This study used a cluster randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of two approaches to increasing middle school students' science learning when using an inquiry-based science curriculum. Eighty-nine schools, with 253 teachers and 20,591 students, were randomly assigned into one of three conditions: (a) a treatment condition in…

Inquiry is essentially a process in which research questions are asked and an attempt is made to find the answers. However, the formulation of operational research questions of the sort used in authentic scientific inquiry is not a trivial task. Here, we set out to explore the possible influence of separating the research question from the…

This study further extends a conceptual framework that explores science teaching as a "practice" not reducible to the application of formal knowledge, but as informed by teachers' practical-moral knowledge. A hermeneutic model was developed to examine practical-moral knowledge "indirectly" by investigating teachers'…

This study explored whether early childhood preservice teachers' concerns about teaching nature of science (NOS) and their intellectual levels influenced whether and how they taught NOS at the preschool and primary (K-3) levels. We used videotaped classroom observations and lesson plans to determine the science instructional practices at the…

Alternative certification programs (ACPs) have been proposed as a viable way to address teacher shortages, yet we know little about how teacher knowledge develops within such programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate prior knowledge for teaching among students entering an ACP, comparing individuals with teaching experience to those…

Reform-based curriculum materials have been suggested as a mechanism to make inquiry-based instruction more prevalent in secondary science classrooms, specifically when accompanied by comprehensive professional development (Loucks-Horsley, Hewson, Love, & Stiles, [1998]; Powell & Anderson, [2002]). This research examines the implementation of a…

Describes the knowledge base of a group of science teachers as related to the structure, function, and development of their disciplines and their understanding of the nature of science. Twenty teachers participated in this study and their knowledge base was found lacking in all respects. The assumption was that teacher preparation programs are not…

Identifies the major tenets of a preservice secondary education program, knowledge structures that beginning science teachers have constructed about the teaching and learning of science, and the correlation between them. Findings indicate that aspects of the program such as student-centered learning, cooperative learning, general pedagogical…

Explores the science content knowledge of elementary school teachers and its possible role in helping them teach effectively. Studies the issues in the context of an investigation of the views of elementary school teachers (n=106) who had participated in professional development courses that focused on the topic "natural and processed…

Examines how science teachers' (n=14) knowledge of science and science pedagogy changed after participation in a constructivist-based methods course. More-experienced teachers were paired with less-experienced teachers, and pre- and post-instructional concept maps, journals, portfolios, and transcripts revealed that, within the zone of proximal…

Examines changes in the science content representations of two prospective elementary teachers during their first year in an experimental teacher preparation program. Finds that opportunities to engage in cycles of instruction guided by structured considerations for content representation contributed to improvements in the teachers' science…

Reports on a study that examines the ways in which three prospective teachers approach representing science content within the context of their student teaching experiences. (Contains 51 references.) (DDR)

Describes researcher and teacher-researcher analyses of inquiry teaching of the nature of science to prospective elementary teachers. Discusses the difficulties with presenting a cogent and comprehensive picture of the nature of science, the teacher's pivotal role in initiating discussions of science and scientists' work, and the strengths and…

Describes how two teachers collaborated with a university-based researcher/teacher educator to design and implement more authentic science in a grade 7 classroom. Discusses the ways in which the teachers changed their views about science and science teaching, the anxieties they experienced, and the institutional constraints that impacted their…

Describes a physics course designed to engage preservice elementary teachers in the practices and discourses of science through activities that would later be used with children. Presents an account of preservice teachers' progress in inventing and testing models, working with empirical data, critically evaluating and using authoritative sources,…