Improving the Attitude of Pre-service Elementary School Teachers Towards Teaching Physics

The dislike that many elementary school teachers have for teaching physics is a well-known problem that adversely affects science education at all higher levels. This study aims at evaluating an approach to change this negative attitude by demonstrating the relevance of science teaching to the students in the SCI 210 course, "Physics for future elementary school teachers". Several new elements were introduced in this integrated activity-based course: a historical perspective on the state of science education in the U.S.A., a collaboration with a faculty member from the college of education as well as with educators from the NASA/JPL Office of Education, and a physics teaching experience with middle school children. To gage the effectiveness of this approach, attitudinal surveys were implemented at the beginning and again towards the end of the course. The data show that the attitude towards science teaching of the students improved significantly due to their experience in the "reformed" course. In contrast, in the unreformed course which lacked the above enrichment elements, there was little or no change in the students' attitudes between the pre-and post-survey.