Influence of a cooperative early field experience on preservice elementary teachers' science self-efficacy

The influence of a cooperative early field experience on preservice elementary teachers' science self-efficacy was investigated in this study. The sample was comprised of 120 preservice elementary education students enrolled in an elementary science methods course at a large midwestern university. Cooperative learning groups were formed within each of five laboratory sections of the methods course. Each cooperative group witnessed several modeled science lessons employing cooperative techniques prior to planning and teaching a cooperative elementary science lesson in a local public school. Two randomly selected elementary science methods laboratory sections were tested directly before and three other sections immediately after the performance of a cooperative teaching field experience. Testing involved obtaining scores from subjects' response to the Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Inventory, form B (STEBI-B). The STEBI-B measures science teaching self-efficacy beliefs. A random sample of personal interviews were also given by the researcher to a selected subsample of study participants at the end of the semester. The significant ANOVA findings reported for the data collection subgroup (time of teaching) main effect (F = 8.63, p < 0.01), lack of significant correlations between the alternative predictor variables, and the STEBI-B scores provides evidence to support an inference that early cooperative field experience had a positive influence on the subjects' science teaching self-efficacy. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.