understanding of what internationalization meant was enacted. The comparison of the lesson plans and teaching can be found in Table 11.3 in the findings section. Finally, video of the internationalization face-to-face class where the teacher candidates were presented with and began the planning for their lessons was utilized to understand how my teaching might have influenced their decisions. A secondary analysis of the videos was also to document their concerns with the process because they would need to work within the confines of the state standards left to cover for the rest of their school year (only about 3 months were left at this point). I also used the video to examine how their answers to question seven under post lesson implementation could inform me on how to present this material better in the future.

11  Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-Focused Teaching…

175

Table 11.3  How teacher candidate lesson plans matched their teaching Lesson plan

Student 1

Scientific practice None

Student 2

Explanation

Student 3

Argumentation

Student 4

Explanation

Student 5

Explanation

Student 6

Argumentation

Student 7 Student 8

None Argumentation

Student 9

Explanation

Student 10 Argumentation Student 11 Explanation

Global context Human impacts on environment Air pollution effects on respiratory system Human impact on Amazon River Carbon dioxide impacts on climate Human impact on rise of global temperature Influence of ocean temperatures on African biomes Melting glaciers Nuclear energy as a possible renewable energy source Animal and plant adaptations to climate change Genetic engineering Deforestation impact on climate

Climate standard Yes

Teaching Scientific practice None

Global context No

Climate content Yes

No

Explanation

Yes

Yes

Yes

Argumentation Yes

Yes

Yes

Explanation

Yes

Yes

Yes

None

Yes

Yes

No

Argumentation Yes

Yes

No No

None Yes Argumentation Yes

Yes Yes

No

Explanation

Yes

Yes

No

Explanation

No

No

Yes

Explanation

No

Yes

11.5 Findings The findings in this chapter will be organized by research question. The goal is to demonstrate how the teacher candidates and their student’s demonstrated growth after engaging in their climate change lessons. The final section will detail my own efforts to support the teacher candidates in their development of the globally-­ focused lessons and how I can better support them in the future based on their feedback.

176

B. Gilles

11.5.1 Connecting Local and Global Communities The first research question I explored stated: How did the teacher candidates’ perspectives of globally-focused teaching evolve as they developed and engaged their students in a climate change lesson? Prior to developing and teaching the lesson, the teacher candidates identified developing empathy for people in other parts of the world as an important aspect of globally-focused teaching. In response to the question, “Is it important that we engage students in topics of global importance? Why or why not?” The teacher candidates largely agreed that it was important with one stating, “It is important that we engage students in global lessons. We are preparing our students to be citizens in the world one day, so it is important that we start getting them to think about places outside of their hometown or country.” This viewpoint is representative of what the others said as well and is not surprising given that teachers tend to be empathetic (Strachan, 2020). However, when asked the content-­ focused question, “What might we be able to learn about another culture by studying a common climate issue? Provide at least 2 specific examples.” student responses were more diverse because a third of the teacher candidates continued to emphasize empathy through content understanding, another third emphasized a climate-­ focused state standard, and the last third discussed pedagogy. What is interesting to note about this breakdown is that the teacher candidates that have been teaching less than a year largely continued to focus on empathy through content, while those that were in their second year of teaching focused on the state-standards or their pedagogy. This outcome suggests that teacher candidates in their second year of teaching can begin thinking about the larger implications of the work they do with their students, as opposed to their first-year counterparts who are still not able to identify aspects of teaching that go beyond emotion. However, one teacher candidate, in his second year of teaching, chose to focus his answer on how cultures can find common ground based on a common issue. He chose to discuss how the inclusion of another culture can make “mundane” content more interesting. He stated, “In short, if we are able to look at what certain cultures revere then we may be able to find the beauty in mundane objects such as a readily available source of fresh water.” He surmised that the inclusion of the human element into an activity about water, which is abundant in his community, but not abundant elsewhere can be a way to engage students in a topic that might otherwise not be considered interesting by his students. This is a veteran observation by a novice teacher because this is an approach that prioritizes student motivation due to the personal relevance to the students and their location (Bolkan & Griffin, 2018). Once the teacher candidates had taught their lesson, they still mainly identified empathy as an important reason to teach globally-focused lessons. When asked, “What did your students learn (knowledge and empathy) about another part of the world through designing and engaging them in this lesson?” all the teacher candidates identified empathy as being an important aspect gained by their students. One candidate stated:

11  Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-Focused Teaching…

177

…One of the common threads across all three classes was that they realized that many countries had similar problems when it came to industry and how the overproduction of greenhouse gasses was affecting every country, even if they weren’t as industrialized as another. Some of them seemed a little shocked to learn how bad some of the issues were in other countries and I had a few students that chose island or coastal nations that decided to dig further and try to see how many years it would take for those countries to disappear or shrink dramatically because of sea level rise…

The teacher candidates clearly identified their own students as having been influenced by the information they discovered during the globally-focused teaching. The continuance of the students further studying their designated island out of curiosity could also be a sign of empathy being developed because motivation occurs when a connection is made (Bolkan & Griffin, 2018). In addition to empathy, a third of the teacher candidates also focused on the content that their students learned during the lesson, with one stating, “In my electricity short lesson and understanding trash and natural resources and deforestation amounts across the world my students were able to see the impact that the United States and China is having on our world. One of my students actually questioned why they were such low amounts of energy coming from South America and coming from parts of India…” In addition to the critical thinking students were doing through observation of the varying amounts in energy across the globe, the students seemingly were also becoming aware of the inconsistencies of the standard of living in areas outside their own. Awareness alone does not necessarily demonstrate the development of empathy in students but being equipped with that knowledge is necessary to understanding how the world outside of their community is similar and different and is the necessary first step to developing empathy for others. Overall, the teacher candidates recognized that developing empathy in their students is an important endeavor and that globally-focused teaching is a good way to achieve this goal. When asked if they would teach this lesson again, all but two of the students identified that they would. Interestingly, all the teacher candidates that said yes cited the pedagogy and that engaging their students in scientific argumentation fostered the development of empathy and content knowledge because of the critical thinking skills that are necessary to analyze and develop solutions. Additionally, the candidates also cited the enjoyment of their students in doing something “different” than the normal pedagogical approach to the classroom.

11.5.2 Engaging Teacher Candidates in Scientific Argumentation The second research question explored was: How did scientific argumentation support the development and implementation of the climate change lessons? This is an area where the teacher candidates struggled because they were trying to identify a local issue that would match with a state standard and engage their students in scientific argumentation for the first time. The standards in this state for climate change

178

B. Gilles

are dependent on the content being taught but do integrate the engineering and scientific practices because the state standards are like those of the NGSS (NRC, 2013). Environmental Science and Physical Science were two of the content areas where these teacher candidates had no issue identifying a standard but did struggle with identifying a local issue. However, the biology content teacher candidates struggled with identifying a climate change standard because they do not have any explicit climate change standards like the other two content areas. One teacher candidate summed it up succinctly for everyone when she stated, “When I was planning this lesson, I first struggled to find a way to connect any of my curriculum left for the year with any [internationalization] topics.” The time that the teacher candidates were given to accomplish this lesson (only a few months during the spring semester) was a limitation that contributed to some of their struggles, especially the biology teacher candidates. We did not have trouble developing a list of possible climate change topics (see Table 11.2), but the additional task of finding an appropriate standard to match our list did present a challenge because more than half of the school year was already over. The timing narrowed the choices because the goal was to not force a lesson that did not align with what was already happening in their class. Furthermore, scientific argumentation does not lend itself to all content, so the teacher candidates needed to consider that aspect as well. However, when it came to their lesson plans, the teacher candidates mostly used the claim, evidence, reasoning framework, but only half engaged their students in argumentation. Engaging students in scientific argumentation was not done by all the teacher candidates. When teaching scientific explanations and argumentation I focus on the claim, evidence, reasoning framework with the teacher candidates because it is central to engaging in both practices (McNeill & Krajcik, 2012). Table 11.3 demonstrates that almost all of the teacher candidates used the claim, evidence, and reasoning framework in their lesson plans, but only half of those engaged in argumentation, while the rest did explanation. Furthermore, the teacher candidates did a good job teaching their globally-focused lessons as planned because all, but one teacher candidate did engage their students in the identified practice from the lesson plan during the teaching of the lesson. Teacher candidates can sometimes be uncomfortable trying a new pedagogical approach and tend to deviate from their lesson plans (Ricketts, 2014; Sampson & Blanchard, 2012). The scope of this study was not to assess their abilities to engage their students in scientific explanation or argumentation, but they did view this pedagogical approach as being meaningful to their students. Interestingly, when the teacher candidates were asked what they needed to change and what they were most proud of, both answers mostly had to do with pedagogy. As previously discussed, the teacher candidates felt that they had done a good job developing empathy in their students, so they were more focused on their own teaching when they were asked to focus on the lesson. As a teacher educator, I spend time fostering the skill of being a reflective practitioner, so it makes sense for them not to focus on their own students when asked these questions. Not surprisingly they did not identify a common need because their classrooms are so diverse

11  Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-Focused Teaching…

179

in student needs. However, most of the candidates did mention the need for more time to implement the lesson in the future. Additionally, the biology candidates commonly identified the need to choose a different standard because most wanted to address climate change within the ecology unit that is typically taught during the fall semester. Overall, the teacher candidates identified their new approach to teaching as being both enjoyable and a good way for their students to learn. However, their lesson plans and teaching videos did not always demonstrate a use of argumentation or what they identified in their lesson plan was not always taught. Only four teacher candidates identified argumentation and taught it in their lesson, while most of the rest identified explanation and taught that in their lesson. Even though there is a difference between the two, Berland and McNeill (2012) argue the only difference between an explanation and argumentation is that arguments include counter claims, which is the stance I take with my teacher candidates.

11.5.3 Supporting the Teacher Candidates The third research question that I explored was: How can I better support preservice teacher development to incorporate globally-focused teaching into scientific argumentation lessons? I investigated how I supported the teachers in their lesson development, teaching, and how they felt their own knowledge had grown for global issues. First, I need to do a better job of identifying Asia Society’s (2005) four domains of global competence for globally-focused teaching so the teacher candidates better understand what their aims in developing and teaching these lessons should be. Candidate journal responses and lesson plans made it clear that they did not have a complete grasp of what internationalization meant. For example, a few of the biology teacher candidates chose to do lessons on biomes and only focused on the types of plants and animals found in those areas. Investigating biomes does fall under the domain of investigating the world, but they did not explicitly include climate change objectives in their lesson plans to address any issues that are the result of climate change. Furthermore, none of the other three domains, recognize perspectives, take action, or communicate ideas, were utilized in the lesson in a way that reflected a global theme. I needed to be clearer on what each of the four domains meant and how that could look in a lesson. The video of my teaching showed that my focus on that day was more for scientific argumentation and climate change than it was on the global tasks. Of the time spent on this project 85% of my time was devoted to the content and pedagogy, which likely had the effect of communicating to the teacher candidates that these were the more important aspects of the project. Their lesson plans and teaching videos do confirm that they spent a similar percentage of time on scientific argumentation or explanation and the content then they did on making connections to another part of the world, except for the three that did not address it at all (see Table 11.3).

180

B. Gilles

Another challenge for me was that the teacher candidate’s identified needs were varied. There was no common identified support when it came to pedagogy and content. Time, technology, more CER framework, and more time on scientific argumentation were all identified as needs. However, when it came to content, the teacher candidates identified time as the constraint being the biggest obstacle, which will not be one in the future because they will have the ability to preplan this lesson at the beginning of the year as opposed to more than halfway through it in the future. Second, the teacher candidates did report that they had grown in their understanding of global issues that impact their community. They all reported learning something about the content of the lesson while planning it, but a few also reported learning more from the work that their students did. Finally, one teacher candidate wrote about what she learned in designing and implementing the lesson that is the exemplar for what I was trying to achieve with my approach to fostering globally-­ focused teaching, she stated: The one thing I learned from this climate issue is that we should be very concerned for our plants if temperature changes continue rising. The flower I chose had a habitat range that spread across Europe, but my students made a wise point that flowers do not have legs and cannot just get up and leave. They realized that this will be very bad for plants because they are stationary, and it could affect food chains. With a rapidly growing world population, food supply is a huge topic of concern, and with the rising temperatures decreasing habitat ranges for many plants and animals, we are risking losing food sources.

Another candidate discussed DDT (herbicide) and how its use is outlawed in the U.S., but in Mexico, a place we import lots of fruits and vegetables from, it is still in use. These examples show the potential for this project and the meaningful learning that the teacher candidates did along with their students, but placing more of an emphasis on the global component of the project will help more teacher candidates realize the benefits of engaging their students in globallyfocused teaching. Initially in the findings section I discussed a teacher candidate that thought globally-­focused teaching was one way to take a “mundane” topic and make it interesting for students, and I believe he was right, each of the teacher candidates were able to identify something that they learned through their lesson and connect that to the learning of their students. Shared problems are just one way to approach other cultures and viewpoints, and they provide students a path to seeing other cultures not as stereotypes, but as fellow humans. Furthermore, I believe the teacher candidates learned that their job is not necessarily to be the gate keeper of information, but that their students are going to provide them with learning opportunities too. Overall, what I learned is that I have room to grow as well, but my teacher candidates were able to develop lessons that were meaningful for them and their students.

11  Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-Focused Teaching…

181

11.6 Implication for the Innovation The teacher candidates were clear in their view of the value of globally-focused teaching. They felt that their students did gain a measure of empathy for other parts of the world through their global lessons. Furthermore, they identified the new pedagogical approach of scientific argumentation as being beneficial to their students. However, they did not all lesson plan for or engage their students in argumentation as I taught it. While only four teacher candidates included explicit argumentation in their lesson plans, five more included explanation using the CER framework, which is relatively close given McNeill and Krajcik’s (2012) definition. Many of the teacher candidates did not go to the next step of having students examine each other’s claims and propose counterclaims, though most of the five that only did explanation could have easily done so. Though none explicitly expressed that they did this intentionally, the reason could have been that there were time constraints that many expressed having difficulty with in planning this lesson. Furthermore, their approach did align with my teaching of the CER framework because we started with explanation during one of our meetings, then during the next meeting we took the next step to defend claims from counter claims. It is also possible that some did not understand that there is a difference between explanation and argumentation and that could be a limitation in my own teaching. My experience with these teacher candidates does demonstrate that this approach to developing globally-focused lessons can work for new teachers, but it does take careful work to support each of the components, global, pedagogical, and content, to be successful. Importantly, the beginning of their teaching careers is the most important time to engage the teacher candidates in trying new pedagogical approaches in their classroom because they are more open to it now as new teachers, than veteran teachers tend to be (Laius et al., 2009). Unfortunately, the assignment did likely prove to be too complicated for the teacher candidates to accomplish in the short amount of time given. Ideally, the teacher candidates would have a full year to determine where they would want to build this lesson into their curriculum. This is what I plan to do moving forward because the course I completed this project in has been moved to the fall semester and I will likely supervise these teacher candidates for a full year so we can plan the project during the fall, and they can then teach it in the semester that best fits their curriculum. However, this would be a more complicated task for those that are not in charge of their own classroom but share the classroom with a mentor. Since my program is a Master of Arts in Teaching, almost all my teacher candidates are teaching on a temporary license and have their own classroom. This makes implementation much easier, but from time to time I do have candidates who are not yet teaching full-time, which can complicate the assignment because a teacher candidate does not have full control over another teacher’s classroom.

182

B. Gilles

Inquiry-based teaching practices, like scientific argumentation and explanation, should not be novel for secondary science students to experience. Too many of these teacher candidates identified their students’ enjoyment in trying something new. New teacher educators need to start out somewhere, but none of them had ever experienced argumentation as a student, which means over 20  years after Driver et al. (2000) renewed the call for establishing scientific argumentation in the secondary science classroom, we still have a long way to go. However, when coupled with globally-focused content, it does show promise to help students develop critical thinking skills and empathy for other parts of the world. When discussing if they would ever teach their globally-focused lessons again, each teacher candidate mentioned how much their students enjoyed the experience. More importantly, they identified their students engaging in a meaningful learning experience. It is not a coincidence that student enjoyment coincided with the meaningful learning experience because it is a key aspect in holding student interest and motivating students to explore the topic further on their own, which a few of the teacher candidates reported in their journals (Bolkan & Griffin, 2018). Furthermore, the next evolution of the project could be to compel the teacher candidates to design lessons that include global collaboration through connections with a person/people from an international location to collaboratively solve a common issue (Lindsay & Davis, 2013). As a science teacher educator, I did not find the development of these lessons to be difficult to include in my curriculum. I already provide content support and pedagogical support so teacher candidates are prepared to meet the needs of their students (McNeill & Krajcik, 2012). A strength of globally-focused teaching is that you can choose any content and inquiry-based pedagogical approach and be successful. Furthermore, each of the teacher candidates had a positive outlook on trying a pedagogical approach outside of their comfort zone and had immediate success but were also able to quickly identify how to make their lesson better for their students. However, it is important that teacher educators are clear in the goal and aims of any internationalization tasks for teacher candidates. Additionally, it is important to spend time discussing globally-focused teaching and help teacher candidates develop appropriate lessons for their classroom. We discussed and reviewed globally-­ focused lessons from journals associated with the National Science Teachers Association (Clair & Conklin, 2021; Goldberg & Effinger, 2021; Himes et al., 2020; and Owens & Hite, 2019) that spanned their representative grade levels and content areas, and we spent time developing their lessons. However, I did not spend enough time discussing what internationalization means. We looked at and briefly discussed the four global competencies (Asia Society, 2005), but I took for granted that that discussion and the examples of globally-focused lessons would be enough for the teacher candidates to understand what my expectations for a global lesson were. Most of them met the challenge in the way that I intended, but a few of the teacher candidates, specifically those that only covered biomes, did not produce lessons that developed empathy for other regions and cultures. To address this, I have changed my instructions to be more explicitly focused on the global aspect of the lesson design and have planned to spend more time on the global competencies and make more connections to the sample lesson plans.

11  Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-Focused Teaching…

183

We live in a global society and are tasked with preparing teacher educators to prepare their students for the careers of a global economy (NRC, 1996). As our world continues to open for the exchange of commerce, ideas, and experiences, some people tend to grasp their own beliefs more tightly, which does not generate empathy, but a us verse them mentality (Crossley & Watson, 2003). However, a scientifically literate citizen can solve the problems of tomorrow when they are equipped to consider the perspectives of other people and cultures.

