The First Year of Teaching Science: Ready or Not?

This is a follow-up study of a research project that examined the effectiveness of metaphor within reflection. In the original study, it was found that using metaphor as a tool for reflection helped prospective teachers make their implicit beliefs about learning to teach explicit. The objective of the current study was to determine the extent to which the ability of a prospective teacher, Matt, to articulate beliefs and to put them into practice within a student teaching field experience could lead to the same outcome during his first year as a practicing teacher. Matt obtained a position in a school that shared his philosophy of an intellectually-safe learning environment and was able to continue his habit of a reflective inquiry stance within learning communities of his colleagues and a peer. His continued use of metaphor as a tool for purposeful reflection helped him maintain his student-centered focus of learning and teaching science.