This article focuses on the role of the Association for Science Education (ASE) in supporting and developing policy and practice in primary school science. It first sets the events after the formation of ASE in 1963 in the context of what went before. It then takes a mainly chronological view of some, but by no means all, of ASE's activities…

Within the field of science education, there remains little agreement as to the definition and characteristics of classroom inquiry. The emerging emphasis on scientific practices in science education reform discourse is underpinned by a need to better articulate the constituent elements of inquiry-based science. While a small number of…

This article proposes strategies and practices that create rich discursive spaces for learning science in French immersion contexts. These strategies and practices are drawn from a variety of scholarly sources; here we adapt them to reading in the French immersion science classroom. The strategies and practices are designed for use in a…

Well-developed professional communication skills, collaborative work practices, effective self-management and a clear understanding of social responsibility and ethical practices are essential for the new engineer who hopes to contribute to the profession and build a career. These attributes are in addition to the traditional sound knowledge of…

Schools are increasingly integrating multidisciplinary education into their programmes. The Minister of Education, Culture and Science has introduced a new, integrated science subject in secondary education in the Netherlands, called Nature, Life and Technology (NLT). This research note describes the design of a generic model for a professional…

In science education, inquiry-based approaches to teaching and learning provide a framework for students to building critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Teacher professional development has been an ongoing focus for promoting such educational reforms. However, despite a strong consensus regarding best practices for professional…

The research article in this article is part of a larger study that examines an initiative to expand teacher expertise in facilitating mathematical problem solving within the framework of developing and field-testing pedagogical resources. We focus on one year of the study and report on the complex process of professional development as teachers…

The present article addresses how lesson study can facilitate changing traditional norms of individualism, conservatism and presentism that constrain American teachers from learning from one another. The article investigates how lesson study can serve as a vehicle for developing teacher learning communities by developing or redeveloping teachers'…

This qualitative study examines one professional development program and how this experience affects teachers' thoughts about planning and science teaching practices specific to the elements focused on during the program. The program supports 13 American K-12 teachers, selected from across the nation, to spend six weeks with a mentor scientist in…

The complexity of engineering and its integration into K-12 education have resulted in a variety of issues requiring sustained empirical research (Johnson, Burghardt, & Daugherty, 2008). One particular area of need, given the emphasis on teacher effects on student learning, is to research engineering-oriented teacher professional development. A…

During the 2004-05 school year, the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education conducted a study entitled "Building Academic Skills in Context: Testing the Value of Enhanced Math Learning in Career and Technical Education," commonly referred to as the Math-in-CTE study. This was a random-assignment experiment that tested the…

The successful establishment of a purpose-built innovative school designed to support new ways of teaching and learning in the senior secondary years, particularly in the area of science and mathematics, required a comprehensive and research-based professional development policy and program. Planning professional learning opportunities for the…