As Agricultural Education shifts to a more science-based curriculum to help fulfill shortcomings of the current United States science test scores, teachers implementing Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) is becoming more important. For Agriculture Educators to do this, training is necessary for both new and experienced educators. This study was…

Background: Effective teaching of university chemistry in an online environment not only requires teachers to have specific discipline content knowledge; it also requires them to have knowledge and skills in technology-enhanced teaching practices. When transitioning from traditional face-to-face teaching into online contexts, teachers must learn…

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…

This paper reports on a study that investigated the potential of using Appreciative Inquiry for exploring the development of three beginning science teachers in the Solomon Islands. Using the four phases of an Appreciative Inquiry framework, the teachers followed a process that allowed their strengths to be identified through the analysis of their…

Recent science education reform has led to an increased emphasis on engaging students in inquiry and science practices rather than having them simply memorize scientific facts. However, many teachers of elementary science may themselves have had more traditional science learning experiences, and may therefore be unsure about inquiry-based teaching…

Integrated approaches to education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), especially those set in the context of real-world situations, can motivate and deepen students' learning of the STEM subjects (National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council 2014). This article describes two integrated investigations used…

Recent reforms in science education require teachers to improve their notions of scientific inquiry and design effective inquiry-based lessons. This is a challenging task particularly for preservice teachers (PTs) who may not have experienced inquiry learning themselves, and who do not possess a large repertoire of teaching strategies or knowledge…

The success of science education reform initiatives depends considerably on the teachers. Effective professional development opportunities have been shown to encourage and support teachers in their adoption of inquiry-based teaching practices. In particular, it has been argued that an effective means for science teachers to learn about science…

We describe an inquiry-based course in physics and chemistry for preservice K-8 teachers developed at California State University Fullerton. The course is one of three developed primarily to enhance the science content understanding of prospective teachers. The course incorporates a number of innovative instructional strategies and is somewhat…

The author's research on beginning science teachers stemmed from her interest in the teaching abilities of her newly graduated students. She was certain that the teachers who participated in her classes were adequately prepared to plan and enact sound science lessons. As she followed her new graduates through their first years of teaching, the…

This research explored science teachers' pedagogical discontentment and described its role in teachers' consideration of new teaching practices. Pedagogical discontentment is an expression of the degree to which one is discontented because one's teaching practices do not achieve one's teaching goals. Through a series of structured interviews…

As part of the Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) project, Monash University initiated several strategies to assist pre-service teachers' integration of ICTs in their classroom practice. These included modelling of ICT pedagogical integration, assessment of ICT pedagogical integration, relocating pre-service teacher classes to a working…

This study examined 188 preservice science teachers' professional growth along three dimensions--self-regulated learning (SRL) in a science pedagogical context, pedagogical content knowledge, and self-efficacy in teaching science--comparing four learner-centered, active-learning, peer-collaborative environments for learning to teach higher order…

The aim of this study is to analyze the action research undertaken by Khan as a teacher researcher in a private school as part of the degree requirement of his M.Ed. program in Teacher Education at the Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development. The purpose of this analysis undertaken by the first author and supervisor of the study…

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…