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Pre-service teacher preparation (PSTP) is generally considered a significant predictor of student achievements. This paper adopted a multi-tier linear model to estimate the PSTP effects on student performance by taking teachers and students in the high schools of Haidian District, Beijing, China, as the research population. It used exploratory factor analysis to classify PSTP into two categories: content knowledge preparation and pedagogical content knowledge preparation; and described the status of PSTP in three subjects: Chinese, mathematics, and chemistry. The study found differences in PSTP by subject. In Chinese, teachers' content knowledge preparation significantly negatively affected student performance, and their pedagogical content knowledge preparation significantly positively influenced student performance. In mathematics, PSTP had no significant effect on student performance. In chemistry, teachers' pedagogical content knowledge preparation had a significantly negative effect on student performance. Based on the findings of the empirical study, the study proposes further identifying PSTP's role in student performance by subject, strengthening the focus on pre-service preparation skills in recruiting Chinese and chemistry teachers, and developing a more suitable system for teacher selection and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effectiveness of a novel inquiry-based instructional sequence using interactive simulations for supporting students' development of conceptual understanding, inquiry process skills and confidence in learning. The study, conducted in Beijing, involved two teachers and 117 students in four classes. The teachers participated in professional learning and were supported in enacting one of two different instructional approaches the Interactive Simulations Instructional Approach (ISIA) (experimental group) or conventional instruction (control group). Each student group completed pre-tests and post-tests, and classroom observations were conducted to ensure that the implementation of the intervention was consistent. Our findings reveal that students in the ISIA group demonstrated significantly greater gains in conceptual understanding, inquiry process skills and confidence in learning than their peers in the conventional instruction group. Neither students' sex nor their levels of academic achievement showed main effects on students' achievement in any of the three outcome types (understanding, skill, confidence). This study demonstrates that the combination of interactive simulations and inquiry-based learning can enhance the development of students' conceptual understanding, inquiry process skills and confidence in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]