This study reports findings from an interview study with eleven teacher educators from a physics teacher training program in Finland. They represented the four training environments that students encounter during their education, i.e. the Department of Physics, the Department of Mathematics and Science Education, the Department of General…

Understanding and knowledge of scientific reasoning skills is a key ability of pre-service teachers. In a written survey (open response format), biology and chemistry pre-service teachers (n = 51) from two German universities claimed central decisions or actions school students have to perform in scientific reasoning in the open inquiry…

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 meta-synthesis aims to address themes and codes of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) studies in science education. The PCK studies in science education were synthesized and systematically analyzed. A total of 12 studies were examined via the criteria. Three main themes were identified: the development and engagement of the PCK, the…

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…

As several countries have committed themselves to the promotion of inclusive school systems, teachers might feel overwhelmed by the additional competencies needed for inclusive teaching. Beyond an increase in specialised knowledge, these competencies include a coherent belief system to facilitate the adoption of inclusive practices. Currently,…

The success of the "Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and similar reforms is contingent upon the quality of teaching, yet the shifts in teaching practice required are substantial. In this study, we propose and validate a model of adaptive expertise needed for teachers to successfully deliver NGSS-informed computer-supported complex…

This study explored the teacher knowledge manifestation of Integrated Science (IS) teachers who have specialised in Chemistry, Biology or Physics during their pre-service teacher education. 60 experienced Integrated Science teachers responded to an 'Integrated Science Teacher Knowledge' questionnaire which embraced different dimensions of teacher…

In this paper, we present a professional development/upgrading programme in science for early-years teachers and investigate its impact on the teachers' competencies in relation to their knowledge and teaching of science. The basic idea of the programme was to motivate the teachers by making them members of an action research group aimed at…

Research on teacher professional development is extensive but there are fewer studies about the practitioners who facilitate professional development. Here we report on a pilot programme for professional development facilitators rooted in a cycle of action research. Informed by a categorisation of professional knowledge and skills of facilitators,…

This study describes the use of the double-slit thought experiment as a diagnostic tool for probing physics teachers' understanding. A total of 9 pre-service teachers and 18 in-service teachers with a variety of different experience in modern physics teaching at the upper secondary level responded in a paper-and-pencil test and three of these…

Technological pedagogical content knowledge TPACK refers to the knowledge set that teachers currently use to further improve the quality of their teaching and assist their students in learning. Several TPACK models have been proposed, either for discussing TPACK's possible composition or its practical applications. Considering that…

In this self-study, we aimed to delve into how re-designing and teaching re-designed practicum course offered to pre-service teachers (PTs) enriched our, as science teacher educators, development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching science teachers. This self-study was conducted during a compulsory practicum course in which we…

Despite significant pressure to reform science teaching and learning in K12 schools, and a concurrent call to reform undergraduate courses, higher education science content courses have remained relatively static. Higher education science faculty have few opportunities to explore research on how people learn, examine state or national science…

This study aimed to investigate the factors accounting for science teaching self-efficacy and to examine the relationships among Taiwanese teachers' science teaching self-efficacy, teaching and learning conceptions, technological--pedagogical content knowledge for the Internet (TPACK-I), and attitudes toward Internet-based instruction (Attitudes)…