References American Council on Education (ACE). (2022, November 30). Comprehensive internationalization framework. Author. https://www.acenet.edu/Research-­Insights/Pages/Internationalization/ CIGE-­Model-­for-­Comprehensive-­Internationalization.aspx Asia Society. (2005, November 30). The four domains of global competence. Author. https://asiasociety.org/education/what-­global-­competence Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU). (2009, November 30). Valid assessment of learning in undergraduate education (VALUE). Author. https://www.aacu.org/ initiatives/value Asterhan, C. S. C., & Schwartz, B. B. (2007). The effects of monological and dialogical argumentation on concept learning in evolutionary theory. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(3), 626–639. Berland, L. K., & McNeill, K. L. (2012). For whom is argument and explanation a necessary distinction? A response to Osborne and Patterson. Science Education, 96(5), 808–813. Bolkan, S., & Griffin, D.  J. (2018). Catch and hold: Instructional interventions and their differential impact on student interest, attention, and autonomous motivation. Communication Education, 67(3), 269–286. Clair, T.  S., & Conklin, K. (2021). Paying the price of palm oil. The Science Teacher, 89(2), 50–52. Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.) Pearson. Crossley, M., & Watson, K. (2003). Comparative and international research in education: Globalisation, context and difference. Routledge. Cushner, K., & Mahon, J. (2002). Overseas student teaching: Affecting personal, professional, and global competencies in an age of globalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 6(1), 44–58. Driver, R., Newton, P., & Osborne, J. (2000). Establishing the norms of scientific argumentation in classrooms. Science Education, 84(3), 287–312. Evagorou, M., & Osborne, J. (2013). Exploring young students’ collaborative argumentation within a socioscientific issue. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 50(2), 209–237. Ferguson-Patrick, K., Macqueen, S., & Reynolds, R. (2012). Global education in teacher education programs: Views from preservice teachers. Paper presented at the joint AARE APERA international conference, Sydney, Australia. Goldberg, R., & Effinger, J. (2021). It’s a small world after all. Science and Children, 58(6), 26–29. Himes, M., Spires, H., Krupa, E., & Good, C. (2020). Water and sanitation. The Science Teacher, 88(2), 36–41. Hunter, B., White, G. P., & Godbey, G. C. (2006). What does it mean to be globally competent? Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 267–285.

184

B. Gilles

Kang, J.  H., & Chung, D.  Y. (2017). Homophily in an anonymous online community: Sociodemographic versus personality traits. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(6), 376–381. Kindon, S. L., Pain, R., & Kesby, M. (2007). Participatory action research approaches and methods: Connecting people, participation and place. Routledge. Laius, A., Kask, K., & Rannimäe, M. (2009). Comparing outcomes from two case studies on chemistry teachers’ readiness to change. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 10(2), 142–153. Lindsay, J., & Davis, V. (2013). Flattening classrooms, engaging minds: Move to global collaboration one step at a time.. Pearson. Markham, T. (2011). Project based learning a bridge just far enough. Teacher Librarian, 39(2), 38–42. McNeill, K.  L., & Krajcik, J.  S. (2012). Supporting grade 5–8 students in constructing explanations in science: The claim, evidence, and reasoning framework for talk and writing. Pearson. National Research Council (NRC). (1996). National science education standards. National Academy of Sciences. National Research Council (NRC). (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/18290 National Research Council (NRC). Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards., & Ebrary, I. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academies Press. Osterman, K. F. & Kottkamp, R. B. (1993). Reflective practice for educators: Improving schooling through professional development. Corwin. Owens, A., & Hite, R. (2019). Globalize your classroom. Science Scope, 43(4), 44–52. Plettenberg, N., Nakayama, J., Belavadi, P., Halbach, P., Burbach, L., Calero Valdez, A., & Ziefle, M. (2020). User behavior and awareness of filter bubbles in social media. In International conference on human-computer interaction (pp. 81–92). Springer. Polanco-Levicán, K., & Salvo-Garrido, S. (2022). Understanding social media literacy: A systematic review of the concept and its competences. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8807. Ricketts, A. (2014). Preservice elementary teachers’ ideas about scientific practices. Science & Education, 23(10), 2119–2135. Rudsberg, K., Östman, L., & Aaro Östman, E. (2017). Students’ meaning making in classroom discussions: The importance of peer interaction. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 12(3), 709–738. Sampson, V., & Blanchard, M. R. (2012). Science teachers and scientific argumentation: Trends in views and practice. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(9), 1122–1148. Shearer, E., & Gottfried, J. (2017). News use across social media platforms 2017. Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project. United States of America. Retrieved from https://policycommons. net/artifacts/617725/news-­use-­across-­social-­media-­ platforms-­2017/1598576/ Strachan, A. (2020). An exploration of how teachers’ attitudes to global learning can be used to inform primary science education. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 12(2), 121–132. Tichnor-Wagner, A., Parkhouse, H., Glazier, J., & Cain, J. M. (2019). Becoming a globally competent teacher. ASCD. Toulmin, S. E. (1958). The uses of argument. Cambridge University Press. Tye, M. (2009). Consciousness revisited. MIT Press. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. United Nations.

11  Engaging Teacher Candidates in Globally-Focused Teaching…

185

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). (2016). Ten years of the UNECE strategy for education for sustainable development. Evaluation report on the implementation of the UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development from 2005 to 2015. United Nations. Walters, L. M., Garii, B., & Walters, T. (2009). Learning globally, teaching locally: Incorporating international exchange and intercultural learning into pre-service teacher training. Intercultural Education, 20(Suppl 1), S151–S158. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675980903371050 York, M.  K., & Hite, R. (2021). Preservice science and mathematics teachers’ intent to use classroom-based global collaboration (CBGC) in their future classrooms. Teacher Education Quarterly, 48(2), 45–68.

Chapter 12

Water Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global Water Crisis Lacey D. Huffling

, Heather C. Scott, and Jodie L. Ward

Acronyms SDG Sustainable Development Goals GC Global Competence MAT Master of Arts in Teaching

12.1 Introduction The past 2 years of the global COVID-19 pandemic have reiterated how communities across our planet are interconnected and how humans are benefiting from the global science initiative that produced viable vaccines to help boost immune responses regarding coronavirus exposure. Thus, it is paramount that global science learning is part of the K-12 science curriculum. As students’ understanding of ecosystems, human cultures, and the complexities that arise from human-environment interactions broaden, global science learning needs to be infused into science curricula to help students develop into citizens who can think and act on globally significant issues (Mansilla & Jackson, 2011). However, internationalizing science education requires individualized attention to the nuances within classrooms and communities to help connect the local to the global and vice versa. Even though internationalized science education is needed, the inclusion of it within science teacher education is mainly left to individual institutions and instructors to take upon themselves to include (Ramos et al., 2021); thus, science teachers and science teacher educators may not be prepared to infuse global science learning into their classroom. This lack of preparation can be further exacerbated for science teachers

L. D. Huffling (*) · H. C. Scott · J. L. Ward College of Education, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_12

187

188

L. D. Huffling et al.

in rural areas as rural school systems often struggle to recruit teachers due to geographical isolation and, at times, lower teacher pay than their suburban and urban counterparts (Cowan et al., 2016; Robson et al., 2019). Rural science teachers are more likely to teach on provisional licenses and “learn on the job” as they take the necessary pedagogical courses to obtain their full teaching license (Robson et al., 2019); thus, adding another requirement, like global science learning, can seem daunting. Therefore, more research on how rural science teacher preparation programs successfully integrate global science learning into the required curricula would be beneficial. One way in which the integration of global science learning has been accomplished is by infusing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into existing state science standards (United Nations, n.d.). The SDGs can serve as driving curricula focus for learners to explore and research global and local issues to develop “the necessary knowledge, understanding, skills, values, capabilities, and dispositions to respond to the complex socio-ecological issues of the 21st century” (Evans et  al., 2017, p.  406). In our previous work, we have designed and evaluated online professional development for in-service teachers (Scott & Huffling, 2022), and we have mapped our curricula to several SDGs and explored how using the SDGs to teach state science standards supported Education for Sustainability (Huffling et al., 2022). Given our prior research, using an SDG as the content focus for our learning activities further enhances our goal to internationalize our participants’ science learning. The SDGs also support the four domains of Global Competence (GC) developed by the Center for Global Education (Mansilla & Jackson, 2011): (1) Investigate the world; (2) Recognize perspectives; (3) Communicate ideas; and (4) Take action. Thus, introducing future science teachers to the SDGs as a way to address state standards can serve a dual purpose in developing their global competence and their enactment of globally competent teaching, which is captured on the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum using the three common teaching domains of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Given the need for more research on the nuances of using the SDGs to incorporate global science learning into rural science teacher preparation, we designed an action research project to capture our attempts of infusing global science learning through SDG Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation into middle grades and secondary science methods course. Our research questions were: • How were middle grades and secondary pre-service science teachers’ global competence teaching enabled by a global science learning module related to SDG Goal 6? • How did the implementation of a global science learning module afford participants opportunities to learn how to engage and assess their own students’ global competence development?

12  Water Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global…

189

12.2 Method of Study Our action research study was designed as a collaborative effort to explore how incorporating global science learning into a methods course would impact the global teaching competency of participants who were enrolled in an initial certification Master of Arts (MAT) program for middle grades and secondary education at our university (Stringer & Aragón, 2020). Our face-to-face MAT program historically trained rural teachers, given the rural designation of the school systems surrounding our institution. Even with moving to a completely online MAT over the past 2 years, most of our students are teaching at rural schools. In Fall 2021, 72% of our students were employed by a rural school, while 65% of our current students work in rural schools this fall. The emphasis on training rural teachers will continue to be an essential aspect of the MAT as our program now services the entire state, with over 150 rural school districts. Thus, engaging in this action research project enabled our participants and us to reflect on better incorporating global learning into rural science classrooms, thus affording students opportunities to build the four domains of GC (Bradbury et al., 2019). Our study included two sections of a science methods course required as part of the MAT for middle and secondary science majors. Huffling and Scott taught the two sections. This is the program’s only pedagogical science class for students majoring in middle grades science (4th–8th grades) or a secondary science content area (i.e., Biology, Chemistry, Physics; 6th–12th grades). The class format was asynchronous online. Out of the 21 students, 14 consented to participate. There were five middle grades and nine secondary majors. Participant self-identified demographics are shared in Table 12.1.

12.2.1 Innovation Water connects us all through its impact on ecosystems, food production, livelihoods, and the existence of life itself. Water does not know borders as it flows and meanders from mountaintops to oceans, along the way seeping into aquifers, being Table 12.1  Participants self-identified demographics Gender

MATa concentration MGb Secc Female Male science science* 8 6 5 9

Years taught 2 or 0 1 more 7 5 2

Level taught MGb Secc science science* 9 5

School designation Rural 9

Urban 5

Note a MAT is an abbreviation for Master of Arts b MG is an abbreviation for Middle Grades and covers grades 4–8 c Sec is an abbreviation for Secondary and covers grades 6–12 * All secondary science sought Broadfield science certification, which certifies one to teach all middle and high school science content

190

L. D. Huffling et al.

extracted by plant roots, collected by animals and humans, and eventually being reabsorbed back into the atmosphere where it will fall to earth again. Beginning in early elementary school in the United States, students learn about the water cycle as a natural phenomenon. It is a natural process students have experienced firsthand, yet textbook images of the water cycle fail to account for human usage and access to water (Abbott et al., 2019). Therefore, the need for greater water literacy among students is crucial, as researchers have documented that as water awareness is developed at the local, national, and global levels, personal action toward better water use is also developed (Moreno-Guerrero et  al., 2020). Sozcu and Urker (2020) have shown that as students enter high school, they have already begun to develop their opinions on water responsibility. Thus, middle and secondary grades are an essential time to broaden students’ exposure to global water issues to further afford students opportunities to investigate water quality issues locally and globally, consider multiple perspectives regarding how water is viewed as both a human right and a commodity, communicate to others what they have learned, and to develop actionable ways they and others can engage in advancing water literacy for all. Bearing this in mind, two of us (Huffling and Scott) developed a 6-week global science learning unit focused on the global water crisis, which is the identification of freshwater scarcity as one of the major global environmental problems of the twenty-first century (Srinivasan et al., 2012). Our goals for this learning unit were two-fold. First, we wanted to model for our participants how to incorporate global science teaching into the state science standards through the SDGs, as we have done previously with in-service teachers (Huffling et al., 2022). Second, we wanted our participants to reflect on their preparedness to teach global science by considering where they were on the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum before and after the 6-week global science learning module. To begin this work, we selected elements from the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum (Table 12.2) and performance outcomes from the Asia Society’s global Table 12.2  Globally competent teaching continuum elements used to develop global science learning unit based on course content Category Teacher dispositions Teacher knowledge Teacher skills

Element 1. Empathy and valuing multiple perspectives 2. Commitment to promoting equity worldwide 3. Understanding of global conditions and current events 4. Understanding of the ways that the world is interconnected 8. Create a classroom environment that values diversity and global engagement 9. Integrate learning experiences for students that promote content-aligned explorations of the world 10. Facilitate intercultural and international conversations that promote active listening, critical thinking, and perspective recognition 11. Develop local, national, or international partnerships that provide real-world contexts for global learning opportunities 12. Develop and use appropriate methods of inquiry to assess students’ global competence development

12  Water Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global…

191

Table 12.3  GC performance outcomes used to develop global science learning unit based on course content GC Selected performance outcomes 1. Investigate the 1. Poses an original and specific researchable question on a local, regional, world and/or global issue; and convincingly explains its significance to the global community 2. Selects and uses a variety of international and domestic sources in multiple formats or media to identify and weigh the most important evidence that addresses a global question 3. Analyzes, integrates, and evaluates sources of evidence to develop a coherent, well-supported, and original response to a global question; demonstrates a thorough and complex understanding of the issue 4. Develops a clear and specific position based on evidence from sources that considers multiple perspectives; draws defensible, logical conclusions in response to a global question 2. Recognize 5. Expresses and justifies a clear personal perspective on a situation, event, perspectives issue, or phenomenon; and explains in detail the influences on that perspective 6. Demonstrates a clear and accurate understanding of the perspectives of other people, groups, or scholars 7. Provides a complex analysis of how varying perspectives influence human interactions, and how this affects people’s understandings of a situation, event, issue, or phenomenon 3. Communicate 11. Selects and skillfully applies appropriate resources, such as technology ideas and media, to communicate and collaborate expertly with diverse individuals and groups 4. Take action 13. Identifies and creates opportunities for personal and collaborative action across disciplines, industries, and/or borders to address a situation, event, issue, or phenomenon in a way that will likely improve conditions

leadership postsecondary rubric for GC in science (Table 12.3) pertained to course content and used these to design the learning activities. We selected the postsecondary rubric since our students were in a graduate program, and we were focusing on their ability to engage in the performance outcomes. Since this was going to be 6 weeks of our 16-week course, we embedded additional science pedagogical topics, which included using children’s literature, developing strategies for incorporating scientific texts into learning activities, discussing potentially controversial topics, engaging participants in citizen science projects, designing place-based learning activities, data collection, and analyses with technology, how to find and use public, open-source datasets, designing and implementing self-reflection, providing multiple options for students to represent their learning, using technology to communicate, and developing online science learning modules. Week 1: Setting the Stage The first task our participants undertook was to complete a pre-reflection survey based on the elements of the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum and the performance indicators for the four domains of global competence we had previously selected to focus on in our course. Participants were given the following instructions

192

L. D. Huffling et al.

for the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum pre-reflection survey: “For the nine components below, highlight the box that best describes you, reflecting on the professional and personal experiences or practices that led you to make the choice.” For the GCs, we used the postsecondary Global Leadership rubric, and participants were asked to: “For the nine components, highlight the box that best describes your ability to engage your middle or high school students in each performance outcome, reflecting on the professional and personal experiences or practices that led you to make that choice.” Next, participants watched a video of their methods instructor reading the children’s book One Well (Strauss, 2007). The video showed each page of the book while the professor’s voice could be heard reading the text. Closed captions and video transcript were also provided to model best practices. After the book reading, participants were introduced to the driving question of the learning module: How is Earth’s water like a community well? This led to participants being introduced to the cumulative learning product they would produce over the 6-week module: an ArcGIS StoryMap that used One Well as a framework to answer the driving question. The StoryMap was to mirror the 10 sections in One Well, and participants were told they would be gathering evidence from their community and a country selected from a list provided by the instructors to demonstrate how both places pull from the same global well. Participants were also instructed to create a student anticipation guide and a student reflection assignment to accompany their StoryMaps, with the goal being that they could use these StoryMaps with their students. We provided participants with several StoryMap examples that all involved water quality, with our state’s 2019 Water Quality report being one of the examples. In addition, participants were provided a checklist of all required items for the StoryMap, as each section had certain elements that needed to be included. After reviewing the StoryMap instructions, participants were instructed to listen to the reading of One Well again and complete the first row of a graphic organizer to collect evidence that supported the driving question or evidence that could contradict the driving question or raise questions for them. Next, participants completed a pre-reading assignment. Here, we introduced participants to the potentially controversial topic of water being both a basic human right and a commodity. Participants had to define each and then take a stance on whether water was a commodity or a basic human right. Participants then moved on to the week’s readings, which consisted of selected chapters from When the Rivers Run Dry (Pearce, 2018). As they completed the readings, participants filled out a graphic organizer for evidence regarding the Nature of Science in the readings. After the readings, participants completed a post-reading assignment that introduced them to SDG 6, clean water and sanitation and had them review the UN resources. Finally, participants returned to their answers regarding whether clean water was a commodity or basic human right and revised or added to their responses and added to the graphic organizer for the driving question. They also were instructed to prepare for the next week’s Parlay discussion (an online discussion tool) through a list of questions to answer.

12  Water Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global…

193

Week 2: Citizen Science Participants began this week preparing their initial response for the Parlay discussion centered on whether water is a commodity or a basic human right. They were told: “The goal of this exercise is to gain new perspectives on the topic and to refine your ideas. You will be assessed on your ability to support your position with evidence and provide your peers with thoughtful feedback.” They had to provide a position statement and three or more main points to support their position statement, with at least one piece of evidence for each point. Next, they had to share one to two possible opposing viewpoints, their refutation, and the evidence they used. All evidence had to have citations. In week 3, they would be required to read and provide feedback to at least three peers with provided feedback prompts. As participants prepared their initial Parlay responses, they also began reading about Citizen Science and its use in middle and high school classrooms. Perusall is an online social reading tool that we use to engage participants. After completing the readings, participants were to select a web-based Citizen Science project on Zooniverse from the list provided by their professors; the Citizen Science project location would determine the comparison country they would be using for their StoryMap. Over the next 2 weeks, participants were told to complete 20 observations for their selected Citizen Science project and record the observational data in the provided Google Spreadsheet template in order to make a graphic representation (Huffling et al., 2021) and food web for their StoryMap. They were also instructed to conduct observations in their local community, make at least 20 animal observations and record them on the second tab of the same Google Spreadsheet. Finally, participants began working on the first three sections of their StoryMaps: Water on Earth, The Water Cycle, and Water in the Well. For the water cycle section, participants were required to select a body of water in their community and one in their selected country close to their citizen science project, and they had to construct a water cycle graphic with a caption for each body of water. For the water in the well section, participants had to research and report where it came from for their community and their selected country. They submitted these three section drafts for feedback from the instructors. Week 3: Exploring Local and Global Water Quality During the third week, participants responded to at least three peers on the Parlay discussion board. Peer feedback stems were provided to model for the participants how to engage their students in a peer-to-peer discussion. After the Parlay discussion, participants completed a post-discussion reflection where they added additional evidence to the driving question graphic organizer, and they revisited and revised their response to whether water is a commodity or a basic human right. During this week, they also gathered and analyzed data from their citizen science project and community observations. For the concluding activity, participants submitted drafts of sections four and five (Plants at the Well and Animals at the Well) for instructor feedback. In the animals at the well section, participants had to include a graph of their citizen science and community observation data. They also had to construct a food web for both communities. We attempted to accommodate our

194

L. D. Huffling et al.

students who were more physical science content focused with the option of changing these two sections to Chemistry of the Well and Physics of the Well; however, all participants elected to complete the plant and animal sections. Week 4: Data Analysis and Interpretation This week we aimed to introduce participants to two water quality issues: Coal Ash and PFOS chemicals. We chose these topics because of their prevalence in rural areas of our state. First, participants watched a documentary titled Saving Juliette that examines a rural community’s water quality issues as they share an aquifer with a coal ash pond beside the largest coal-fired power plant in the United States. These community members do not have access to public water lines and have relied on private wells for decades. This helped participants understand that water quality issues are affecting communities in our state today. Next, participants watched a 1-h author series discussion from Hudson Library and Historical Society with Robert Bilot, the lawyer who fought Dupont for 20  years over a toxic chemical labeled PFOA. This further reiterated how water is globally connected as PFOA/S chemicals are now found in every area of the world. Most recently, scientists have even documented that the PFOS levels in rainwater are now higher than the proposed limits for human consumption by the Environmental Protection Agency, which makes rainwater undrinkable (Cousins et al., 2022). In addition to these viewings, participants submitted drafts for sections six through nine of their StoryMaps: People at the Well, Access to the Well, Demands on the Well, and Potential Pollution in the Well. Participants were to use data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene and the CEO Water Mandate Interactive Database of the World’s River Basins for these sections. Additional resources were provided by the UN Environment Programme on Tackling global water pollution and UNESCO’s International Initiative on Water Quality. We also created a screencast for the JMP database and explained to the participants how this group categorized drinking water, for rural areas in the United States, as most rely on private wells for their drinking water. Week 5: Finalizing the Storymap During the last week of the semester, participants were to finalize their StoryMap. They had professor feedback to incorporate for sections one through nine. Then, they also had to complete section 10: How Can People Take Action? This was the only section where participants were told to focus solely on their local communities. Our reasoning was to model for participants how we should not tell other communities what to do as we do not fully understand the socio-cultural and political structures. It would be presumptuous of us to create an action plan for a community where we do not live. Participants also created the student anticipation guides and reflection assignments for their StoryMaps. At the end of the week, they shared these final products with their assigned peer and the course instructor.

