The purpose of the study was to explore five science secondary preservice teachers’ intentions for teaching writing and their experience with the unit of study approach while writing a scientific genre. The study sought to understand how preservice teachers applied the unit of study in the field of science.
The participants experienced the unit of study from the stance of a learner, with opportunities to reflect on the assignment from the stance of a teacher.
This allowed them to learn more about scientific writing and to develop competence in an instructional approach they could utilize in their future teaching.
This study suggests that preservice teachers need explicit conversations about their intentions for teaching writing.
Teacher educators need to help preservice teachers view themselves as teachers with expert knowledge of how to write in science.