An Analysis of Reflective Thinking of Pre-Service Science Teachers during a Science Methodology Course

In recent years, many studies have argued that reflective thinking helps pre-service teachers to develop expertise in their practice. Teacher’s reflective thinking is seen as being helpful in developing teachers into decision makers, thereby helping them to understand their work and define the direction of schooling. Furthermore, reflective thinking is viewed as being able to link theory and practice. Thus, the purpose of this study was to define the types and content of reflective thinking and to measure changes in the types and content of participants’ reflective thinking through a science methodology course. In this study, we defined teachers’ reflective thinking and analyzed pre-service teachers’ reflective thinking demonstrated in their journal writing and interviews. Two pre-service teachers voluntarily participated in this study. The participants took theoretical lessons, demonstrated micro-teaching, and taught students during field experience as part of a three-month long science methodology course and practicum. Reflective practice journals and individual interviews were used for analyzing the changes in and characteristics of pre-service teachers’ reflective thinking. The results of this study were as follows. First, the major type of participants’ reflective thinking was technical reflection, and much of the content of their reflective thinking leaned toward teaching technique and physical context. Secondly, professional reflection was more appropriate than technical reflection for translating the separated contents into an integrated knowledge set. Thirdly, compared with other periods, pre-service teachers’ reflective thinking was dominantly enhanced during field experience.