12  Water Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global…

195

Week 6: Peer Feedback and Self Reflection Participants completed a peer review of an assigned StoryMap for their final exam. They used a template created by the instructors to model how to conduct peer reviews with their students. They completed a StoryMap self-reflection that again served as a model for engaging their students in self-reflection. In addition, the self-­ reflection asked questions about how this project helped them learn to teach and assess global science learning. Finally, participants completed a post-reflection survey using the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum and GC.

12.2.2 Data Sources and Analysis To address our two research questions, we used the following data sources: pre-­ reflection and post-reflection surveys on the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum and the GC, participant-created anticipation guides, reflection assignments for their StoryMaps, and participant self-reflections. For our data analyses, we compiled the results of the pre-reflection surveys and the post-reflection surveys for each individual by transposing the rubric descriptors into numbers, with one being the lowest on both the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum and the GC scale and five being the highest on the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum and four on the GC scale. We then compiled the individual results together to view of how our participants viewed their growth. Next, we analyzed the StoryMap anticipation guides and reflection assignments for instances of addressing aspects of GC with their students. We used the four GCs as the a priori parent codes. Then, we engaged in the second round of individual coding in which we examined each parent code and developed emergent codes as they arose within each of the four parent codes. Finally, we met and discussed the emergent codes. We collapsed similar emergent codes if all three agreed. After reconciling the emergent codes, we further analyzed and collapsed these into broader themes that represented the findings within each parent code (Fig. 12.1).

12.3 Findings Our participants’ engagement in a 6-week global science learning module as students provided opportunities for them to develop their own global science learning and a model for how to develop their own globally competent teaching. Students learned about global science teaching through a screencast, exploring the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum and the Asia Society’s Global Competence performance outcomes for science, and self-assessing on the rubrics. Students were also able to create materials to teach global science topics successfully. There were commonalities across participants that informed our globally competent teaching development and our use of the four domains of GCs in our science methods courses. Yet,

196

L. D. Huffling et al.

Fig. 12.1  Coding diagramNote. Frequency counts indicate the number of participants with at least one instance of the emergent code. The total number of participants for this dataset was 10, as four participants from the original 14 did not turn in a StoryMap anticipation guide or a reflection assignment

we also recognize missed opportunities and ways that the learning module may have constrained our participants. We discuss these points of contrast in the changes to innovation section. In comparing the class percentages from the pre-post-surveys, all nine of the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum elements we selected to focus on in our course and used to develop our 6-week learning module (Table 12.2) showed a positive gain (Table 12.4). In terms of movement along the continuum, the class average moved from the progressing to the proficient category for elements 1 (Empathy and valuing multiple perspectives) and 4 (Understanding of the ways that the world is interconnected), and they moved from beginning to progressing for element 2 (Commitment to promoting equity worldwide). Elements 10 (Facilitate intercultural and international conversations that promote active listening, critical thinking, and perspective

12  Water Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global…

197

Table 12.4 Class averages and categories for pre-post globally competent teaching continuum survey Globally competent teaching continuum category 1 2 3 4 Pre average 3.71 2.93 3.57 3.43 Post average 4.21 3.57 3.86 4.29 Pre categorya Prog B Prog Prog Post categorya Prof Prog Prog Prof

8 2.43 2.86 B B

9 2.57 2.71 B B

10 1.57 2.14 N B

11 1.07 1.64 N B

12 1.29 2.29 N B

Note. aAbbreviations are nascent (N), beginning (B), progressing (Prog), and proficient (pro) Table 12.5  Class averages and categories for pre-post GC survey GC performance outcomes 1 Pre average 2.00 Post average 2.54 Pre categorya D Post categorya D

2 1.85 2.46 E D

3 2.15 2.62 D D

4 2.31 2.69 D D

5 2.31 2.85 D D

6 2.38 3.00 D P

7 2.08 2.85 D D

11 1.92 2.69 E D

13 1.85 2.23 E D

Note. aAbbreviations are emerging (E), developing (D), and proficient (P). No average reached the advanced level

recognition), 11 (Develop local, national, or international partnerships that provide real-world contexts for global learning opportunities), and 12 (Develop and use appropriate methods of inquiry to assess students’ global competence development) showed growth from nascent or beginning. These results indicate that engaging in global science learning through an SDG enabled participants to move forward in their global teaching competence; our participants also self-reflected that regarding their globally competent teaching skills, they were nascent or beginning. As the participants were all seeking initial teacher licensure, this aligns with where they are in their teaching journey. All nine performance outcomes on the GC increased from pre- to post-class average (Table  12.5), which indicates participants’ belief that they had grown in their abilities to use the four domains of GC in their classroom as this is how they were instructed to consider the nine performance outcomes. On the pre-survey, participants self-assessed as being able to engage their students in either emerging (performance outcomes 2, 11, 13) or developing (performance outcomes 1, 3–7) levels on the pre-survey. On the post-survey, participants moved from emerging to developing for all seven performance outcomes on the pre-survey. For the performance outcomes that were developing, only performance outcomes six moved to a proficient level. Again, these self-ratings, like the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum teacher skills ratings, align with ratings for teachers new to the teaching profession and/or global science teaching. Given that participants’ rating levels were similar across these two scales further validates the use of these instruments by beginning science teachers for self-reflection.

198

L. D. Huffling et al.

On their written self-reflections, all 14 participants indicated that developing the StoryMap helped them to understand that their students should be given opportunities to participate in science on a global scale, and 11 stated they would consider assigning a similar project to their students. As one participant stated, “We should incorporate Global Science into everything we learn because, at the end of it all, we are all the same. Animals may be a little different, and we may speak different languages, but we all need the same things.” Another participant indicated that his learning was impacted through the StoryMap research and development: It was a cool way to show how everything in science is connected. As you go around the world, you will see very different people, cultures, animals, plants, etc. but through this project, I was able to see how everything is intertwined. I think something like this would be a cool way to prove that point to my students.

This same participant further explained how he was going to transfer what he learned to his Physical Science classes: I could see myself doing something similar. Since I teach physical science, I would adapt it more to that. Maybe something to do with different infrastructure designs throughout the world or electricity usage. I think it would help students see what they are learning outside the classroom and outside their communities.

This example demonstrates how this individual was able to think of other science topics that he could internationalize. Of the 11 who stated that they would assign a similar project to their students, seven indicated they saw this as a way to engage their students in global science learning, and four discussed how this would be helpful to address the required science content. In addition, participants mentioned how this engaged students through creativity and critical thinking. As one participant wrote: I would assign this as an end product for a unit in the second half of the year. After building certain habits and practicing skills, I think asking students to complete a global research project and present their ideas on an online platform would both engage students and add value to their science education.

There was some hesitation about the success of assigning a similar project to their students as four participants discussed how they were concerned that such a project would be too much for their students to manage. Technology access and limitation were also listed as possible constraints, which is a typical concern for rural teachers and was highlighted even more during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools across the United States had to shift to online learning (Lai & Widmar, 2021).

12.3.1 Engaging and Assessing Students’ Global Competence For our second research question, we were interested in whether the 6-week global science learning unit we developed would allow our participants to engage and access their students’ GC. Thus, we had participants create StoryMaps as a grade for the course and as a teaching tool to use with their students. In this regard, we

12  Water Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global…

199

required participants to develop assessment materials for their StoryMap. The materials were to include a pre-assignment in the form of an anticipation guide and a post-assignment in the form of reflection questions. Only 10 of our 14 participants for this dataset turned in these materials. In coding the anticipation guides for the four domains of GC, we noted that seven participants had students return to the pre-­ assignment questions to reflect on their answers and determine if their initial thoughts/answers still held after engaging with the StoryMap. This was an interesting observation as it supports the second domain of GC, recognize perspectives, especially in reflecting on what one believes. Regarding our first round of coding for the GC, we discovered that all 10 participants created questions on both assignments that mapped to the first (i.e., investigate the world) and the second (i.e., recognize perspectives) GC domains. For the third GC domain, communicate ideas, only four participants attempted to provide their students with opportunities to communicate their ideas to others. In reflecting upon this, we wonder if this was due to the nature of what we were requiring or the fact that communicating ideas was the one that we emphasized the least in designing our 6-week module, even though ArcGIS StoryMaps is a collaborative communication tool that emphasizes global learning. Finally, for the fourth GC domain, taking action, only two participants did not include a way for their students to consider taking personal action. As we began our second coding round to see what emergent codes developed under each GC domain, we reflected on how we had not told participants to design anticipation or reflection questions that considered the GC domains. We view this as further evidence that the 6-week global science learning module aided participants’ understanding and application of the GC domains. GC Domain 1: Investigate the World All ten participants developed questions for their students that aligned with aspects of investigating the world. Participants developed questions to aid their students in identifying aspects of water that made it globally significant. For example, water is necessary for all life and is connected across the globe. One participant asked students, “In what ways are all of Earth’s water sources interconnected?” Followed immediately by the question, “Do you think we all share ‘one well’?” This is an example of how a participant could leverage students’ investigation of the world to engage students in considering their perspective regarding what their investigation uncovered. Participants also helped students identify impacts on water at global and local scales, such as usage, quality, and pollution. Participants asked students to determine if usage was the same worldwide, the differences between human and animal/ plant use, and which human consumption activity (personal use, agriculture, or industry) used the most freshwater. Concerning water quality and pollution, participants crafted questions exploring how water quality differs in communities and how pollution negatively impacts water quality. Furthermore, participants included questions regarding global water usage data, particularly for the United States and the other countries highlighted by the assigned StoryMap. An example of such a question asked students to consider “how learning about a local lake and river in another

200

L. D. Huffling et al.

country contributed to understanding that all freshwater on Earth is connected through one community well.” This led to participants requiring students to consider statements about water quality and water pollution and if they were supported or refuted, such as “Water is safely managed and accessible to the majority of the world” and “The only cause of water pollution is litter.” However, the scale (local, national, or global) students were asked to consider regarding these problems was not clearly defined by our participants. GC Domain 2: Recognize Perspectives All 10 participants engaged students in articulating their perspectives regarding the global water crisis and their beliefs about access to water as a basic human right. For instance, one participant asked her students, “When you think about water, what comes to mind?” Three participants engaged students in considering water usage from a historical perspective. One participant asked, “Do you think humans use more, less, or the same amount of water as we did 100 years ago? Why?” Five participants crafted questions that aided their students in contemplating community/ local perspectives regarding water. One example was, “Does the water in your community affect people in other countries? Why or why not?” Another asked in the first part of a question, “Why is it important to protect freshwater supply in your community?” and they followed up with, “How does this impact water abroad?” This demonstrates how some participants purposefully used community scale to have their students consider global impacts. However, only half posed questions regarding local communities, all 10 developed questions that pushed students to consider a more global perspective. These questions ranged from “True/False: Everyone in the world gets water from the same source” to “Is there enough water in the world for everyone to have plenty of drinking water?” Considering the consequences of differential water access, all 10 participants generated questions that encouraged their students to recognize the limitations of water availability or access on a global scale. Such questions included, “True/False: Despite where you live, everyone has access to water.” “Does everyone have access to clean water?”, and “True/False: All people have access to the same water resources.” Five moved beyond simply considering availability pushing their students to recognize water shortages faced worldwide. Seven participants engaged their students in considerations of water safety and how this may differ depending on where one resides, with questions such as “Does everyone have access to clean water?” Finally, seven of our participants continued the theme of water usage from the first GC domain, investigate the world by including other than human life as part of their students’ global consideration. This moved their students beyond investigating to recognizing how water usage depends on the perspective you consider, much like SDG 14: Life below water and SDG 15: Life on land. GC Domain 3: Communicate Ideas and GC Domain 4: Take Action Only three of the 10 participants provided opportunities for their students to engage in GC Domain 3. All three had students create a statement that presented information and data regarding the global water crisis. One participant had students communicate with each other, while the other two proposed scenarios where students

12  Water Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global…

201

would communicate outside of the classroom. One of these two participants had students create a sample social media post to take action, and the other gave students the option of creating an educational pamphlet as part of an individual action plan. As these two examples highlight, communicating ideas and taking action naturally complement each other. However, there were examples of engaging students in action-taking that did not lead to communication considerations, as all 10 participants had questions about taking action. Four participants had a teacher-identified specific action regarding only posing water conservation as the global water issue to impact. In contrast, all ten participants provided questions where students identified individual actions they could take. Of the questions that encouraged taking action on the global water crisis, only one participant developed a question about collective action taking, “What are some ways we can prevent pollution and conserve water in our daily lives? If these efforts were to be made collectively worldwide, would it significantly impact the water shortage?” Upon further analysis of the individual effort questions, we coded the language used within the questions. We discovered that six participants utilized you language, which further situates action as an individual effort, not a collective action. Questions such as “Write a statement outlining the actions you will take.” or “Draft a tweet to start your social media campaign” are examples. However, four participants used we language even though the actions were positioned as individuals. By engaging we language, the actions move from being solely the responsibility of an individual to being individual actions that have a collective responsibility. Therefore, questions such as “What are some things that we can do as individuals that will limit our water usage?” and “What can we as individuals do to keep drinking water safe and available?” provided a more global emphasis on action even though the specific actions were individual.

12.4 Changes to Innovation Reflecting on our findings, there are several ways in which our 6-week learning unit could be enhanced. First, we will alter the point of the semester in which we introduced global science learning. We used the last 6 weeks of the semester to engage our students in global science learning. This was after they had submitted their original learning segment, so they did not have an opportunity to develop a global science lesson sequence and receive feedback from us. For our next iteration, we will use global science learning at the beginning as the framework for our methods course and weave it throughout the course (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2019). Next, we will be more transparent about our pedagogical choices and how we mapped learning objectives and assignments onto the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum and GC to promote global science learning. This would provide an additional model for our students as they work to develop their own global science learning opportunities (Ramos et al., 2021).

202

L. D. Huffling et al.

Upon further reflection, though we introduced the concept of global science learning as the basis for the 6-week learning segment and had participants fill out the pre-survey, we did not require course readings about global science learning. We designed this as an immersive experience where our participants stepped fully into the role of students. We had them transition from student to teacher after their StoryMaps were complete, and they had to create the assessments for their StoryMaps. However, we did not require the assessments to be developed to assess students’ GC.  The participants did not re-interact with the GC domains or the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum until the course’s final week after they had turned in their StoryMaps and accompanying assessments. Therefore, the students were not overly familiar with the GC Framework, as we created the learning experience to place them as student-learners instead of teacher-learners, which we recognize is a change we want to make going forward. Using global science learning as a framework for the course will also aid in engaging students more in the research and pedagogical literature and allow students to have both student learner and teacher learner experiences. We feel strongly that we must push our students to a more critical perspective, (Hauerwas et al., 2021). This is also where we also need to push ourselves. Modeling for our students how to deconstruct how science has been used to alienate marginalized groups or has been hidden from them through limited access directly impacts global science learning. Regarding water issues, who determines who has access, what drives usage, and how has water developed into such a commodity when it is needed for all life? These are the types of questions we want our participants to ask. We want to push them to reflexivity by examining how our actions affect others and vice versa (Hauerwas et  al., 2021). We attempted to do some of this work when assigning the documentaries on coal ash ponds and PFOS chemicals. However, we did not require learning assignments on these, so we do not know what sense the participants made of them or even if they watched them. We also want to add more children’s literature that addresses cultural views of water. Some books we plan to include are A Different Pond (Phi, 2017), A Long Walk to Water (Park, 2010), Hope Springs (Walters, 2014), The Water Princess (Verde, 2016), The Water Walker (Robertson, 2021), Water’s Children: Celebrating the Resource that Unites Us All (Delaunois, 2017), and We are Water Protectors (Lindstrom, 2020). In addition, we recognize that our engagement in GC domain 3: Communicate Ideas and GC domain 4: Take Action was limited. Though we purposely chose ArcGIS StoryMaps as the technology platform for our participants to use based on its global usage, we did not convey this to our participants, and our results show that they did not infer this themselves as an aspect of global science learning as no participant mentioned the specific technology as means of teaching or assessing global science. In their action research studies, others noted that communicating ideas was the most challenging aspect of engaging students (Ramos et al., 2021). Though we did include an action piece within the StoryMap criteria, emphasized individual action and did not require a reflection on the impact of the actions proposed. Engaging students in Global Thinking Routines (Mansilla, 2016) throughout the

12  Water Connects Us All: Learning to Teach Global Science Through the Global…

203

semester might provide more opportunities for students to consider plausible actions (Ramos et al., 2021).

12.5 Conclusion Our project explored our attempts at internationalizing rural science education through the global water crisis. This was our first time using a global science learning framework in our methods course. We were encouraged by our findings as participants’ self-reflections and learning products indicated a movement along the Globally Competent Teaching Continuum and GC; yet we also realize there are ways in which we, as science teacher educators, can push ourselves further in our own globally competent teaching. We also have no evidence for the long-lasting global competence that was developed; therefore, we plan to conduct follow-up surveys and interviews with our participants to establish a longitudinal study exploring the impacts. However, we recognize that these changes are at an individual level, and to afford opportunities to develop globally competent teaching for all rural pre-service teachers, we need to make changes at a programmatic level. We plan to develop ways to incorporate globally competent teaching into our students’ earlier courses. As Bradbury et al. (2019) advocate, we will continue to examine how Action Research for Transformation can enable us to use global science learning to “co-produce a better world for all” (p. 4).

