Learning to teach elementary science well is not only a goal for preservice teachers. This article describes a partnership that has led to an on-site science methods course in an elementary school library that blends pedagogical instruction with practical classroom time to the benefit of inservice and preservice teachers. In the course, both sets…

One proven strategy to help students make sense of abstract concepts is to sequence instruction so students have exploratory opportunities to investigate science before being introduced to new science explanations (Abraham and Renner 1986; Renner, Abraham, and Birnie 1988). To help physical science teachers make sense of how to effectively…

Describes and evaluates an elementary science methods course in which the nature of science and scientific inquiry are embedded and explicitly taught. As a result of the course, incoming conceptions of science as primarily a body of knowledge changed to a more appropriate, blended view of science as a body of knowledge generated through the active…

In describing the professional development journey of science teachers, the National Science Standards (NRC 1996) provides a useful cartography. Inquiry, those standards suggest, is the central strategy for the teaching of science. By illustrating the parallels between inquiry as a form of scientific investigation and inquiry as a classroom…

This paper presents three reasons why teachers should understand and actively use models and model building to frame science. First, science model building and testing is the heart of scientific enterprise, and understanding of the process is crucial for developing scientific literacy. Second, models are a familiar framework through which to…

Radio telemetry data available via the internet are used to facilitate long-term inquiry projects. Through these projects, students gain a deeper understanding of scientific inquiry and the nature of science, while developing their own questions and procedures and carrying out those procedures before sharing their findings with peers. (Contains 1…