Australian curriculum falls short for gifted students, and many teachers are not able to confidently improvise solutions. Research has painted a poor picture of education for Australian students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as from provincial and remote regions. In 2017, the Australian government commissioned an Independent Review…

With the release of the "Next Generation Science Standards," many schools are reexamining the science materials they are using. Textbook companies and kit developers are eager to meet the demand for "NGSS"-aligned teaching materials. Teacher may have been asked to serve on a science curriculum committee, or to evaluate current…

Ongoing efforts across the U.S. to encourage K-12 students to consider engineering careers have been motivated by concerns that the workforce pipeline for this profession is shrinking. Enlightening K-12 teachers about engineering is one strategy to encourage student interest in the discipline. The Enrichment Experiences in Engineering…

The purpose of this three-year study was to examine secondary school students' attitudes about science in classrooms with "resident scientists" who had been trained in inquiry science teaching. The study was based upon a National Science Foundation (NSF) program called Project Flowing Waters, a five-year NSF Graduate STEM Fellows in K-12…

Inquiry-based instructional approaches are an effective means to actively engage students with science content and skills. This article examines the effects of an ongoing professional development program on middle and high school teachers' efficacy beliefs, confidence to teach research concepts and skills, and science content knowledge.…

Inquiry-based instructional approaches are an effective means to actively engage students with science content and skills. This article examines the effects of an ongoing professional development program on middle and high school teachers' efficacy beliefs, confidence to teach research concepts and skills, and science content knowledge.…

The aim of this study is to reveal the opinions of teachers, who gave the science lessons that took effect in Turkey in 2004 and 2013, on the sub-components of the programs and to identify to what extent the objectives of the program have been achieved. In total 89 teachers, out of which 42 were females and 47 were males, in the study which was…

This study examined how science teachers' knowledge of research methods, neuroscience and drug addiction changed through their participation in a 5-day summer science institute. The data for this study evolved from a four-year NIH funded science education project called Addiction Research and Investigation for Science Educators (ARISE). Findings…

Teachers of biology and related subjects are increasingly meeting objections from students and their parents to the teaching of evolution and the exclusion of what is called the theory of Intelligent Design. This paper attempts to draw together arguments and evidence which may be used by such teachers. Four lessons are drawn from the 1982…

Creativity continues to be an important goal for 21st century learning. However, teachers often have difficulties fostering creativity in their classrooms. Current creativity research suggests that the act of making can enhance the teaching of creativity. Hands-on engineering design lessons are ideal contexts for studying this effect. Through…

Habits of inquiry should be nurtured as early as possible. Elementary students must be challenged to ask good questions and develop inquiring attitudes. As a science teacher, educator, professional developer, and science program reviewer, the author has often observed that the default is to use "good" science investigations from…

This study tested a student survey to detect differences in instruction between teachers in a modeling-based science program and comparison group teachers. The Instructional Activities Survey measured teachers' frequency of modeling, inquiry, and lecture instruction. Factor analysis and Rasch modeling identified three subscales, Modeling and…

Self-directed, informal learning is a less recognized and understood form of professional development. Researching informal learning is almost an oxymoron. The process of studying learning contexts, such as informal, self-directed professional development, raises new challenges for researchers. Gaining insights into self-directed professional…

Teachers enrolled in the master of natural science program for high school science teachers at a large research university must complete a year-long action research study. This account, by the program's action research coordinator, describes both process and outcomes of this research experience from the perspectives of the research coordinator and…

Science literacy leading to fuller and informed participation in the public debate about science, technology, society, and environmental (STSE) issues that produce justified decisions and sustainable actions is the shared and central goal of the Pacific CRYSTAL Project. There is broad agreement by science education researchers that learners need…