Science teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning are a vital component of teachers' professional competence and are often assumed to impact classroom practice. To date, these beliefs have been predominantly investigated regarding teaching and learning in general or for a particular science subject (e.g., physics). It remains to be determined…

Explores how children's ideas in science affect elementary science instruction by investigating whether and how three primary teachers recognize and react to student ideas. Finds that the experienced teacher with the highest level of content knowledge had the largest repertoire for eliciting and addressing student ideas, and the intern teacher's…

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…

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,…