Science methods courses across contexts : implications for research and practice

The purpose of this chapter is to synthesise major themes across the eleven chapters, discussing both common features and distinct practices in various contexts. When we conceptualised this book, we wanted to provide some freedom for authors to emphasise what they deemed the most signature and important aspects of their science methods courses. Yet, we also wanted a general structure for the chapters to provide some points of consistency. This led to the development of four major headings; context, planning/course design, classroom practice, and assessment. These headings served as a useful organiser for this final chapter. Below, we discuss each of these components of designing and teaching the secondary science methods course. For each component, we first synthesise the big ideas that cut across the chapters, and then discuss what we consider to be a major feature of that component. We begin with the three components of the science methods course itself" planning, classroom practice, and assessment" and then discuss the role of context and the extent to which there are differences across countries. Last, we discuss tensions for designing and teaching science methods courses, a roadmap for future research and scholarship, and conclude with a discussion of benefits that readers can gain from this international look at science teacher education. In the writing that follows, we use the term 'teacher educator' to refer to instructors and 'teacher' to refer to learners in secondary science methods courses.