References Abbott, B. W., Bishop, K., Zarnetske, J. P., et al. (2019). Human domination of the global water cycle absent from depictions and perceptions. Nature Geoscience, 12, 533–540. https://doi. org/10.1038/s41561-­019-­0374-­y Bradbury, H., Waddell, S., O’Brien, K., Apgar, M., Teehankee, B., & Fazey, I. (2019). A call to action research for transformations: The times demand it. Action Research, 17(1), 3–10. https:// doi.org/10.1177/1476750319829633 Cousins, I.  T., Johansson, J.  H., Salter, M.  E., Sha, B., & Scheringer, M. (2022). Outside the safe operating space of a new planetary boundary for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Environmental Science & Technology, 56(16), 11172–11179. https://doi.org/10.1021/ acs.est2c02765 Cowan, J., Goldhaber, D., Hayes, K., & Theobald, R. (2016). Missing elements in the discussion of teacher shortages. Educational Researcher, 45(8), 460–462. https://doi.org/10.310 2/0013189X16679145 Delaunois, A. (2017). Water’s children: Celebrating the resource that unites us all (G. Frischeteau, Illus.). Pajama Press Inc. Evans, N. (Snowy), Stevenson, R. B., Lasen, M., Ferreira, J. A., & Davis, J. (2017). Approaches to embedding sustainability in teacher education: A synthesis of the literature. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 405–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.01.013

204

L. D. Huffling et al.

Hauerwas, L. B., Kerkhoff, S. N., & Schneider, S. B. (2021). Glocality, reflexivity, interculturality, and worldmaking: A framework for critical global teaching. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 35(2), 185–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2021.1900714 Huffling, L. D., Scott, H., Collins, R., Gantt, B., Johnson, H., & Weeks, M. (2021). Exploring the Zooniverse: Using wildlife camera citizen science projects to engage students in academic language acquisition. The Science Teacher, 88(5), 43–51. Huffling, L. D., Scott, H. C., & Rushing, S. (2022). Incorporating education for sustainable development into teachers’ continuous professional development through Critical Environmental Agency. In M. Öztürk (Ed.), Educational response, inclusion and empowerment for SDGs in emerging economies: How do education systems contribute to raising global citizens? Springer. Lai, J., & Widmar, N.  O. (2021). Revisiting the digital divide in the COVID-19 Era. Applied Economics Perspective Policy, 43, 458–464. https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13104 Lindstrom, C. (2020). We are water protectors (M. Goade, Illus.). Roaring Brook Press. Mansilla, V. B. (2016). How to be a global thinker. Educational Leadership, 74(4), 10–16. Mansilla, V. B., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competency. Asia Society. Moreno-Guerrero, A.  J., Romero-Rodriguez, J.  M., Lopez-Belmonte, J., & Alonso-Garcia, S. (2020). Flipped learning approach as educational innovation in water literacy. Water, 12(2), 574. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020574 Park, L. S. (2010). A long walk to water: Based on a true story. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Pearce, F. (2018). When the rivers run dry, fully revised and updated edition: Water-the defining crisis of the twenty-first century. Beacon Press. Phi, B. (2017). A different pond (T. Bui, Illus.). Capstone Young Readers. Ramos, K., Wolf, E. J., & Hauber-Özer, M. (2021). Teaching for global competence: A responsibility of teacher educators. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 35(2), 311–330. https:// doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2021.1880998 Robertson, J. (2021). The water walker. Second Story Press. Robson, K., Schiess, J. O. N., & Trinidad, J. (2019). Education in the American South: Historical context, current state, and future possibilities. Bellwether Education Partners. Scott, H., & Huffling, L. D. (2022). Going with the flow: Shifting face-to-face PD to fully online in the era of COVID-19. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(1), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2022.160106 Sozcu, U., & Ürker, A. (2020). Examining the water literacy levels of high school students according to some variables. Asian Journal of Educational Training, 6, 569–582. https://doi. org/10.20448/journal.522.2020.63.569.582 Srinivasan, V., Lambin, E. F., Gorelick, S. M., Thompson, B. H., & Rozelle, S. (2012). The nature and causes of the global water crisis: Syndromes from a meta-analysis of coupled human-water studies. Water Resources Research, 48(10). https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR011087 Strauss, R. (2007). One well: The story of water on earth (R. Woods Illus.). Kids Can Press Ltd. Stringer, E. T., & Aragón, A. O. (2020). Action research. Sage Publications. Tichnor-Wagner, A., Parkhouse, H., Glazier, J., & Cain, J. M. (2019). Becoming a globally competent teacher. ASCD. United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 goals/sustainable development. United Nations. https://sdgs. un.org/goals Verde, S. (2016). The water princess (P.H. Reynolds Illus.). G. P. Putnam Sons. Walters, E. (2014). Hope springs (E. Fernandes Illus.). Tundra Books.

Chapter 13

Fostering Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through a Socioscientific Issues Approach Set in the Context of COVID-19 Ryan Summers

13.1 Introduction A perennial goal of science education is to prepare students to make informed decisions about an array of personal and social issues. For this reason, science education has focused on helping learners develop scientific literacy for several decades (Aikenhead, 2006). Roberts (2011) described two views of scientific literacy, namely, understanding the science products and processes (Vision I) and engaging with science in context and making informed decisions (Vision II). Citizens are expected to make decisions about their health and the safety of others, whether through direct decisions or by engaging in the democratic process, which has been described as a functional level of scientific literacy (Zeidler, 2003). Helping learners develop the knowledge and practices necessary for informed decision-making and action-taking remain central goals of science education (Bossér et al., 2015). These goals are consistent with global recommendations for science education (National Research Council; NRC, 2012; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations; UNESCO, 2019). The Framework for K-12 Science Education was designed to enhance the scientific literacy capabilities of students to address the shortage of professionals in the fields of science and technology (NRC, 2012), while simultaneously cultivating learner’s critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-­making skills (Roberts & Bybee, 2014). These reform movements in K-12 science education also align with calls for increased global competence (OECD, 2018). Namely, preparing youth to enter society aware of global issues and ready to tackle social, political, economic, and environmental challenges. The discourse surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the necessity for public R. Summers (*) University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_13

205

206

R. Summers

understanding of science and respect for scientists and scientific research worldwide. Citizens have been forced to make decisions based on issues ranging from vaccine development to guidelines on preventing viral spread (UNESCO, 2022). Amid the pandemic, researchers studied public trust in science and scientists to predict several desirable behaviors and outcomes associated with COVID-19. Trust in science was found to be associated with higher COVID-19 risk perception (Breakwell & Jaspal, 2021; Plohl & Musil, 2021), compliance with COVID-19 recommendations (Plohl & Musil, 2021), heightened social distancing intentions, and a lessened mistrust of those offering advice on preventative behavior (Koetke et al., 2021). Borgerding and Mulvey (2022) summarized the importance of trust in science and scientists for citizens and policymakers at a time when skepticism, science denial, and demotion of scientific expertise have run rampant. Breakwell and Jaspal (2021) suggested public trust in the science surrounding COVID-19 could be bolstered by immersing citizens in the process of reviewing evidence and evidencebased decision-­making. Educators play a role in fostering understanding about the use of evidence, the development of knowledge through incremental steps, and the uncertainty and tentativeness inherent to the work of scientists (Makri, 2012). Teaching through socioscientific issues (SSI) is one approach for cultivating individuals’ capacity for informed decision-making while contextualizing these ideas and paving the way to achieving scientific literacy (Lederman & Lederman, 2014; Zeidler, 2014).

13.1.1 Rationale for Teaching Science Through Socioscientific Issues Situating science learning in contemporary SSI prepares individuals to navigate complex problems (Zeidler et al., 2011, 2013). SSIs are typically contentious and anchored in scientific phenomena, and, despite the global significance of these issues, they lack clear solutions (Sadler, 2011). Instructional materials for teaching about biomedical issues like antibiotic resistance were previously developed (Friedrichsen et al., 2016). Developers have been responsive to emergent issues like COVID-19 as demonstrated by the number of materials already available (Sadler et al., 2020) and investigated by science educators and researchers (e.g., Borgerding & Mulvey, 2022; Graham & Hokayem, 2022). Resolving SSI requires learners to consider social, cultural, and environmental factors (Herman, 2018). Students are often confronted with moral and ethical perspectives in the process of evaluating evidence and solutions (Eastwood et al., 2012). Learners’ understanding of relevant science and nature of science (NOS) concepts can also be developed through SSI (Eastwood et al., 2012; Karisan & Zeidler, 2017; Khishfe, 2014; Schalk, 2012). NOS refers to the assumptions and values underlying the generation and validation of scientific knowledge and the attributes of this body of knowledge (Lederman, 2007). SSI creates opportunities for students

13  Fostering Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through…

207

to learn about NOS in terms of what science is and is not, how science and scientists work, and the relationship between science and society (Clough, 2006). By participating in SSI, research has shown that learners improve their understanding of the tentative (Schalk, 2012) and socio-cultural NOS (Eastwood et  al., 2012). Additionally, SSI participation can enhance students’ capacity for science practices, namely argumentation (Khishfe, 2014, 2022) and explanation (Herman et al., 2019). Further, SSI can be used to prepare students as consumers of scientific knowledge by exposing them to NOS in society. As students work to resolve complex issues embedded in SSI, they may encounter scientific claims as they are used (or misused) and understood (or misunderstood) by consumers in society (Hottecke & Allchin, 2020).

13.1.2 Preparing Middle Level Teachers Through Immersion The Framework for K-12 Science Education, as embodied by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), encourages teachers to facilitate interdisciplinary connections and create opportunities for applying scientific knowledge and skills to personal and social situations (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Thus, pedagogical and curricular elements that are harmonious with the Framework and the NGSS are incorporated into an SSI approach to teaching (Zeidler, 2014). Likewise, teachers are guided toward ambitious science teaching practices when following an SSI approach (Windschitl et al., 2012). Consistent with this perspective, science learning is organized around a big idea, a perplexing SSI problem or a phenomenon. Then, teachers leverage instructional practices that include eliciting learners’ prior conceptions and adapting instruction based on their contributions, facilitating students’ sense-making, and fostering students’ representation of scientific ideas. In this way, teachers’ preparedness to plan and enact SSI instruction coincides with efforts to strengthen NGSS-aligned and other reform-oriented science instruction. Science teachers need to be ready to empower students to tackle the challenges of science that are inherent in contemporary issues facing society (Sadler, 2011). Nevertheless, studies commonly note that teachers face challenges when attempting an SSI approach in their science classes (Lee et al., 2012; Friedrichsen et al., 2021). At a basic level, teachers may need to familiarize themselves with an SSI approach to instruction. This is necessary because teachers’ interpretations of SSI may differ from the conceptual basis of the pedagogy. As a case-in-point example, teachers may reduce the presentation of SSI during instruction, SSI should go beyond applying scientific knowledge to a real-world situation (Tidemand & Nielsen, 2017). Similarly, teachers may struggle to utilize an SSI approach while navigating between the anchoring phenomena, disciplinary ideas, related practices and concepts, and pertinent social dimensions. Teachers might focus on science content (Ekborg et al., 2013). Alternatively, teachers might superficially address the SSI by only dedicating instructional time at the end of their unit for students to consider the issue (Lazarowitz & Bloch, 2005). Immersing teachers in SSI instruction combats these outcomes by

208

R. Summers

fostering an awareness of this approach and illustrating how scientific and societal elements can be simultaneously addressed in K-12 learning environments. Successful instruction with an SSI approach requires teachers to have a foundational understanding of the pedagogical and curricular elements. Teachers must also accept SSI as a fruitful instructional approach (Lee & Yang, 2019; Tidemand & Nielsen, 2017). Additionally, teachers must embody a student-centered pedagogy (Bossér et al., 2015). Ambitious practices like eliciting student thinking about the focal issue and allowing discourse to drive instruction require teachers to be facilitators (Simon & Amos, 2011). At times, teachers may need to motivate and manage classroom discussion in the context of the issue (Harris & Ratcliffe, 2005) or ensure that diverse perspectives surrounding the issue are represented (Kahn & Zeidler, 2016). To support the curricular elements of this instructional approach, teachers benefit from knowing about valuable resources, including the availability of instructional materials (Lee & Yang, 2019; Tidemand & Nielsen, 2017). The next section of this chapter describes an innovation to develop preservice teachers’ capacity to teach about global issues by immersing them in an SSI set in the context of COVID-19.

13.2 Innovation Before COVID-19, issues like viral spread and vaccine development may have been considered primarily biomedical issues. As the pandemic unfolded, however, numerous societal issues became a part of public discourse worldwide. Issues ranging from prevention behaviors, public policy, vaccine availability, equity of access to healthcare, and many others became intertwined with conversations surrounding COVID-19 (UNESCO, 2022). Science teachers can prepare learners to engage with complex challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic by providing opportunities to examine scientific and societal issues critically. The innovation described in this section includes information about the design, instructional sequence, and NOS connections in an SSI assembled for preservice teachers to introduce them to this approach.

13.2.1 Designing COVID-19 as an SSI for Preservice Teachers The COVID-19 SSI module assembled for this innovation was informed by the instructional materials developed by Sadler et  al. (2021) as part of the National Science Foundation-supported Epistemic Practices Embedded in Issue Centered Science Education project. Using COVID-19 as a curricular anchor, these materials used an SSI approach to present issues related to viral transmission. They were structured to enable learners to participate in modeling practices, systems thinking, and argumentation. The materials were collaboratively developed by an expert team

13  Fostering Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through…

209

of science educators and K-12 teachers, and they offer guidance on facilitating SSI sequences (Sadler et  al., 2020). Other COVID-19 instructional materials were incorporated into the module as well, including excerpts from COVID-19 Pandemic and Decision-making (Herman et  al., 2022) and COVID-19 and Health Equity Middle School Unit (OpenSciEd, 2022). As a recent event, preservice teachers were familiar with the COVID-19 pandemic. This innovation was designed to expose them to relevant scientific ideas and other considerations to help them make sense of this global challenge (Cain et al., 2014). The module introduced NGSS disciplinary knowledge and practices in a way that engaged preservice teachers in asking questions, analyzing data and arguments, explaining phenomena, and negotiating positions concerning local, global, and cultural issues (Boix & Jackson, 2011). One of the intended learning outcomes for preservice teachers was to help them develop science understandings related to the focal issue and experience first-hand how science instruction can be used to explore solutions to complex problems. The SSI module described in this innovation was purposefully assembled to involve preservice teachers in model-oriented issue-­ based learning (Ke et al., 2021). This positioned the preservice teachers as learners as they used models and other representations to make sense of COVID-19 and related issues. The SSI instructional model sequence occurred in three phases, outlined in Fig. 13.1. In the first phase, preservice teachers were engaged in a complicated, perplexing, and compelling focal societal issue (i.e., the global COVID-19 pandemic) that lacked a simple, straightforward solution. The SSI was introduced as follows: On December 30, 2019, Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in China reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A novel coronavirus was eventually identified (SARS-CoV2). Since March 2020, we have been immersed in the process of science in response to a global pandemic.

During this phase, preservice teachers worked to create systems maps to represent the inherent complexity of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were asked to include the various social and scientific factors that impacted and were impacted by COVID-19 in these models. The class discussion that followed focused on describing positive and negative relationships among the factors that had been identified. Moving forward through the module, across subsequent sessions, facets of the COVID-19 pandemic were introduced to the group using excerpts from the media, when possible, as a reminder of the timeliness of this issue. In the second phase, preservice teachers experienced three-dimensional science learning. They explored disciplinary core ideas (i.e., virus structure and function) as part of a handwashing task. This task was used to deepen their understanding of how handwashing works on a molecular level to neutralize viruses and disrupts the transmission process. PSTs examined a coronavirus model diagram and explored how soap would interact with the virus. Preservice teachers engaged in science practices through multiple tasks. In one task, preservice teachers used mathematical models to explore viral transmission and exponential growth. They were provided with resources to explore reproduction numbers (R0) and challenged to think about

210

R. Summers

Preservice Teachers Encounter Focal Issue - Connect to Science Ideas - Connect to Societal Concerns

Develop

Science Ideas (e.g., Virus Structure) Nature of Science Ideas (e.g., Tentative NOS) Science Practices (Modeling, Systems Maps)

Socio-scientific Reasoning (e.g., Comparing National Responses to COVID-19)

In the Context of the Global COVID-19 Pandemic

Preservice Teachers Synthesize Ideas, Practices, and Reasoning (Revised Systems Maps)

Fig. 13.1  Outline of model-oriented issue-based SSI instruction set the context of COVID-19

strategies for reducing R0 for a virus and the implications for viral transmission. In another task, preservice teachers explored mask design and efficacy as factors that impact viral transmission. They reviewed primary research and information from

13  Fostering Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through…

211

secondary sources in response to a claim based on the Center for Disease Control’s recommendation for wearing face masks. Then, preservice teachers constructed arguments about the effectiveness of N95 masks linking the evidence they collected with scientific reasoning. Preservice teachers also reviewed a historical case study about the Hong Kong SARS Outbreak at Amoy Gardens. This case study introduced preservice teachers to engineering design. Specifically, architectural challenges in the Amoy Gardens living community illustrated the potential for structural solutions to reduce viral transmission. It also served as a non-American context for preservice teachers to explore intercultural issues (Kahn & Agnew, 2017). Additionally, preservice teachers explored the social and scientific intersections of the focal issue, practices that Sadler and colleagues have described as “socioscientific reasoning” (Sadler et al., 2007). Two tasks in the SSI module were selected to expose preservice service teachers to diverse perspectives beyond their experiences and surroundings as they investigated COVID-19 (Asia Society, 2005). One task asked preservice teachers to interpret COVID-19 data from the United States, Italy, and Switzerland, analyze sets of data available to these governments, and draw conclusions about policy implementation and COVID-19 cases. This task introduced preservice teachers to relational perspectives, including challenges and solutions, from non-American contexts along with specific cultural issues (Kahn & Agnew, 2017). Preservice teachers were pushed to think critically about the role of governments in responding to the pandemic and the resulting consequences of government action or inaction across these nations. Another task in the module focused on exploring public health and inequitable outcomes. Preservice teachers reviewed information about the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color, women, and those experiencing poverty. This information allowed them to consider and discuss the disparities in health care outcomes. In the third phase, preservice teachers synthesized their ideas and practices. Preservice teachers were allowed to revisit their systems maps near the end of the SSI module. They were encouraged to modify their representations by changing factors and relationships based on the tasks they completed in the module. Then, systems maps were discussed, and preservice teachers reflected on their own perspectives and the ideas and practices they developed.

13.2.2 Connections to NOS Ideas Appropriate for Middle Level Science Educators Prior research suggests that learners must be exposed to NOS in multiple contexts, ranging from decontextualized to highly contextualized, while being nurtured with careful scaffolding to develop desired understandings (Clough, 2006). Connections to NOS are outlined in Appendix H of the NGSS, along with guidelines directed towards teachers for integrating these ideas with two of the three dimensions, crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices (NGSS Lead States, 2013).

