Teaching socioscientific issues (SSI) necessitates dialogic discourse activities. However, a majority of science teachers prefer monologic discourse in SSI contexts. In addition, some of these teachers are resistant to change (from monologic to dialogic discourse) despite certain professional development attempts. The purpose of the present…

This study explored the nature of the integration of the five components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): (a) Orientations toward Teaching Science, (b) Knowledge of Student Understanding, (c) Knowledge of Instructional Strategies and Representations, (d) Knowledge of Science Curriculum, and (e) Knowledge of Assessment of Science Learning.…

The purpose of this phenomenographic study was to: (a) gain an understanding of the meaning of inquiry held by beginning science teachers and their instructors in an Alternative Teacher Certification Program (ATCP); and (b) compare science teachers' views of inquiry with what they learned in their ATCP. Participants were four beginning science…

Describes a study using two types of macroanalytic analyses of observed teacher behaviors in the classroom. The findings of the study showed one of the macroanalytic techniques to be more effective as it identified broader behavior patterns occurring over longer periods of time. (MLH)

Science teaching orientations, defined as teachers' knowledge and beliefs about the purposes and goals for teaching science, have been identified as a critical component within the proposed pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) model for science teaching. Because of the scarcity of empirical studies in this area, this case study examined the nature…