Coherence in Science Teacher Education: Integrating visions of coherent science teaching into supervised teaching practice through supportive tools

Research on teacher education identifies fragmented nature of teacher education programs, perceived lack of connection between university courses and supervised teaching practice, and absence of shared visions about teaching. As part of an international project, a set of planning and reflection tools were developed with an aim to enhance the coherence of the science teacher education program. The purpose of this study is to enhance understanding of how the coherence of science teacher education can be supported through tools designed for lesson planning and reflection. In this paper, we report results from a qualitative study in which we interviewed six pre-service science teachers (PSTs) and analyzed the data on PSTs' views on supportive tools used in supervised teaching practice. The results of the thematic analysis suggest that supportive tools for coherent science teaching can effectively enhance coherence in science teacher education programs by supporting PSTs linking the theories discussed in university courses with supervised teaching practice and reflecting the teacher education program’s vision about teaching to PSTs.