212

R. Summers

Appendix H presents a total of eight categories focusing on basic NOS understandings scaling in coverage across four grade level bands (Grades K to 2, Grades 3–5, middle school [Grades 6–8], high school [Grades 9–12]). The first four of these basic understandings are listed below in relation to NGSS practices, and the latter four with crosscutting concepts. (a) scientific investigations use a variety of methods; (b) scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence; (c) scientific knowledge is open to revision in light of new evidence; (d) scientific models, laws, mechanisms, and theories explain natural phenomena; (e) science is a way of knowing; (f) scientific knowledge assumes an order and consistency in natural systems; (g) science is a human endeavor; and (h) science addresses questions about the natural and material world. As part of this module, preservice teachers received multiple opportunities to engage with NOS ideas connected to NGSS practices and crosscutting concepts. These included decontextualized activities (e.g., Tricky Tracks) and extended to structured discussion points integrated with the previously described socioscientific reasoning tasks set in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Table  13.1 shows four connections intentionally designed into the SSI module, along with a brief description of the presentation. In practice, preservice teachers were engaged in a variety of instructional tasks. Then, NOS connections were made explicit by the author as a facilitator bringing them to the forefront of discussion when appropriate (Bergman, 2022). For some tasks, this was a straightforward process using reflective questions to direct preservice teachers’ thinking (e.g., connecting scientific knowledge and the role of empirical evidence to the use of primary research and secondary sources of information). Other connections were supplemented with contemporary or historical media excerpts. As an example, preservice teachers were presented with an article presented during the module, published in Nature Medicine by Menachery et al. (2015), which warned about a cluster of SARS-like bat coronaviruses with the potential for human emergence. This article helped preservice teachers understand the timeline of COVID-19 differently and reinforced logical explanations about the origin of SARS-CoV2 with evidence. Reflective questions rooted in class experiences coupled with explicit instruction were used throughout the SSI module to clarify NOS ideas (Lederman et al., 2019). The NOS understandings developed by preservice teachers are discussed along with other learning outcomes in the next section.

13.3 Method of Study The instructional innovation previously described was implemented with a group of preservice middle level teachers. The author adopted an action research plan to investigate the impact of the innovation previously described. Action research can

13  Fostering Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through…

213

Table 13.1  Nature of science connections intentionally designed in the SSI COVID-19 module Middle level connection Science knowledge is based upon logical and conceptual connections between evidence and explanations Scientific Scientific explanations knowledge is are subject to revision open to revision and improvement in in light of new light of new evidence evidence Category Scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence

Presentation in the SSI module Preservice teachers reviewed refereed journal articles and research summaries to learn more about issues surrounding COVID-19 as part of the handwashing and mask efficacy tasks

Preservice teachers were shown how models of viral transmission were improved as scientists learned more about COVID-19 as part of the mathematical modeling task. Media excerpts in the module also illustrated how policy guidelines changed as new information became available Science is a Men and women from Preservice teachers learned about global efforts to human different social, develop a vaccine for COVID-19 through media endeavor cultural, and ethnic excerpts incorporated into the module. These accounts backgrounds work as explained how scientists and laboratories across the scientists and world shared genetic information about SARS-CoV2, engineers which contributed to an expedited vaccine development timeline Science Science knowledge Preservice teachers investigated a historical example addresses can describe the of a news outlet questioning scientists and masking questions about consequences of recommendations published in 1919 during the the natural and actions but is not influenza pandemic (Herman et al., 2022). This case material world responsible for was contrasted with recent media excerpts society’s decisions incorporated into the module questioning the pandemic’s severity, the science’s credibility, and associated health and safety policy recommendations

be defined as a type of applied research with goals that include improving education through practice (Gall et al. (2007), leveraging the experience of the teacher with the critical and systematic thinking of a researcher in a cycle of inquiry and practice (Watson & Barthlow, 2020). Following a cyclical action plan whereby a need was identified, an innovation was developed and implemented (Lesha, 2014), and two broad goals were established for evaluating the innovation and planning future iterations. The first goal was to evaluate preservice teachers’ learning outcomes. This goal was pursued through the following questions: 1. How does exposure to an SSI module contribute to preservice teachers’ ability to participate in socioscientific reasoning on complex issues? 2. How does preservice science teachers’ awareness of NOS develop across an SSI module set in the context of COVID-19? The second goal of this action research was to improve the learning experience for preservice teachers using an SSI approach. The following sections describe the setting where the innovation was enacted, along with the participants and data sources. The Results section focuses on evaluating the innovations in terms of the learning

214

R. Summers

outcomes as guided by the stated questions. The Implementation to Innovation section addresses the second goal by revisiting the construction of the SSI module and providing insight into the instructional experience.

13.3.1 Setting and Participation The SSI module and instructional innovation was incorporated into a middle level methods course for preservice teachers at a public research university located in the Great Plains serving a predominantly rural state. Four content areas are taught in this course over the span of a semester, namely English language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. Each of these areas are led by content-specific teacher educators with support provided by a middle level education faculty. The author led the science portion of this course in spring 2022. The COVID-19 SSI module was delivered online, synchronously over 4 90-min sessions. The setting of this innovation is notable because it is generally the first formal introduction to the Framework (NRC, 2012) and the NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013), and relevant scientific practices (e.g., argumentation and explanation) for the participants. Participants in this study were 3rd-year undergraduate students enrolled in education programs, including 6 elementary education majors with middle level minors, 2 middle level majors, and 2 secondary education with middle level minors (n = 10 total). The participants were required to take this methods course because their program of study includes a middle level major or minor. These preservice teachers will take another methods course before their student teaching internship, tailored to elementary or secondary content and pedagogy, depending on their program and specialization. All 10 preservice teachers in this study can be described as traditional undergraduate students, female and white.

13.3.2 Data Sources and Analyses Multiple data sources were collected and used to address the previously stated goals. Participating preservice teachers completed a pre-module questionnaire with four open-ended prompts about the role of evidence in science and the process of scientific knowledge generation. Participants constructed COVID-19 systems maps near the beginning of the SSI module using Google JamBoard, and they revised these representations near the end. Throughout the SSI module, artifacts were collected as evidence of participants’ learning and engagement. The comparing national responses to COVID-19 and social vulnerabilities tasks, based on materials developed by Sadler et al. (2021), yielded written responses from participants. The author also recorded discussion notes after each session, and the other course instructor provided comments and critical feedback at the end of the module. Qualitative data from these sources was compiled and coordinated, and a thematic approach was

13  Fostering Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through…

215

used to identify learning outcomes (Patton, 2015). Teachers’ socioscientific reasoning, NOS ideas, and experiences with globalized science were all examined. Following the innovation, participants completed a post-module evaluation that included open-ended reflection questions about the learning experiences in the SSI module. It also included retrospective post-then-pre questions aligned with the NOS connections that were analyzed as quantitative survey data.

13.4 Results Attentive to the need for teachers to be familiar with an SSI approach to instruction and a foundational appreciation of socioscientific reasoning (Friedrichsen et  al., 2021), positive comments about specific tasks in the module were shared by multiple participants. One participant stated, “I thought that the activity where we compared global responses to COVID-19 was really awesome…” (Participant #2), referring to the comparing national responses to COVID-19 task with data from the U.S., Italy, and Switzerland. Another participant elaborated on the same task on the post-module questionnaire, That was the first time I had looked at COVID data myself and it was super interesting to see how the numbers changed over time and how they were similar or different in different countries… (Participant #7)

Considering how challenges are faced in different regions around the world and seeing how they are interconnected illuminates the diversity and commonality of their experiences (Kahn & Agnew, 2017; Boix & Jackson, 2011). One of the preservice teachers also referenced the social vulnerabilities and health equity COVID-19 case study task in a response submitted as part of the post-module questionnaire: I really thought of it as helpful during all the activities… especially when we broke into groups to make the COVID impact maps and looked at different resources. There were so many perspectives I had never considered. (Participant #3)

Participant #1 also commented about this task in her post-module questionnaire, “I liked the activity where we addressed how COVID affects families with low income. I think this activity gives [learners] a different perspective on COVID that goes beyond just getting sick.” By encountering other perspectives, and learning to see through another cultural filter, individuals are required to examine their own perspectives, which prepares them to make more thoughtful decisions when dealing with others in the future (Fennes & Hapgood, 1997). Participant #4 added, “I think with this lesson we were able to see direct connections between science and other subjects and, as a result, felt like I got a clearer view of the big picture.” Participating preservice teachers also developed some capacity for socioscientific reasoning in the context of COVID-19 because of the innovation. Figure 13.2 shows an example of a systems map constructed by a participant near the beginning of the module. Near the end of the module, the systems map shown in Fig. 13.2 was revised to include additional factors and relationships at that point, shown in gray.

216

R. Summers

Mask type and use

Socioeconomic status Healthcare workers

Vaccine efficacy Facilities Personal hygiene

Access Healthcare Masks

Vaccinations

Supply and demand

Work from home

Economy

COVID-19 infections

Sars-CoV2

Political views

Jobs Limitations on gatherings

Staying home when sick

Education

Fewer social connections

Students

Teachers

Parents and families

Local and state policies

Virtual learning

Fig. 13.2  COVID-19 systems map example generated by preservice teachers. (Shading shows additions to the map near the end of the module)

All participants revised their systems maps as part of the synthesis phase of the instructional sequence. All of them expanded their representations, and, like the example shown, many participants added factors that closely resembled tasks and discussion points from the module. Another participant commented on the systems mapping task in a response she provided to the post-module questionnaire: I liked how this [module] had us make lots of connections… I thought it was a great idea to do that [Systems Mapping] Jamboard early on when we just had our previous knowledge on the subject and then go back to it after learning to add anything else. (Participant #6)

13.4.1 NOS Is an Important Component of Scientific Literacy Before the module, preservice teachers shared some of their NOS ideas in response to pre-module questionnaire prompts (e.g., nature of scientific evidence & tentative NOS). The questionnaire also asked participants to indicate their perceived importance of incorporating NOS ideas into instruction, particularly in connection with specific scientific practices (e.g., reliance on empirical evidence) and crosscutting concepts (e.g., science as a way of knowing). Overall, participants’ initial ideas about the empirical nature of scientific knowledge and tentative NOS ranged from naïve to transitional or developing, as described in the research literature (Clough,

13  Fostering Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through…

217

2006; Lederman & Lederman, 2014). Following the innovation, preservice teachers reported that teaching about how science works was more important than their pre-­ module responses. On average, participants responses post-module increased by 1-point from 4 to 5 on a 5-point Likert scale. Likewise, preservice teachers also reported it was more important for their students to be able to read scientific publications (post-module average of 4.8 after a gain of 0.6 points) and critique scientific findings (post-module average of 4.8 after a 1-point gain). One of the participants specifically mentioned that they thought it was essential to teach about scientific evidence and argumentation. She included in her response to an open-ended questionnaire prompt asking if she felt more informed about science as a process, stating, “Yes… especially about claims, evidence, reasoning that revolved around some of the COVID articles (Participant #6). Additionally, following the SSI module, participants also reported it was more important for students to understand how scientific findings influence public policy (post-module average of 5 after a gain of 0.8 points). These findings are consistent with other recent studies that used an SSI approach to introduce NOS ideas contextualized in COVID-19. For example, Graham and Hokayem (2022) reported that preservice elementary teachers developed understandings about the role of empirical evidence in scientific knowledge and the potential for revising scientific knowledge when new evidence becomes available following a 4-week unit. These preservice teachers were also more aware of sociocultural influences.

13.5 Implications for Innovation The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of scientific literacy, especially when it is conceptualized to include science concepts, nature of scientific evidence, and ideas about how science works (Roberts & Bybee, 2014). The innovation described in this chapter centered on introducing preservice teachers to SSI and applying socioscientific reasoning as an approach to complex, global problem-­ solving (Sadler, 2011; Sadler et al., 2021). Previous sections of this chapter detailed the design of the innovation, which included the purposeful integration of authentic data along with local and international cases. Preservice teachers’ learning was evaluated before, during, and after the delivery of the innovation. Findings reported following this inaugural delivery of the innovation showed that preservice teachers were able to apply socioscientific reasoning and consider global perspectives while deepening their understanding of NOS ideas. The next steps of this ongoing, cyclical process of action research are to critically examine and improve the experience for learners before offering this innovation again (Lesha, 2014). Participants in this innovation, future middle level educators, were exposed to the vision of science learning described in the Framework (NRC, 2012) and exemplified by the NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013). During the SSI module, preservice teachers experienced 3-dimensional science learning as they made sense of COVID-19 using socioscientific reasoning. Tasks in this module introduced

218

R. Summers

participating preservice teachers to content ideas using and engaged them in scientific practices. Tasks also helped to familiarize preservice teachers with crosscutting concepts and NOS ideas, and discussion prompts encouraged them to reflect on these experiences. Preservice teachers’ active participation across the four 90-min sessions of the innovation seemed high compared to similar synchronous classes previously facilitated by the author. No major changes to the tasks are planned for the next delivery of the SSI module. The decision to maintain the module was based on participants’ generally positive feedback and engagement with individual tasks. These tasks were selected based on the learning outcomes identified, and ways to monitor and improve specific outcomes of interest were also considered. Introducing science education to preservice teachers in this way shaped comments and discussion about science content, instructional materials and pedagogy, and associated practical issues (Roth, 2007). Outcomes that will be interrogated as part of the next offering of this innovation would be the extent that experiencing the SSI module promotes the application of ideas and informs teaching practice (Van Driel et  al., 2014). Several preservice teachers who participated in this innovation stated they would consider using this approach with middle level learners in the future. The post-module questionnaire administered to participants allowed them to discuss their thoughts about using focal issues to teach about complex challenges facing science. One participant responded positively, referencing how this could be used to prepare future citizens to make sense of science and social issues, writing, Not all students will be scientists… but all of them will be citizens affected by these social issues revolving around science. It is important for them to understand how to approach these challenges and, if anything, how to responsibly identify good sources to learn more about these social issues. (Participant #6)

Another participant further explained some assets of this approach for middle level learners: I think that at [middle level] it is very appropriate to use real-world challenges while learning. [Students] are at an age where they understand what is going on and are typically interested in learning more… [on] a deeper level by having connections outside of the classroom. (Participant #3)

There are three improvements to the learning experience that will better prepare teachers to deliver instruction using an SSI approach. First, using the design of the COVID-19 SSI module as an example, preservice teachers will be presented with information about identifying a focal issue that could engage students and contextualize science learning. Focal issues may be global or local in size. Place-based local issues can be used as a productive anchor for student sense-making. Teachers may need to be primed to include place and local contexts when creating learning experiences, leveraging available resources and community experts, especially in rural schools (Azano et al., 2019). A related second improvement will be to introduce curricular elements of SSI to preservice teachers as part of the module, showing them how specific tasks were selected and the rationale for their inclusion in the module. This would help the preservice teachers see how purposeful planning and

13  Fostering Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through…

219

thoughtful selection of materials can introduce diverse perspectives and ideas. Additional resources will also be used to show varied examples of SSI, along with accessible instructional materials (Lee & Yang, 2019; Tidemand & Nielsen, 2017). A final improvement will be to provide preservice teachers with an opportunity to plan a socioscientific reasoning task that could be delivered to students as part of their co-requisite practicum experience in a middle level classroom. Examining these lesson plans would provide additional insight into learning outcomes. There would also be the potential to include the preservice teachers in the action research plan, empowering them to observe student learning and bringing about change in middle level science instruction (Mills, 2017).

References Aikenhead, G. (2006). Science education for everyday life: Evidence-based practice. Teachers College Press. Asia Society. (2005). What is global competency? Retrieved from https://asiasociety.org/education/ what-­global-­competence Azano, A. P., Downey, J., & Brenner, D. (2019). Preparing preservice teachers for rural schools. In Oxford research encyclopedia of education. Retrieved from https://oxfordre.com/education/ view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-­9780190264093-­e-­274 Bergman, D.  J. (2022). Teaching the nature of science in a post-COVID world. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 95(2), 64–68. Boix Mansilla, V., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competence: Preparing our youth to engage the world. Asia Society and Council of Chief State School Officers. Borgerding, L. A., & Mulvey, B. K. (2022). Elementary teachers’ trust in science and scientists throughout a COVID-19 SSI unit. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 33(8), 837–859. Bossér, U., Lundin, M., Lindahl, M., & Linder, C. (2015). Challenges faced by teachers enacting socioscientific issues as core elements in their classroom practices. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 3(2), 159–176. Breakwell, G. M., & Jaspal, R. (2021). Identity change, uncertainty and mistrust in relation to fear and risk of COVID-19. Journal of Risk Research, 24(3–4), 335–351. Cain, J.  M., Glazier, J., Parkhouse, H., & Tichnor-Wagner, A. (2014). The globally competent teaching continuum. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Clough, M. P. (2006). Learners’ responses to the demands of conceptual change: Considerations for effective nature of science instruction. Science Education, 15(5), 463–494. Eastwood, J.  L., Sadler, T.  D., Zeidler, D.  L., Lewis, A., Amiri, L., & Applebaum, S. (2012). Contextualizing nature of science instruction in socioscientific issues. International Journal of Science Education, 34(15), 2289–2315. Ekborg, M., Ottander, C., Silfver, E., & Simon, S. (2013). Teachers’ experience of working with socioscientific issues: A large scale and in depth study. Research in Science Education, 43, 599–617. Fennes, H., & Hapgood, K. (1997). Intercultural learning in the classroom: Crossing Borders. Burns & Oates. Friedrichsen, P. J., Sadler, T. D., Graham, K., & Brown, P. (2016). Design of a socioscientific issue curriculum unit: Antibiotic resistance, natural selection, and modeling. International Journal of Designs for Learning, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.14434/ijdl.v7i1.19325 Friedrichsen, P. J., Ke, L., Sadler, T. D., & Zangori, L. (2021). Enacting co-designed socioscientific issues-based curriculum units: A case of secondary science teacher learning. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 32(1), 85–106.

220

R. Summers

Gall, M. D., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2007). Educational research: An introduction. Pearson. Graham, S., & Hokayem, H. (2022). Preservice teachers nature of science views after engaging with COVID-19 as a socioscientific issue. Eurasian Journal of Science and Environmental Education, 2(2), 29–34. Harris, R., & Ratcliffe, M. (2005). Socioscientific issues and the quality of exploratory talk—What can be learned from schools involved in a ‘collapsed day’ project? The Curriculum Journal, 16(4), 439–453. Herman, B. C. (2018). Students’ environmental NOS views, compassion, intent, and action: Impact of placebased socioscientific issues instruction. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 55(4), 600–638. Herman, B. C., Owens, D. C., Oertli, R. T., Zangori, L. A., & Newton, M. H. (2019). Exploring the complexity of students’ scientific explanations and associated nature of science views within a place-based socioscientific issue context. Science & Education, 28(3–5), 329–366. Herman, B., Clough, M., Rao, A., & Taylor, J. (2022). COVID-19 pandemic and decision-making. Retrieved from https://www.storybehindthescience.org/spotting-­pseudoscience Hottecke, D., & Allchin, D. (2020). Reconceptualizing nature-of-science education in the age of social media. Science Education, 104(4), 641–666. Kahn, H. E., & Agnew, M. (2017). Global learning through difference: Considerations for teaching, learning, and the internationalization of higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(1), 52–64. Kahn, S., & Zeidler, D. L. (2016). Using our heads and HARTSS*: Developing perspective-­taking skills for socioscientific reasoning (*Humanities, ARTs, and Social Sciences). Journal of Science Teacher Education, 27, 261–281. Karisan, D., & Zeidler, D.  L. (2017). Contextualization of nature of science within the socioscientific issues framework: A review of research. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 5(2), 139–152. Ke, L., Sadler, T. D., Zangori, L., & Friedrichsen, P. (2021). Developing and using multiple models to promote scientific literacy in the context of socioscientific issues. Science & Education, 30, 589–607. Khishfe, R. (2014). Explicit nature of science and argumentation instruction in the context of socioscientific issues: An effect on student learning and transfer. International Journal of Science Education, 36(6), 974–1016. Khishfe, R. (2022). Relationship between nature of science and argumentation: A follow-up study. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10763-­022-­10307-­0 Koetke, J., Schumann, K., & Porter, T. (2021). Trust in science increases conservative support for social distancing. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 24(4), 680–697. Lazarowitz, R., & Bloch, I. (2005). Awareness of societal issues among high school biology teachers teaching genetics. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 14(5), 437–457. Lederman, N. G. (2007). Nature of science: Past, present, and future. Handbook of Research on Science Education, 2, 831–879. Lederman, N. G., & Lederman, J. S. (2014). Research on teaching and learning of nature of science. In N. G. Lederman & S. K. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (Vol. 2, pp. 600–620). Routledge. Lederman, N. G., Abd-El-Khalick, F., & Smith, M. U. (2019). Teaching nature of scientific knowledge to kindergarten through university students. Science & Education, 28(3), 197–203. Lee, H., & Yang, J. E. (2019). Science teachers taking their first steps toward teaching socioscientific issues through collaborative action research. Research in Science Education, 49(1), 51–71. Lee, H., Chang, H., Choi, K., Kim, S. W., & Zeidler, D. L. (2012). Developing character and values for global citizens: Analysis of preservice science teachers’ moral reasoning on socioscientific issues. International Journal of Science Education, 34(6), 925–953. Lesha, J. (2014). Action research in education. European Scientific Journal, 10, 379. Makri, A. (2012). Give the public the tools to trust the scientists. Nature, 541(7637), 261.

