Reports the findings of a study that investigated primary Bachelor of Education student teachers' scientific backgrounds, attitudes toward science, confidence to teach science, and scientific knowledge and understanding. Students had very little chemistry or physical sciences background and many misconceptions about science concepts and processes.…

Describes a study of fifth-grade Taiwanese students that examined the instructional effects of two grouping methods, cooperation with or without inter-group competition, on student academic achievement and pro-social behaviors in a computer-based science learning environment. Discusses implications for cooperative learning. (Author/LRW)

Focuses on the behaviors and experiences of beginning teachers as they face the task of teaching science on a regular and extended basis for the first time. Finds that experiencing success appeared to be a major contribution to effective science teaching by beginning teachers. (Contains 31 references.) (WRM)

Suggests ways in which a teacher or visitor can tell whether children are gaining from their science activities: classroom presence of real things to learn from, children working with these materials, and more talking by students than by the teacher. Lists observational questions about student work, behavior, and communication that can be used to…

This study investigates the effect of a science teaching approach--the experimental inquiry approach--on preservice student teachers' understanding of the teaching and learning of science in primary schools. This understanding might be influenced by their prior science learning experiences in schools and in teacher education. In this study, the…

An understanding of the importance of metaphors and beliefs in the development of teachers' practical knowledge has already been explored in science education research. However, the significance of "emotion metaphors" and the consequences of "emotional labor" as part of being a science teacher have been little addressed. This study describes the…

This study assessed, and identified factors in participants' learning ecologies that mediated, the effectiveness of an explicit reflective instructional approach that satisfied conditions for learning as conceptual change on preservice elementary teachers' views of nature of science (NOS). Participants were 28 undergraduate students enrolled in an…

In this article, the author relates how a hands-on chemistry investigation provided her the inspiration to develop an effective safety lesson for her third grade chemistry class. She began the lesson by demonstrating the use of pH indicator paper to show that ordinary household (white) vinegar was an acid. With the students, she wondered aloud…

In this article, the author, at the very foundation of her teaching, was trying to establish an environment that would promote inquiry and create an investigative mindset in her first-grader students. First, she assessed her first-grade students' thinking about scientists by asking them to draw and write about what a scientist looks like and does.…

This activity is the result of a school-university collaboration among four educators (two intermediate classroom teachers, a vice-principal/teacher, and a university-based teacher educator/researcher) who worked together to improve the quality of learning in the classroom. The educators combined their teaching expertise to plan and co-teach an…

The problem addressed in the study was whether 10-year-old and 11-year-old children, collaborating within a computer-supported classroom, learned an explanation-driven process of inquiry that had characteristics of the progressive nature of scientific inquiry. The technical infrastructure for the study was provided by the Computer-Supported…

The study examined (a) the extent to which teachers and preservice teachers understand the concept of energy and adhere to particular preconceptions associated with it; and (b) their ability to predict pupils' knowledge and understanding of the same concept. Teachers and preservice teachers completed a test by indicating for each item what their…

Successful experiences teaching science early on can impact teachers' continued teaching of science; therefore, field-based teaching experiences are critical to preservice teacher education in science. Such field experiences may be subject to constraints, however, such as limited time, which prevent preservice teachers from experiencing this early…

This paper represents Part I of a two-part study examining preservice teachers' development of a personalized, research-based Science Teaching Rationale (STR). Researchers have historically documented the application of the "rationale paper" (Clough, 1992; Veronesi, 1998) using qualitative methodologies. Since the rationale paper continues to…

The purpose of this study was to examine what kinds of tensions, conflicts, and difficulties a prospective elementary teacher paid special attention to in the process of interacting with others to learn to teach elementary science during the internship year, and to describe how the novice teacher responded to and finally negotiated those tensions…