Despite the importance of developing elementary science teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT), there are limited assessments that have been designed to measure the full breadth of their CKT at scale. Our overall research project addressed this gap by developing an online assessment to measure elementary preservice teachers' CKT about…

Developing knowledge about science instruction is critical for preservice teachers. This study explores how 79 elementary preservice teachers perceive the relevance and importance of assessment task scenarios designed to elicit information about content knowledge for teaching (CKT) about matter and its interactions--a foundational topic for…

Even though the educational researchers have developed and implemented various educational strategies to teach the concepts of the phases of the Moon and the formation of the lunar eclipse more effectively, many studies conducted by them in recent years reveal that the teachers still do not understand the causes and scientific processes related to…

This study examines future secondary physics teachers' knowledge related to the teaching of sound waves, and specifically the topics of sound level and sound intensity. The data is comprised of future teachers' responses to a task in which they had to compose a script for an imaginary dialogue between a teacher and a group of students and to…

Chemish - the scientific language of chemistry - is crucial for learning chemistry. To help students acquire the competencies to understand and use Chemish, chemistry teachers need to have a sound knowledge of teaching and learning Chemish: Pedagogical Scientific Language Knowledge (PSLK). But still, despite the importance of this knowledge, the…

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 aims to introduce the initiative "Escola Sirius para Professores do Ensino Médio" (ESPEM, Sirius School for High School Teachers) hosted by the "Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais" (CNPEM, Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials) and supported by the Sociedade Brasileira de Física (SBF,…

Supporting teacher candidates' learning of coherent and well-ordered content knowledge is one of the most important educational aims in subject teacher education. To reach this aim, teacher educators need suitable tools to enhance the formation of such knowledge. In this article, we present an analytical framework to examine conceptual knowledge,…

The aim of this study was to explore the teaching of senior phase of Natural Sciences with a focus on the Planet Earth and beyond knowledge strand. A qualitative case study design was used. Semi-structured interviews and observations were employed to collect data from two purposefully chosen teachers. The results of the study showed that some…

In order to reach students who can efficiently use intended scientific understandings, it is important to have science teachers without conceptual difficulties. The aim of present research is to enhance pre-service science teachers' conceptual understanding about boiling by dialogic teaching. The sample consisted of forty-three pre-service science…

Much research has been conducted regarding student alternative conceptions in chemistry, and a significant amount of work has focused on the areas of chemical equilibrium and reaction rates. Less research has focused on teachers' alternative conceptions in these areas, and most of this work has studied the conceptions of pre-service and novice…

Assessing student learning to adapt instruction to support learning is an important skill all teachers need to develop. However, it is not an easy task for teachers and even more difficult for new teachers. The current study aims to explore an alternatively certified new chemistry teacher?s understanding and practices of classroom assessment to…

In this study, Turkish prospective elementary science teachers' understanding of photosynthesis and cellular respiration has been analysed within the contexts of ecosystem knowledge, organism knowledge and interconnection knowledge (IK). In the analysis, concept maps developed by 74 prospective teachers were used. The study was carried out with…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether chemistry lesson sequences can indicate the level of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The sequencing of lessons for teaching chemical bonding is taken as the case for this study. The correct sequencing of concepts in teaching chemical bonding is key to learners' conceptual…

This report describes efforts by a group of science teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and content specialists to conceptualize, develop, and pilot practice-based assessment items designed to measure elementary science teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT). The report documents the framework used to specify the content-specific…