13  Fostering Preservice Science Teachers’ Global Awareness Through…

221

Menachery, V. D., Yount, B. L., Debbink, K., Agnihothram, S., Gralinski, L. E., Plante, J. A., ... & Baric, R. S. (2015). A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence. Nature medicine, 21(12), 1508–1513. Mills, G. (2017). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (6th ed.). New York Pearson Education. National Research Council. (2012). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. The National Academies Press. NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. The National Academy Press. OECD. (2018). Preparing our youth for an inclusive and sustainable world: The OECD PISA global competence framework. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/Handbook-­ PISA-­2018-­Global-­Competence.pdf OpenSciEd. (2022). COVID-19 health equity middle school unit. Retrieved from https://www. openscied.org/covid-­19-­health-­equity-­2/ Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th ed.). Sage. Plohl, N., & Musil, B. (2021). Modeling compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines: The critical role of trust in science. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 26(1), 1–2. Roberts, D.  A. (2011). Competing visions of scientific literacy. In C.  Linder, L. Österman, D. Roberts, P. Wickman, G. Erickson, & A. MacKinnon (Eds.), Exploring the landscape of scientific literacy (pp. 11–27). Routledge. Roberts, D. A., & Bybee, R. W. (2014). Scientific literacy, science literacy, and science education. In N. G. Lederman & S. K. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (Vol. 2, pp. 545–558). Routledge/Taylor & Francis. Roth, K. (2007). Science teachers as researchers. In S.  K. Abell & N.  G. Lederman (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (pp. 1203–1260). Lawrence Erlbaum. Sadler, T. D. (2011). Situating socioscientific issues in classrooms as a means of achieving goals of science education. In T. D. Sadler (Ed.), Socioscientific issues in the classroom: Teaching, learning and research (pp. 1–9). Springer. Sadler, T. D., Barab, S. A., & Scott, B. (2007). What do students gain by engaging in socioscientific inquiry? Research in Science Education, 37(4), 371–391. Sadler, T.  D., Friedrichsen, P., Zangori, L., & Ke, L. (2020). Technology-supported professional development for collaborative design of COVID-19 instructional materials. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 28, 171–177. Sadler, T. D., Rawson, R., Kirk, E., Elsner, J., Ke, L., Apple, S., Elmy, C., Huber, D. H., Kinslow, A. T., McKee, R., Miller, D., Platto, J., Rockett, J., Wagner, B., Friedrichsen, P., & Zangori, L. (2021). COVID-19: A model-oriented issues-based science unit [Curriculum]. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Education. Retrieved from https://epiclearning.web. unc.edu/covid/ Schalk, K. A. (2012). A socioscientific curriculum facilitating the development of distal and proximal NOS conceptualizations. International Journal of Science Education, 34(1), 1–24. Simon, S., & Amos, R. (2011). Decision making and use of evidence in a socio-scientific problem on air quality. In Socio-scientific issues in the classroom: Teaching, learning and research (pp. 167–192). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Tidemand, S., & Nielsen, J. A. (2017). The role of socioscientific issues in biology teaching: From the perspective of teachers. International Journal of Science Education, 39, 44–61. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations. (2019). Science for a sustainable future. Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/themes/science-­sustainable-­future United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations. (2022). On the right to science and COVID-19. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381186 Van Driel, J.  H., Berry, A., & Meirink, J. (2014). Research on science teacher knowledge. In N.  G. Lederman & S.  K. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (Vol. 2, pp. 848–870). Routledge.

222

R. Summers

Watson, S. B., & Barthlow, M. J. (2020). Action research for science teachers. The Science Teacher, 87(6), 26–29. Windschitl, M., Thompson, J., Braaten, M., & Stroupe, D. (2012). Proposing a core set of instructional practices and tools for teachers of science. Science Education, 96, 878–903. Zeidler, D. L. (2003). The role of moral reasoning on socioscientific issues and discourse in science education. Kluwer Academic Press. Zeidler, D. L. (2014). Socioscientific issues as a curriculum emphasis: Theory, research and practice. In N. G. Lederman & S. K. Abell (Eds.), Handbook of research on science education (Vol. II, pp. 697–726). Routledge. Zeidler, D. L., Applebaum, S. M., & Sadler, T. D. (2011). Enacting a socioscientific issues classroom: Transformative transformations. In T. D. Sadler (Ed.), Socioscientific issues in the classroom (pp. 277–305). Springer. Zeidler, D.  L., Berkowitz, M.  W., & Bennett, K. (2013). Thinking (scientifically) responsibly: The cultivation of character in a global science education community. In Assessing schools for generation R (responsibility), contemporary trends and issues in science education (Vol. 41, pp. 83–99). Springer.

Chapter 14

Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization in a Science Course Tulana Ariyaratne

and Valarie L. Akerson

14.1 Introduction Globalization has significantly impacted economies, societies, and cultures around the world. However, while globalization may be a familiar topic for most people, the applications of science and technology for globalization are not. For a variety of reasons, many educators believe in the negative impacts of globalization rather than its potential positive impacts (Hoffman, 2008). This is particularly true in the Midwest, where people show the least favorable attitudes toward globalization (Cordery & Johnson, 2011). Research has found that different factors affect individuals’ beliefs on globalization including age, education, location, and employment (Lee, & Falahat, 2019; Lemmet & Medjad, 2018; Ortiz et  al., 2022). Additionally, recent media portrayals of globalization have mostly centered on topics like disruption and exploitation caused by international corporations, problems inherent in globally competitive markets, and the harmful environmental impacts of globalization, reinforcing negative views of globalization (Ali & Khan, 2022; Gerber, 2012; Yang et al., 2019). Globalization has eliminated many traditional jobs that have existed for centuries and caused some of the more traditional labor skills to be eliminated or considered outmoded (Cormier, 2000). This has particularly impacted the Midwest, a historically blue-collar region of the United States (Florida, 1996; Winant, 2021). Blue-­ collar jobs are those that involve physically taxing or manual labor and fewer science, technology, engineering, or mathematical skills. During the last few decades, many Midwestern communities, both large cities like Detroit and smaller towns like Rockford, have experienced the relocation of their factories to T. Ariyaratne (*) · V. L. Akerson Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_14

223

224

T. Ariyaratne and V. L. Akerson

developing countries and the loss of blue-collar jobs (Stedl, 2012). Many Midwestern families have lost their family farms to big corporate agribusiness. Consequently, according to research conducted by Monmouth College (a college in Illinois that studies globalization and the Midwest), 64% of Midwesterners are opposed to globalization (Stedl, 2012). Midwesterners show the least favorable attitudes toward globalization (Cordery & Johnson, 2011). However, this is not a complete view of globalization. While adversely affecting Midwestern communities, at least initially, this blue-collar shift has resulted in job booms overseas, increasing the gross domestic product (GDP) of developing countries. As a result, these developing countries have been able to buy more of the higher-value goods made by skilled workers in developed countries such as the United States—an advantageous arrangement in which both countries (developing and developed) benefit (Hee Kim, 2010). Further, globalization has created extensive opportunities in modern tech industries. Even as factory jobs have been relocated overseas, high-tech companies have moved to the Midwest for its geopolitical advantages. Globalization is drawing millions of people around the world out of poverty. The United Nations Development Programme has established 17 Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the Global Goals, designed to end poverty, hunger, AIDS, and discrimination against women and girls (UNDP, 2022). Countries have committed to prioritizing progress for those who are furthest behind. Creativity, knowledge, technology, and financial resources from all societies are necessary to achieve the SDGs globally. The world is expecting to achieve all 17 Global Goals by 2030. In an increasingly globalized world, STEM education is becoming necessary for employment and to achieve the Global Goals. However, while some STEM education systems have adapted to globalization and made their curricula compatible with global demands, in general, rural science education systems have become isolated from global education reforms. This is not to say that global science learning has not benefited rural science learners. Thanks to modern technology, rural science students can enroll in MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) delivered by Ivy League Universities for little to no cost, presuming they have access to the internet (Allotey et  al., 2021). After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and Mississippi, schools were able to continue serving students by going online despite infrastructure damage (Anthony Ralph & Ralph, 2013). Rural science learners in the United States attend Zoom meetings with guest speakers from around the world, though internet service can cause issues. Because teachers need to teach global issues to prepare students to be scientifically literate global citizens, rural science teachers are often criticized for their failure to teach global science content. However, rural science teachers face significant obstacles in teaching global science content. The topic is often absent from their curriculum. These teachers also might not be able to see the importance of discussing global activities in their classrooms. Especially in the Midwest, this can pose a significant problem, as Midwesterners experience fewer benefits from learning global science content compared with other regions of the country. Usually, learners

14  Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization…

225

show less interest when presented with an unfamiliar subject than with familiar subjects (Graetz, 2006). As such, if teachers link global science issues and phenomena with local experiences, rural learners may feel that globalization, rather than distant and irrelevant, is already a part of their lives. Of course not all Midwesterners oppose globalization. Educators in K-12 through university-level settings tend to display positive attitudes toward globalization. Also, younger generations are more accepting of the idea of globalization and global science learning than older generations. Some Midwesterners understand that traditional industries like farming and manufacturing are becoming outdated and that new STEM-related industries have come to the front. Educators at all levels, from K-12 through higher education, must realize that in this era of globalization, employment options for a person with only a high school diploma are no longer what they once were (Stedl, 2012). Traditional industries, such as steel manufacturing, are not the high-earning jobs of the twenty-first century. Globalization has created extensive opportunities and jobs in modern tech industries; just as equally, globalization has eliminated many traditional jobs which have existed for centuries. Globalization demands specific science and technological skills, innovation, and creativity in the industry, and some of the more traditional skills have been eliminated or thought to be outmoded (Cormier, 2000). In this action research study we aimed to identify the concepts, knowledge, and attitudes that pre-service teachers hold related to global science learning. Without having positive attitudes towards global science learning, teachers are not motivated to teach topics like global goals which were not mentioned in their textbooks. Countries have committed to prioritizing progress for those who are furthest behind. The creativity, know-how, technology, and financial resources from all of society are necessary to achieve the SDGs (2022) in every context. We understand the traditional Midwest in the United States were built as blue-collar societies (Florida, 1996; Winant, 2021). Blue-collar jobs are those that involve a greater degree of physically taxing or manual labor in which very little to no Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematical skills are being used. One trend that has emerged has resulted in most of the blue-collar jobs in the Midwest shifting to other developing countries during the last few decades. These job booms in developing countries have increased their gross domestic product (GDP) while adversely affecting the Midwest communities. In return, those developing countries were able to buy more of the higher-­ value goods made by skilled workers in developed countries such as the U.S. and this phenomenon has proven to be an advantage (Hee Kim, 2010). Not only do the developed countries take the whole advantage but we can see both countries (developing and developed countries) having a win-win situation. We explored the impact of globalization and tried to address those issues with science and technology. According to the existing literature, US Midwesterners have the least favorable attitudes toward globalization (Cordery & Johnson, 2011). However, globalization is drawing millions of people around the world out of poverty and the entire world is expecting to achieve all 17 global goals by 2030. Many high-tech companies have moved to the Midwest due to its geopolitical advantages. But some Midwesterners believe strongly in the disadvantages of globalization over

226

T. Ariyaratne and V. L. Akerson

the advantages and that demotivates global science learning attempts in the midwest region. However, some understand that traditional industries such as farming and manufacturing may have become outdated. New STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) related industries with new ideas, innovation, and technology have come to the frontline. Educators from K-12 through universities have to realize the reality of this new era, and that a person only with a high school diploma cannot be employed in the same way that they used to be (Stedl, 2012). Rural science teachers are often criticized for their lack of attempts to teach global science content. But it is unfair to criticize them for not teaching topics that are not included in their curriculum. Another reason behind the obstacle of rural teachers to bring these topics to their classrooms is that rural teachers might not be able to see the importance of discussing global activities in their classrooms. Especially in the Midwest, this can be seen as a substantial problem, as Midwesterners experience fewer benefits from learning global science content compared with the other parts of the country. Usually, learners show less interest when they try to learn something that they are not familiar with (Graetz, 2006). If the teachers can link global science issues and phenomena with existing rural knowledge, learners in rural settings could feel that global science learning is not something foreign and excluded from them, but rather, that they are already a part of globalization. The purpose of this study was to identify the students’ existing understanding of globalization and their existing global science competencies, and how it varies with geographical location. As the intervention, we studied their changes in attitudes and understanding toward globalization after our in-class activities. This study was done at an R1-level large research university located in the Midwest. We had three research questions: 1. What are the existing understandings of global science knowledge among pre-­ service teachers? 2. What are the differences in attitudes toward global science knowledge according to the participants’ (pre-service teachers’) residence (urban, rural, suburban)? 3. To what extent can the Midwestern pre-service teachers’ global science attitudes be changed from the classroom intervention?

14.2 Innovation This global science action research studied students in a STEM program in a school of education at an R1 level university. The majority of the class participants were preservice teachers. In this section we explain the research design, instructional strategies and activities used, and more details about the class participants’ demographics. The class met 2 days per week for 1 h and 15 min per day. The study was conducted on four consecutive class days. First, an introductory presentation was made about globalization. A two-part pre-test was conducted after the first introductory

14  Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization…

227

session. The first part contained questions about the demographics of the participants and the second part, primarily quantitative, contained questions to evaluate the participants’ understanding, knowledge, and attitude towards globalization. The students were asked 20 questions related to globalization and global science learning. They commented on whether they strongly agreed, agreed, neither agreed nor disagreed, disagreed, or strongly disagreed with a statement. Each participant was given a code to identify themselves and to link their pre-test with the post-test, so no names were included in the pre-tests and the post-tests. No names or identifiable data were collected during this time. The pre-tests were administered by a colleague of ours while the investigators were away from the classroom. All participants signed a consent form that was collected by another person. The facilitator assigned a code to each student, and from this point on the participants were asked to use their codes instead of their names. For the first day, we had two goals: introduce the preservice teachers to the internationalization of STEM and gather their existing knowledge and understanding of globalization and utilization of science and technology in the globalized world. We started our first discussion, “How many international faculty/instructors have taught you this semester?” The students could not say “none” because the main investigator of this study and the instructor of this STEM class was international. By starting with this question, we attempted to provide an example of global science learning. Student exchange and foreign education opportunities have increased due to globalization, so, this activity was closely related to education as well as globalization. As a warm-up exercise, the students were asked to recall what they had for dinner and think about from which countries the ingredients might have come. Then we assigned the participants a homework activity called “Wardrobe Check.” In this activity, participants examined their clothes and identified in which countries their clothes were made. Today, fewer than 3% of the apparel Americans wear is made in the United States, with the rest from outside of the country (Vinoski, 2019). The “Wardrobe Check” activity is an easy way for students to start connecting with globalization personally. On the second day, we continued our discussion of the internationalization of STEM learning. Students brought their results from the “Wardrobe Check” assignment and shared what they learned. We collected those data and opened a discussion post. The first discussion post was done on Canvas, the university’s learning management system (LMS). We experienced Canvas as a good place for discussion and commenting on others’ data. For our first discussion post, we asked general questions related to globalization. We hoped to observe the knowledge that students gathered from their assigned activities and to ascertain their responses to globalization. Each student was asked to make a comment on the discussion post and reply to two of their colleagues’ comments. Because the main focus of this study is about global science learning, not globalization, we motivated our students to link their science knowledge with globalization while discussing on Canvas. On the third day, we continued the classroom discussion followed by a small presentation. Then the students were asked to post comments on the discussion board. On this day, the discussion topic was related to their own town/township/city.

228

T. Ariyaratne and V. L. Akerson

Students were asked to discuss the impacts of globalization on their town/city. We aimed to develop their ideas on their identity as STEM learners and the processes of internationalization of STEM.  Beacause the literature we gathered indicated that Midwestern people in general have fewer positive attitudes toward globalization and feel excluded from globalization processes, we specifically told the students that, at surface level, they might not see any effects of globalization on their town/ city. That said, we asked them to think hard and consider that there might be some effects. On the fourth and final day, we continued our presentation and discussion. Since we wanted to understand the participants’ attitudes as future teachers and/or valuable citizens and why or why not they might teach global science components to their students, we focused our presentation on the advantages and disadvantages of globalization. In our discussion, we made it clear that there were no right or wrong answers in order to encourage the students to bring their authentic thoughts and ideas to our classroom activities. Due to globalization, the Midwest has experienced a decline in blue-collar jobs but a parallel rise in new employment opportunities in science and technology industries. The United States (including the Midwest) receives most of the higher-end and higher-value goods made by skilled workers— an area in which the United States has an advantage (Hee Kim, 2010). We sought to identify the students’ responses to these phenomena.

14.2.1 Facilitation We conducted our study to determine the preservice teachers’ attitudes towards global science learning and any changes in their attitudes and perspectives resulting from our intervention. During the intervention, we employed a collaborative learning approach to deliver our presentations followed by a classroom discussion. We believed that through this format students could share their knowledge with us and the other students. Although the presentation we delivered each day was teacher-­ centered, each presentation was followed by a group-oriented discussion. Our goal was to design an effective learning community in the classroom. We decided not to intervene in the students’ Canvas discussion boards to avoid hindering the flow of the discussion. We allowed the students to freely share their thoughts and knowledge. However, we noticed that sometimes the discussion followed negative remarks about globalization that students could easily absorb from mass media. For example, one student commented on the idea that, due to globalization, factories were being relocated to other countries where cheaper labor was available. The entire class subsequently commented in support. It is true that blue-collar jobs are being exported. However, as science learners and future science educators, the participants of this study cannot stop the blue-­ collar shift phenomenon. The counterargument is that while many factories are moving to developing countries, developed countries like the United States can produce more technically advanced products. As STEM learners, the participants can

14  Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization…

229

actively participate in that process. More STEM learners mean more available workforce for technically advanced manufacturing. The Midwest has the potential to attract such technically advanced industries. Also, increasing the middle class in other developing countries by adding factory jobs helps the United States to expand its offshore market (Seccareccia, 2014). With an emphasis on STEM industries, countries like the United States will have the space and opportunity to produce more high-end products for currently existing markets in both the developed and developing world (Andersson & Berggren, 2016). We wanted to identify what common concepts preservice teachers understand and what misconceptions they hold about globalization. Many American Midwest citizens remain unconvinced of the benefits of globalization and global science learning and view them as harmful to the American Midwest (Stedl, 2012). However, we identified the sample population as a more specified set of Midwesterners. Out of the 14 participants, 12 were from the Midwest. They represented the younger generation (the majority ages 18–25). According to the literature, younger Midwesterners see globalization as relatively positive more often than elder generations due to features of globalization that they enjoy, such as communication and easy global travel. Additionally, Midwesterners with four-year college degrees show more positive attitudes towards globalization (Cordery & Johnson, 2011). None of our participants had completed a college degree yet, but all were enrolled in a four-­ year college degree program. For these two reasons, we expected the preservice students to display slightly more positive attitudes towards globalization and global science learning than the average Midwesterner. Indeed, we experienced that the preservice teachers had no resistance to learning STEM to better prepare for Global Goals. They held mixed feelings about globalization, but the majority of them did not have a proper understanding of globalization, and we did not observe any of them discuss Global Goals. However, we noticed that they were open to learning new things as preservice teachers and that they were willing to change their prior beliefs with exposure to accurate information from reliable sources.

