The literature has documented a lack of daily instructional time dedicated to teaching science in comparison to mathematics and literacy in elementary education. Utilizing poetry has shown promise in increasing teachers' integration of science concepts, teaching literacy skills, improving student engagement, and fostering creativity. This study…

Research has revealed that a small percentage of weekly instructional time in the elementary grades is dedicated to teaching science. Additionally, elementary educators receive limited preparation to teach science concepts compared to math or literacy skills. Therefore, this study examined if utilizing poetry to teach science concepts had a…

We explored how preservice teachers in a middle school science methods course learned and applied computational thinking (CT) concepts and activities during a month-long intervention. In the intervention, preservice teachers learned about CT concepts through an hour-long lecture in their methods class, practiced a computing-integration activity…

This study incorporated Nature of Science (NOS) within children's literature in a science methods course to aid preservice early childhood teachers in improving their NOS understandings and abilities to transfer NOS into formats accessible to early childhood students. Through a qualitative research design, researchers collected data including pre…

Background and purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate and identify the nature and the interrelatedness of pre-service teachers' misconceptions and scientific concepts for explaining dissolving before, during, and after a 5E learning cycle lesson on dissolving, the intervention. Sample, design, and methods: Guided by Vygotsky's…

Preservice teachers often enter teacher education programs with naïve views about mathematics and science as well as the various domains of knowledge needed for effective teaching. A significant body of research has demonstrated that teacher knowledge is multifaceted and consists of both subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.…

Thirty preservice teachers enrolled in a field-based science methods course were placed at a public elementary school for coursework and for teaching practice with elementary students. Candidates focused on building conceptual understanding of science content and pedagogical methods through innovative curriculum development and other course…

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…

This article describes a 3-week intensive molecular biology methods course based upon fluorescent proteins, which is successfully taught at the McGill University to advanced undergraduates and graduates in physics, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, and medicine. No previous knowledge of biological terminology or methods is expected, so…

School science systems tend to emphasize teaching and learning about achievements of science (such as laws and theories) at the expense of providing students with opportunities to develop realistic conceptions about science and science inquiry and expertise they could use to conduct their own science inquiry projects. Among reasons for such an…

This study has resulted in an elementary science methods course that facilitates the identification and description of the changes in students' conceptions and understanding of inquiry teaching, and the cultural influences, reflections, and situational factors influencing these changes. Written responses to open-ended questions, reflective…

Slow motion animation ("slowmation") is a new teaching approach that uses a simple animation process to engage learners in creating their own comprehensive animations of science concepts. In this paper, preservice elementary teachers used slowmation, a form of stop-motion animation, to make models of science concepts and take digital…

Examines how science teachers' (n=14) knowledge of science and science pedagogy changed after participation in a constructivist-based methods course. More-experienced teachers were paired with less-experienced teachers, and pre- and post-instructional concept maps, journals, portfolios, and transcripts revealed that, within the zone of proximal…

An instructional program was constructed that explored the responses and perceptions of preservice elementary school teachers while finding and using characteristics to construct categories or concepts. The program integrated ideas about teaching thinking skills using computers. HyperCard and videodisk images were used to develop a program so that…

Explores the usefulness of the Conceptual Change Model for examining the relationship between the pedagogical experiences provided in a science methods class and preservice elementary teachers' changing concepts about teaching and learning science. A case study format is used to report and discuss findings. (LZ)