Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) has been a key element in science education for the past decade and should therefore be a key element of pre-service teacher (PST) education as well. This study aims to explore how IBSE is implemented in teacher education for primary and lower secondary levels (years 1-10) to prepare PSTs for their…

In the last 30 years, there has been an ongoing discussion about the effectiveness of Professional Development (PD) programs, which aims to promote reform-based Science Education (SE). Among the many, different trends of reform-based science teaching, inquiry-based approaches hold a dominant role. This study shows how teachers' practices were…

The inclusion of engineering in science learning standards draws attention to the need to support pre-service teachers' ability to teach engineering to young learners. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of two courses on pre-service elementary teachers' self-perceptions of their ability to teach engineering and on their design…

Research has highlighted the significant decline in teachers' implementation of newly acquired teaching practices following professional development (PD), primarily attributed to the absence of follow-up support. Even science teachers who have participated in intensive PD programs often encounter challenges in integrating new teaching practices…

Educational research continues to reiterate the need for inquiry-based instruction in secondary science. However, the patterns of how teachers implement inquiry-based pedagogy have not been thoroughly studied--particularly from a quantitative perspective. This study is based on data from 422 observations of 50 teachers collected during a 5-year…

In "A Framework for K-12 Science Education," researchers call for teachers to make dramatic shifts in practice -- and sustain in these changes in practice -- so students can engage in rigorous and equitable three-dimensional science learning. Project-Based Learning (PBL) motivates students from diverse backgrounds to persist in learning.…

Elementary students' interest in science and careers in STEM are typically associated with their curiosity along with engagement in science activities and whether they find these activities to be fun, exciting, and enjoyable. Thus, early exposure of elementary students to STEM lessons must be engaging and enjoyable, which in turn increases the…

This work reports a classroom experience of a general physics course designed to foster also the initiation of preservice mathematics and biology teachers to physics pedagogical content knowledge. To modify the conceptions that these students have about teaching and learning, the course was taught using different active learning instructional…

As preservice teachers (PSTs) acquire experiences in their field, they confront difficulties implementing what they learned during their teacher education programs. The successful or unsuccessful outcomes of the challenges they face influence the development of their identity as teachers. One practice that many PSTs are encouraged to implement…

This study investigated the effects of a 1-year professional development (PD) based on a cognitive apprenticeship model of research experiences on inservice teacher self-efficacy of science teaching, motivation, knowledge calibration, and perceptions of inquiry of 19 secondary earth science and biology teachers. The PD facilitator, who serves a…

Anecdotal accounts from science educators suggest that few teachers are teaching science as inquiry. However, there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. This study aimed to provide evidence-based documentation of the state-of-use of inquiry-based instruction and explicit instruction about nature of science (NOS). We examined the…

This study explored practicing elementary school teacher's conceptions of teaching in ways that foster inquiry-based learning in the science curriculum (inquiry teaching). The advocacy for inquiry-based learning in contemporary curricula assumes the principle that students learn in their own way by drawing on direct experience fostered by the…

This research explored science teachers' pedagogical discontentment and described its role in teachers' consideration of new teaching practices. Pedagogical discontentment is an expression of the degree to which one is discontented because one's teaching practices do not achieve one's teaching goals. Through a series of structured interviews…

A hallmark of current science education reform involves teaching through inquiry. However, the widespread use of inquiry-based instruction in many classrooms has not occurred (Roehrig and Luft in "Int J Sci Educ" 26:3-24, 2004; Schneider et al. in "J Res Sci Teach" 42:283-312, 2005). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a…

This study examined elementary teachers' instructional strategies for promoting scientific understanding and inquiry and supporting English language development with diverse student groups including English language learners. The study was part of a 5-year research and development project consisting of reform-based science curriculum units and…