14.3 Methodology In our action research, we treated the Midwestern rural science teachers’ knowledge as an asset in the science classroom rather than a deficit (Aikenhead, 2006). Such an approach helps science teachers to motivate rural learners to inquire about global science knowledge and to think about the importance of learning science as a global citizen. Also, this approach communicates to science learners that they are already a part of globalization, and their communities contribute to globalization and to global science learning. As expected, we observed that all the students (regardless of their status as urban, suburban, or rural) actively participated in the classroom activities and discussions. This approach helps learners develop positive attitudes toward globalization and learning science to accomplish the Global Goals.

230

T. Ariyaratne and V. L. Akerson

14.3.1 Participants The entire class of 23 students gave consent to participate in the study. However, only 14 students participated in both the pre- and post-tests, so only those 14 students’ data were included. During this intervention, we collected the participants’ demographic information and documented their existing knowledge and attitudes related to globalization and STEM. Gender, age, race, and ethnicity can influence an individual’s beliefs about globalization (Cole & Durham, 2007; Fortunato et  al., 2018; Gauchat et  al., 2012; Xiong, 2022). All the participants in this study were non-Hispanic, White, and she/her/hers pronoun females, so we did not study the influence of gender and ethnicity on beliefs about globalization. However, we did gather information about the participants’ regions and communities of origin (urban, rural, suburban). The class consisted entirely of non-Hispanic white ethnicity female students. Twelve of the students (86%) were from the Midwest. Of the remaining two students, one was from the Pacific region and the other one was from the Northeast. Of the 14 students, six students (43%) said that they were from rural areas. All of these six students were from the Midwest. We coded all the participants. Participant A2 was from the Northeast of the United States, and participant A3 was from the Pacific coastal region of the United States, with the remainder from the midwest. When the class was asked to discuss the impacts of globalization on their hometowns, these two participants enthusiastically described how the different immigrants made their hometowns diverse and more entertaining. A2 said that in her hometown new families were consistently moving into houses in many different neighborhoods. Many of these families were from foreign countries, and her town provided them with a good place to live and raise children. Recognizing that these families benefitted from globalization, she acknowledged the positive impact of globalization. Cultural diversity and acceptance of diversity can be seen as improvements. Although these two students led the discussion that week, all the students were accepting of the fact that their hometowns were being diversified due to new immigrants. No one described any downsides of immigration and cultural diversity. However, neither of the two non-Midwestern students mentioned the advantages (or disadvantages) of learning science and technology in the global world (Table 14.1).

Table 14.1 Participants according to where they grew up

Area of origin Rural area Suburban area Urban area

Percentage of participants (%) 43 36 21

14  Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization…

231

14.3.2 Data Collection The intervention and data collection took place in STEM for Educators mid-spring 2022 before spring break. Sometimes the class utilized both virtual and face-to-face synchronous instructions when a student could not attend the class due to health and safety issues, making it difficult for students to engage with the hands-on activities. Typically this class is a good blend of students from rural and urban regions. As such, in the data collection, the students had three options for identifying their area of origin, including rural areas, urban areas, and suburban areas. Both students who came from rural and urban high schools participated in the study. There were three main eligibility criteria to solicit participants for this study: • The participant must study Science or STEM subjects at IU. • The participant must be 18 years of age or older. • The participant must be a student enrolled in the Q205 STEM for Educators class. If candidates fulfilled all these three criteria, they were eligible to participate in the study. First, their demographic information was gathered in their pre-test. I intervened in the class as a mediator in this study. The students discussed their ideas with group members but commented on their thoughts and ideas individually in the discussion portal. Apart from the discussion portal, the students were instructed to do two homework activities. These activities were the “Dinner from Where” activity and the “Wardrobe Check” activity. For the “Dinner from Where” activity, students were asked to remember what they ate for their dinner the day prior and guess where the ingredients came from. On the second day, we did the “Wardrobe Check” activity. The students were asked to check their wardrobes and find where their clothes had been made. In 1960, about 95% of clothes were made in the United States. Today, only 2% of garments sold in the United States are made in the United States, and the rest come from elsewhere (Vatz, 2013). After each activity, the students wrote their ideas and thoughts on the discussion board, and they were asked to comment on their colleagues’ comments. On all 4 days, we gave a 5–10 min presentation followed by a discussion at the end of the class. Each day, we discussed a topic related to science and globalization and the importance of learning about globalization. On the last day, after the final presentation and discussion, we administered a post-test. The post-test had three parts. The first and the second parts of the post-test were similar to the pre-test. The first part collected demographic information, and the second part comprised of a questionnaire and had a similar question set as the pre-test to determine the students’ development. The third part asked questions about the students’ thoughts on the intervention.

232

T. Ariyaratne and V. L. Akerson

14.4 Results In this section, we explain the themes and trends we identified after analyzing our quantitative and qualitative data. Based on the data we gathered and the challenges we experienced, we have a few recommendations for future researchers who want to study global science learning in the Midwest.

14.4.1 Knowledge and Attitude Change On the first day, the discussion started with the students recalling how many international instructors they had this semester. None of them could say that they did not learn from any international instructors because their instructor in the STEM for Educators class, who is also the main author of this book chapter, is international. The students’ discussion went beyond the topic of instructors to cover many other important topics related to globalization. Since the class occurred just after the Ukraine-Russia war erupted, many students commented on the importance of globalization and global corporations as buffers for peace. ‘The importance of science and technology for a better society’ was a topic that was discussed in the class apart from this study. However, students tended to talk about the economic impacts of globalization rather than internationalization of STEM. Among the questions asked in the pre- and post-tests, most of the students agreed that globalization helps rural societies better connect with the world. The students least agreed that fast internet and modern technologies help rural learners to learn science better. During the first slide presentation, one student asked, “What is globalization?” as she did not know. Such incidents were recorded throughout the study. All participants were studying for their undergraduate degrees, and the majority of them were from rural areas. Yet, as this comment indicates, they did not all grasp the importance of global science learning. Some rural science learners also made negative comments on global science learning in this study. Although we expected better diversity in this study, 86% of the participants were from the Midwest, and they all were non-Hispanic white females. This data reflects Midwestern understanding and knowledge of globalization. Ninety-three percent of the participants were younger than 30 years old. In general, preservice teachers in this course had positive attitudes towards globalization. The participants mentioned cultural blend, affordable goods and services, new employment opportunities, and maintaining world peace as positive aspects of globalization. However, that does not mean the students had no negative attitudes towards globalization. The participants acknowledged the negative impacts of globalization despite its positive impacts. They mentioned labor exploitation, environmental impact, and logistic delays as negative impacts. Only one student said that her knowledge and attitude did not change as a result of the intervention.

14  Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization…

233

However, the student’s post-test results indicated that she developed a more positive attitude towards global science learning after the intervention. However, the use of science and technology for achieving SDGs was poorly addressed by the students. To address this deficit, our intervention simply started with discussing the food that we enjoy from all around the world and the simple things that we use in our day-to-day lives. This can be a simple opening to a discussion on globalization and the impact of learning STEM in a global world. This type of discussion always needs to take into account the level of existing knowledge of the participants or learners. In our classroom, the participants represented a variety of knowledge levels about globalization so the lessons were changed accordingly.

14.4.2 Highlighted Topics The topic of global peace was highlighted in the class, and participants mentioned important ideas about global peace in their discussion posts. Global peace was a timely topic because the study began during the last weeks of February 2022 and continued until the end of March 2022—the same time the Ukraine-Russian war erupted. The class gave significant attention to war and global peace during the discussion. The preservice teachers then discussed global collaboration and how it affects global peace. Also, we discussed how all nations and non-national entities are closely connected. War in eastern Europe has led to significant fluctuations in the global fuel price. In these discussions, we observed students demonstrate openness to the global world, awareness of what happens outside of the United States, and an ability to predict how global phenomena may impact their day-to-day lives. We further discussed the use of technology and science in modern-day warfare. However, the participants did not mention the use of science and technology in modern-day situations and how nations use scientific and technological advancements to defend themselves. It appears that students see globalization and global science learning as two disjointed topics. Many students mentioned a few benefits of globalization that they enjoy. They often do online clothes shopping and consider it a privilege to purchase garments from abroad because foreign textile brands are often cheaper than the textiles produced in their home country. Variety in the food available was another positive topic they discussed. The Midwest is well-known for its corn and soy production, but Midwesterners enjoy consuming tropical fruits and vegetables even during the winter as the participants often mentioned. Finally, participants paid significant attention to the ways that globalization enhances cultural diversity. According to them, one of the most positive effects of globalization is the ability to learn about different cultures, ethnicities, and lifestyles. By connecting with individuals from around the world, they are able to access a vast fund of knowledge. They believe that broadening their views and the

234

T. Ariyaratne and V. L. Akerson

ability to experience the perspectives of people very different from themselves enrich their lives. Although the participants consider cheap clothing, diverse food, and cultural learning advantages of globalization, the participants also mentioned that if for some reason food were no longer imported, it could cause chaos to their food system and they considered it a disadvantage. We observed that participants discussed how the advancement of logistics and the internet made it possible for them to buy things from overseas. In this topic, the participants successfully addressed the roles of science and technology in globalization.

14.4.3 The Fear of Job Loss We observed that Midwestern preservice teachers are concerned about losing traditional industries as a negative impact of globalization. Traditional blue-collar jobs in the Midwest have disappeared or been reduced (Stedl, 2012). We discussed this topic in the classroom, and the participants expressed significant concern even though many new job opportunities have been generated in the Midwest by globalization. We do not know why the Midwestern participants worried about this loss of jobs. Data analysis and comparison with existing information suggest that the fear is rooted in a perceived change in employment due to factors related to globalization. One student said, “My city grew more in population from cultures all over the world due to globalization.” Another student said, “Families are moving more to my area to help get them into a good school district and also close to their workplace.” This participant observed this trend over a long period of time and saw it as an advantage of globalization. Many other participants agreed with this comment and made additional supportive comments. Immigration has increased because of globalization. The instructor posed one question related to skilled migration. Seventy-­ nine percent of the participants agreed with the fact that globalization has increased the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in rural parts of the United States, while 7% of the participants strongly disagreed. However, many participants held positive attitudes about skilled migration and advancements in science and technology gained from highly skilled immigrants in STEM fields. One participant who was from the same town as the university shared that she had mixed feelings about globalization. She said, “The university brings many students and their cultures from all around the world to this town.” Because of globalization, this town enjoys the benefit of having many different restaurants and shops. However, this town has also experienced the negative impact of globalization as many factories have shut down and relocated to developing countries because it is cheaper to operate them overseas. This shift left many people without jobs. This might be a negative impact of global science learning that a small Midwestern community can observe. However, in general, the discussion board comments reflected

14  Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization…

235

that participants understood the shift in the types of jobs that were in demand. They agreed that STEM jobs are in demand. These participants (preservice teachers) will teach science to sets of students in the future. So, they should have a positive feeling about STEM and its importance for the future, including the idea that learning about STEM is important to thrive in the global world. The preservice teachers in this study agreed that globalization increases competition. However, in the survey and discussion boards, this perspective did not appear to be a complaint but rather an appreciation. According to some Americans, immigration is a reason that American citizens lose their jobs (Krogstad et al., 2020). In this discussion, though, the preservice teachers mentioned that competition is healthy and considered positive competition in education and technology an advantage of globalization. They also explained the exchange of technology and knowledge as benefits. All of the preservice teachers said that they would teach about global science learning to their students because it is something that they would experience in the real world. From the quantitative data we gathered in the pre- and post-test, we could see a general development of understanding of globalization among the participants. From the weighted scores, there was a 6.5% favorable attitude and knowledge change among the preservice teachers. This study was conducted over four class days. With more time, we might have been able to provide a more thorough understanding of globalization to the participants, and consequently, we could expect better results. Further, according to existing literature, our sample population of young college students in an R1, large state university hold the most favorable attitudes towards globalization in the Midwest. As such, if this study were repeated with a different set of participants who tend to hold less favorable attitudes toward globalization, more time and more extensive instructional strategies might be needed to achieve the same results.

14.5 Recommendations for Future Innovations We conducted this study as a learning community. In employing action research for this study, we worked with the students collaboratively. Although the in-person classroom discussions were student-centered, the instructors had the freedom to guide the students, which we experienced as a benefit to the format. The online discussion boards held different advantages and disadvantages. Because the discussion boards were open to all students in the classroom, some students did not feel confident sharing their attitudes and knowledge in front of their colleagues and instructor. In one discussion post, we experienced the opposite. Some students who did not talk much in the classroom lesson actively commented and shared their ideas on this discussion board. Additionally, we (the instructors) did not intervene in the discussion flow online and simply encouraged students to actively participate. However, early in the study, students focused more on negative outcomes of globalization and global science learning than on positive outcomes in their online posts.

236

T. Ariyaratne and V. L. Akerson

We believe it would be good to have some amount of scaffolding in their online discussions rather than leaving them unguided. We also think we could have achieved better results with more time to conduct the study. We were limited by the time constraints of conducting this study in a class with lab activities, and we did not want to continue our studies through spring break. Hands-on activities were used to change the students’ attitudes. Offering research-based information to the classroom in presentation format was good. But because the students knew this topic would not be covered on their exam, and they only earned a participation point for their activities in the discussion posts, the students were not very motivated to embrace the information we presented. Hence, hands-on activities were the best way to encourage the students to learn the information. We found the ‘wardrobe check’ activity in the global science learning resources. There are global science learning activities available for purchase on the internet, but we did not use any of them and instead designed the “What was for dinner?” and “Instructors from where?” activities. It would have been better if we had more hands-on activities to conduct as, according to the discussion posts, we found that those activities were influential in changing students’ attitudes toward global science learning toward the positive side. Prior to the study, we did not know the Midwest-specific concerns related to globalization. When we examined the data, we found the blue-collar job shift was the major concern among this population related to globalization and global science learning. If we had known this earlier, we would have considered designing our study to focus on global STEM-related job security. It is highly recommended that researchers be prepared with information if the students or participants bring the idea of blue-collar job shift as a disadvantage of globalization. With the background information we gathered, it appears that the blue-collar job shift is more significant in the Midwest region than in other regions of the United States. It is a negative impact of globalization and mostly unavoidable. However, learning science and technology can help to boost Midwestern economies. Many pharmaceutical, tech, and medical manufacturing companies have moved to the Midwest because of its geopolitical advantages. Since these industries seek a skilled and semi-skilled workforce, it is important for students to learn science and technology to become eligible employees. That idea needs to be conveyed to learners in the science classroom.

14.6 Conclusions From the data we gathered, we can conclude that rural Midwestern preservice teachers show comparatively fewer positive attitudes towards globalization. We observed negative attitudes among all the participants regardless of where they came from (urban, rural, and suburban regions). In general, they were skeptical about the outcomes of globalization. They were not previously educated about achieving Global Goals with science and technology. For most of them, globalization and internationalization of STEM were not familiar topics. As preservice teachers, they did not

14  Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization…

237

understand how learning STEM could offer comparative advantages in a globally advanced world. Mass media and apparent outcomes of free trade influenced the students’ beliefs and attitudes towards globalization. Participants who came from other parts of the United States held more positive attitudes towards global science learning than students from the Midwest. Those students who came from the West Coast and East Coast of the United States demonstrated comparatively welcoming attitudes toward incoming immigrants and cultural diversity. Midwestern participants also agreed with the positive outcomes of legal immigration and cultural diversity. However, all the participants were not very confident in connecting global science learning and globalization together and learning them as one integrated topic.

14.6.1 Demographics and Globalization We let the students select the community category (urban, rural, suburban) that best described where they were from. Surprisingly, a few students who indicated they were from a rural setting in their pre-test later indicated on their post-test that they were from a suburban setting. Likewise, a few who indicated that they were from an urban area in the pre-test later indicated that they were from a suburban area in their post-test. These discrepancies demonstrated that although the terms urban, rural, and suburban are often discussed in science education, the preservice teachers lacked a clear understanding of how to demarcate boundaries between rural, suburban, and urban regions. Urban and rural contexts are not only defined by geography but also by social markers, such as race and ethnicity (Bradley & Feldman, 2021). The students had developed their understanding of globalization from mass media and their personal experiences but did not experience the same exposure to global science learning and the importance of learning science and technology from the same mass media resources. This may explain why we did not observe a significant difference in perceptions of STEM and globalization between the three categories (urban, rural, and suburban). We also noticed the importance of understanding the backgrounds of the students. Our participants all used she/her/hers pronouns. They were female, ethnically white, preservice teachers. The majority of them were age 18–25 (except for one student age 30–35) and from the Midwest. According to the literature, the younger generation and college-educated Midwesterners are the groups who show the most favorable attitudes toward globalization as a concept in the Midwest (Cordery & Johnson, 2011). Despite the influence of their context of origin (rural, urban, or suburban), there were other possible geographical and demographic factors, such as ethnicity, that could influence the individuals’ attitudes towards globalization. Because our sample population lacked diversity, those factors did not influence this study and they have yet to be studied. Other demographic factors may influence perspectives on global science learning but, in this study, we were unable to identify any other correlations.

238

T. Ariyaratne and V. L. Akerson

14.6.2 Midwest Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs When teaching globalization and global science learning to preservice teachers, we believe it is important to provide relatable examples. As such, we directed students to pick evidence of globalization from their daily life. By that, we meant that they should select available information related to globalization and how learning science and technology helps globalization that was relevant to their lives. We could have referred to positive stories about globalization and global science learning from urban centers such as New York or Los Angeles in our class. However, we purposely avoided non-midwestern sources because we wanted examples that connected to students’ lives. This choice did not demotivate or leave out the students who were from the other parts of the country and might have been more exposed to globalization compared to the students from the Midwest. We experienced a lack of positive resources related to globalization in the Midwest, and, by resources, we mean traditional and non-academic resources such as word of mouth and non-academic printed materials. Students who grew up in the Midwest had heard about the disadvantages of globalization (such as blue-collar job shift and farmland acquisition by corporations), which convey a negative image of globalization even though academic resources contradict most of these ideas. Academic sources provide evidence that science and technology have replaced the blue-collar shift, but preservice teachers were not well informed about this perspective. We conducted this study with different instructional strategies, including presentations, in-person discussions, Canvas discussion boards, and hands-on activities. We mostly facilitated learning communities in the classroom and collaborative learning. Our in-person discussions and written discussions in the Canvas learning management system (LMS) were fruitful. As instructors, we avoided any involvement in the Canvas discussions and let the students discuss what they experienced and learned. The students shared valuable information. However, we noticed that students often shared what they heard about globalization from the media, which mostly involved negative aspects of globalization and internationalization of STEM, such as environmental pollution, labor exploitation, and carbon emission. We believe it is important to have some amount of scaffolding on the discussion platform to obtain better results when students conduct their own discussions. Most importantly, we observed that our preservice teachers were not resistant to learning more about globalization, which they need to become globally competent science teachers. They demonstrated confidence in their skills and knowledge. They were open to learning about the actual consequences of globalization and its influence on the Midwest. We were able to direct our discussion towards helping them understand that new globally competitive jobs need technology, innovative ideas, and creativity. Consequently, they understood the importance of learning science and technology. From our four-week study, we found quantitatively that the students’ attitudes towards globalization changed to be more positive. We can say that

14  Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization…

239

the preservice teachers were open to change. If there had been more time, perhaps we would have observed yet more positive change. To be successful, this study needs to be tailored to the population of students sampled. If the sample deviates from these preservice teachers’ category (e.g., if the sample contained different age groups and education levels), actions should be changed accordingly, and a more extensive method and more time would be needed to achieve expected results.

14.6.3 Importance of Learning Science Participants held the idea that it was important to discuss globalization and global science learning in their future science classes. Initially, none of them said that globalization has more advantages than disadvantages. But after the intervention, the participants agreed that globalization has more advantages than disadvantages. They said that they, as future teachers, could help their students better understand the pros and cons of globalization and use the advantages of global science learning to reduce disparities between types of communities (urban, suburban, or rural). They realized that, as members of a developed country, their future students should learn STEM subjects and aim for jobs as skilled workers. We promoted the idea that globalization is an unavoidable reality for which we need to prepare. The majority of students understood this phenomenon well, and this intervention made a positive impact on their understanding of globalization and global science learning. The students gave significant attention to blue-collar job loss, even though none of them planned to be blue-collar job holders. We focused on that sensitive topic to provide an understanding of the importance of learning science in the global world. When we explained that many blue-collar jobs were replaced by STEM jobs in the Midwest, the participants’ attitudes towards global science learning became more positive. The preservice teachers in our study held more positive attitudes toward globalization than existing data suggests. The existing data shows that college-level graduates in the Midwest possess slightly more positive attitudes over the public in the Midwest toward the globalized economy. However, it is important to note that most ofourt the study participants were ages 20–25, and all of them were females whose preferred pronouns were she/her/hers. Trends made possible by globalization, like fast fashion, are popular among college students and might influence them to view globalization more positively. We did not have enough data to make conclusions about how ethnicity and gender influence attitudes toward globalization in the Midwest in this study. Urban and suburban preservice teachers held relatively positive attitudes toward global learning. They showed a more open attitude toward diversity and inclusion of other genders. That does not mean rural students’ attitudes toward new cultures were negative. Rather, their understanding of diversity and inclusion of other cultures was poorly developed.

240

T. Ariyaratne and V. L. Akerson

Midwest preservice teachers’ attitudes, knowledge, and understanding can be improved by STEM-related classroom discussions, classroom demonstrations, and hands-on activities, among other approaches, even though global science learning is not a core topic of their syllabus. Teaching the importance of global science learning and teaching is critical in STEM classes because STEM jobs can be the next generation’s solution for concerns about the Midwest blue-collar shift. Preservice teachers have the knowledge and the ability to understand the importance of learning STEM subjects to gain a comparative advantage in the globalized world.

References Aikenhead, G. S. (2006). 9. Cross-cultural science teaching: Rekindling traditions for aboriginal students. In Curriculum as cultural practice. https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442686267-­012 Ali, N., & Khan, K. I. (2022). Governing the corporation: Regulations in the era of scandals and globalization. Journal of Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies, 8(1), 153–164. https://doi.org/10.26710/jafee.v8i1.2235 Allotey, P., Reidpath, D., Certain, E., Vahedi, M., Maher, D., Launois, P., & Ross, B. (2021). Lessons learned developing a massive open online course in Implementation Research in infectious diseases of poverty in low- and middle-income countries. Open Praxis, 13(1), 127. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.13.1.1172 Andersson, S., & Berggren, E. (2016). Born global or local? Factors influencing the internationalization of university spin-offs—The case of Halmstad University. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 14(3), 296–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10843-­016-­0182-­z Anthony Ralph, M., & Ralph, L. (2013). Weapons of mass instruction: The creative use of social media in improving pedagogy. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 10, 449–460. https://doi.org/10.28945/1821 Bradley, F., & Feldman, A. (2021). The problematic use of urban, suburban, and rural in science education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 16(4), 1289–1313. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11422-­020-­10015-­7 Cole, J., & Durham, D. (2007). Generations and globalization: Youth, age, and family in the New World Economy. Indiana University Press. Cordery, S., & Johnson, R. (2011). Midwest attitudes toward globalization. Retrieved April 3, 2021, from https://department.monm.edu/midwest-­matters/poll/MidwestPollReport.pdf Cormier, D. (2000). The working poor and the working of American labour markets. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 24(6), 691–708. https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/24.6.691 Florida, R. (1996). Regional creative destruction: Production organization, globalization, and the economic transformation of the Midwest. Economic Geography, 72(3), 314. https://doi. org/10.2307/144403 Fortunato, I., Mena, J., & Sorainen, A. (2018). Teacher education for gender, sexuality, diversity and globalization policies. Policy Futures in Education, 16(5), 515–523. https://doi. org/10.1177/1478210318770515 Gauchat, G., Kelly, M., & Wallace, M. (2012). Occupational gender segregation, globalization, and gender earnings inequality in U.S. metropolitan areas. Gender & Society, 26(5), 718–747. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243212453647 Gerber, D. J. (2012). Global competition: Law, markets, and globalization. Oxford University Press. Graetz, K. (2006). Chapter 6: The psychology of learning environments. In The psychology of learning environments. Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https:// w w w. e d u c a u s e . e d u / r e s e a r c h -­a n d -­p u b l i c a t i o n s / b o o k s / l e a r n i n g -­s p a c e s / chapter-­6-­psychology-­learning-­environments

14  Exploring US Midwestern Preservice Teachers’ Understandings of Globalization…

241

Hee Kim, K. (2010). NAFTA is a good deal for workers in North America: Theories and evidence. In Proceedings of the Northeast business & economics association (pp. 517–522). Hoffman, M. E. (2008). What explains attitudes across US trade policies? Public Choice, 138(3–4), 447–460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-­008-­9369-­8 Krogstad, J. M., Lopez, M. H., & Passel, J. S. (2020, August 26). A majority of Americans say immigrants mostly fill jobs U.S. citizens do not want. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https:// www.pewresearch.org/fact-­tank/2020/06/10/a-­majority-­of-­americans-­say-­immigrants-­mostly- ­ fill-­jobs-­u-­s-­citizens-­do-­not-­want/ Lee, Y. Y., & Falahat, M. (2019). The impact of digitalization and resources on gaining competitive advantage in international markets: Mediating role of marketing, innovation and learning capabilities. Technology Innovation Management Review, 9(11), 26–38. https://doi.org/10.22215/ timreview/1281 Lemmet, L.-C., & Medjad, K. (2018). Desperately seeking the civil society: The new challenge of the multinational companies. Society and Business Review, 13(1), 27–38. https://doi. org/10.1108/sbr-­06-­2017-­0039 Ortiz, C., Alvarado, R., Méndez, P., & Flores-Chamba, J. (2022). Environmental impact of the shadow economy, globalisation, and human capital: Capturing spillovers effects using spatial panel data approach. Journal of Environmental Management, 308, 114663. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114663 Seccareccia, M. (2014). Were the original Canada–US free trade agreement (CUSFTA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) significant policy turning points? Understanding the evolution of macroeconomic policy from the pre- to the post-NAFTA era in North America. Review of Keynesian Economics, 2(4), 414–428. https://doi.org/10.4337/ roke.2014.04.01 Stedl, M. (2012, April 11). The global midwest. Chicago Policy Review. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://chicagopolicyreview.org/2012/04/09/the-­global-­midwest-­richard-­longworth/ UNDP. (2022). Sustainable development goals: 17 goals to Transform Our World. United Nations Development Programme. https://www.un.org/en/exhibits/page/sdgs-17-goalstransform-world Vatz, S. (2013, May 24). Why America stopped making its own clothes – The lowdown. KQED – Why America stopped making its own clothes. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://www.kqed. org/lowdown/7939/madeinamerica Vinoski, J. (2019, October 31). Less than 3% of the apparel Americans wear is made in the U.S., but this company is changing that. Forbes. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.forbes. com/sites/jimvinoski/2019/10/31/less-­than-­3-­of-­the-­apparel-­americans-­wear-­is-­made-­in-­the-­ us-­but-­this-­company-­is-­changing-­that/?sh=3c2c674b66cd Winant, G. (2021). The next shift: The fall of industry and the rise of health care in Rust Belt America. Harvard University Press. Xiong, W. (2022). Ethnic minority and indigenous higher education in the globalization: Neoliberal challenges and opportunities for policies and institutions. In Globalization, comparative education and policy research (pp. 169–177). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-­3-­030-­83136-­3_11 Yang, J., Tan, Y., & Xue, D. (2019). The impacts of globalization on city environments in developing countries: A case study of 21 cities in Guangdong Province, China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 240, 118273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118273

Chapter 15

Developing Global Science Knowledge and Global Competence Skills of Preservice Elementary Teachers in an Undergraduate Science Content Course Shukufe Rahman, Conghui Liu

, and Gayle A. Buck

15.1 Introduction Globalization refers to a series of economic and technological changes and educational changes that have changed how the world works and is interconnected (Parkinson, 2009). The educational change brought by globalization stresses students to view the world through multiple vantage points assembled through their studies and experiences while exploring themselves. Therefore, today’s educators need to create learning environments that not only allow students to learn about the world but, more importantly, prompt them to see the multifaceted and intersecting undercurrents that give meaning to the world and their lives within it (Kahn & Agnew, 2017). Advocates of global learning contend that higher education institutions and educators should prioritize skills that involve people to contribute significantly to their local and global communities. The skills supporting globalization involve a certain kind of global competency (Gardner, 2004). These competencies include rationale and scientific knowledge and values, as well as an understanding of life in the global age that involves creativity, interdisciplinary thinking, cultural interaction, and tolerance promotion. While there is broad agreement within science education to prepare students for global scientific knowledge and practice, there is a lack of discussion on what skills and abilities define global competence in science learning and teaching, what combination of international and local science knowledge and experiences best instill it, and the means and metrics used to judge whether students have attained it (Chiu & S. Rahman (*) · C. Liu · G. A. Buck Indiana University School of Education, Bloomington, IN, USA e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 G. A. Buck et al. (eds.), Internationalizing Rural Science Teacher Preparation, Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education 58, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46073-9_15

243

244

S. Rahman et al.

Duit, 2011; DeBoer, 2011). This study aimed to advance such understanding by exploring efforts to foster preservice teachers’ global scientific knowledge and competence skills. The overarching research question was: Does studying environmental issues from a local and global lens foster preservice teachers’ environmental science knowledge and global competence skills? This question was further broken down into three sub-questions. These were: (1) How did the preservice teachers’ global scientific knowledge develop or improve? What aspects of the global learning pedagogy fostered or hindered the development of this knowledge? (2) How did the preservice teachers’ global competence skills of critical thinking, acting, thinking and reflecting interculturally, and addressing identified cultural differences change? What aspects of the global learning pedagogy fostered or hindered the development of these skills? And; (3) How did the intervention change the preservice teachers’ attitudes toward global environmental issues? What aspects of the global learning pedagogy promote the changes?

15.2 Action The action was designed to connect the local and global environmental issues in an environmental science content course. By adding the global aspect of these issues, the study aimed to evaluate this new approach in fostering preservice teachers’ environmental science knowledge, global competence skills, and attitudes. The global and local dimensions of climate change, water quality, and a global environmental issue selected by the students were explored. Sample interventions activities included: completing a gallery walk activity on the effects of climate change around the world, collaboratively doing a water puzzle designed to help them recognize and address global and local water quality issues, conducting water quality monitoring locally, and independently investigating an environmental issue across three countries worldwide and then developing a scientific explanation on the issue from a local and global perspective.

15.2.1 Climate Change In the climate change unit, the activities focused on delving into global data on climate change. At first, the instructor introduced the science content knowledge about climate, weather, and climate change through a lab activity, the “Ice Core” activity. Next, the students visited six stations to understand the Impact of Climate Change on every country and answered the guiding question regarding the graphic presentation with their group. Then the students were involved with their peers in identifying the patterns and trends associated with various global maps demonstrating global climate change’s differential impacts. The students also discussed solutions to slow atmospheric warming and climate change with their peers to complete provided

15  Developing Global Science Knowledge and Global Competence Skills…

245

worksheet based on this Gallery-walk activity. After the gallery walk activity, students were asked to respond through a scientific report to the claim, “Climate change is the great equalizer and equally affects everyone in the world.” The students constructed a scientific argument either in support of or against the provided claim. The students were suggested to follow the rubric and use at least three to five graphs as evidence from the gallery walk activity to support their argument.

15.2.2 Water Quality The water quality unit was designed to explore the quality of a local water resource. For this study, a global perspective of how water bodies around the world are connected was introduced. At the beginning of the unit, each group did an ocean currents activity, including exploring relative information about the current and its relationship with other areas. A game about how ocean currents move trash followed to deepen their understanding of the global and local connection. After the game, a class discussion on how water resources are connected (including other ways besides ocean currents, like the water cycle) was facilitated by the instructor. The activity finished with the last question on the lab sheet about how water quality in one area could influence other places in the world. After the activity, students were asked to explore the water quality of a local stream through the evidence from several indicators, like macroinvertebrates, erosion, ph, turbidity, etc. An argument was made on the local water quality for each group, and they made a photovoice to share their findings with other groups.

15.2.3 Independent Inquiry After both climate change and water quality units, an independent inquiry project was assigned to support students in formulating and identifying a global environmental issue for which they could individually develop a scientific argument. This assignment had four parts. In the first part of this project, students were instructed to create a three countries profile that included their environmental issues. In part 2, the students read and summarized empirical studies they found on one of the common environmental issues for each of their three countries. After reading the empirical studies, the students reported their findings and completed a summary table. Then, in part 3, the students outlined the necessary evidence and reasoning to develop their argument on global environmental issues. The instructor went through each part of the project with students and provided support when necessary. In the final part of this project, the students developed and provided scientific arguments on a global environmental issue across their selected countries in the world. Students also presented their arguments to their peers in a short presentation session.

246

S. Rahman et al.

15.3 Research Methods Action research (Lewin, 1946) was employed to conduct this study to explore preservice teachers’ global environmental science knowledge and global competence skill in a science content course. Action research has been considered one of the most promising strategies for classroom innovation, teacher continuing professional development, and lifelong learning through educational research in science education (Laudonia et al., 2018). Furthermore, action research is the cyclical approach of making change, analyzing that change for effectiveness, and making further improvements to the action (Eilks, 2018). Therefore, action research is viewed as an inquiry by or involving science teachers to improve classroom practices (Feldman, 1996) and validate educational innovation strategies (Eilks & Ralle, 2002). The action research undertaken in this study is a collaborative approach targeted at improving the preservice teachers’ global scientific knowledge and global competence skills and teaching strategies as outcomes (Eilks, 2018). Considering this, the study was exploratory and aimed to inform future iterations of the intervention by adding connections between local and global environmental issues. The action research approach centers on learning from experience (Dewey, 1986). In this case, the experiences of the practitioner/researcher and the preservice teachers as students were considered while recognizing both the practitioners’ and students’ understanding and reflection. This action research was conducted collaboratively as the researcher, and the instructor planned the design, teaching, and evaluation of the action. The collaborative process was vital because it ensured the emerging designs were compatible with the needs of practices while at the same time taking all available evidence from the research side into account.

15.3.1 Context This action research took place during one semester of an undergraduate non-major science course. This course was a required course for preservice elementary teachers—the course rooted in environmental science and scientific inquiry content. The course used socio-constructivist learning principles and was split into three broad sections. The first section explored the nature of science and principles of scientific inquiry; the second section introduced the use of scientific explanations in scientific inquiry using several environment-focused inquiry scenarios and labs; and, in the final section, students engaged in a free-choice scientific inquiry and produce a full scientific report and presentation based on their independent scientific inquiry. The globalization innovation took place during the second and third sections of the course and is represented in the flowchart in the above Fig. 15.1.

15  Developing Global Science Knowledge and Global Competence Skills…

247

Fig. 15.1  Action flowchart of incorporating global and local science knowledge in an undergraduate science course

15.3.2 Data Collection and Analysis Multiple data sources were used to allow for triangulation and more sophisticated insight into student experiences resulting from the action. Qualitative and quantitative data were used to understand the change across the participant population and the nuances and rich points of the participant experiences and teaching strategies. Student Work Students produced several pieces of work throughout the intervention, including (1) scientific explanations of climate change, water quality, and the final inquiry project; (2) worksheets where each group outlined the scientific claim, reasoning, and evidence for their global contexts choices; and (3) quizzes for content knowledge each module. The initial stage of analysis of student work involved first passing over the work while noting areas of salience and interest and understanding the multiple perspectives of knowing and doing science and understanding global science knowledge in memos (Glaser, 1978). Once this stage was completed, primary descriptive themes were determined, and the student works were coded based on the patterns and categorized upon emergent themes. Collaboration and interaction between participants were critical to the components of the global competence skills that informed this intervention. Therefore, the naturally occurring conversations were recorded. Each group of students was recorded using an audio recorder placed in

248

S. Rahman et al.

their workspace. Student groups typically consisted of 3–4 students. Each group member gave consent for their recording to be analyzed. Memos were produced from those audio records from the initial interpretations and patterns identified in the data. The data sources were revised, coded descriptively, and categorized from emergent themes. Surveys To understand broad changes in students’ attitudes towards global environmental issues as a result of the action, a pre-survey was provided to the participants 1 week before the commencement of the intervention, and a post-survey was provided 1 week after the completion of the intervention. According to our participants and context, the survey was adapted from the PISA 2018 Global Competence Questionnaire (OECD, 2018). Items were selected based on their relevance to the course. This study used the adapted questionnaire to reveal pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward global environmental issues. The PISA survey incorporated global competence into its evaluation system for students aged 15  years. However, the variables and choices in this survey tool provided rich and detailed data sources for studying the attitudes of individual levels related to global issues and competence. Therefore, this survey tool was adapted from PISA and was used to explore the attitudes of the pre-service teachers.

15.4 Results Question 1: How did the preservice teachers’ global scientific knowledge develop or improve? What aspects of the global learning pedagogy fostered or hindered the development of this knowledge? The first topic explored by the students was climate change. The curriculum was structured as a guided inquiry where global datasets were provided to the students for them to analyze. Based on the provided datasets and the instructor-generated questions, the students developed scientific arguments reflecting the impact of climate change worldwide. The student-generated discussions and scientific explanations were then explored for global scientific knowledge. The majority of the students identified global challenges, for example, sea-level rises, global warnings, heat stress, natural disasters, and agricultural and mortality rates worldwide, while doing the gallery walk activity on climate change. “Countries with higher populations are at higher risks for warming. China is at a very high risk of sea-level rise due to its high population density and is sitting at 36–86 million people at risk. However, other countries like Canada are not at high risk due to their lower population, with