Sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association, this handbook provides a uniquely comprehensive and current survey of the best reasearch in science eduction complied by the most renowned researchers. More than summaries of findings, the content provides an assessment of the significance of research, evaluates new developments, and examines current conflicts, controversies, and issues in the major science disciplines: biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science.
What are scientific inquiry practices like today? How should schools approach inquiry in science education? Teaching Science Inquiry presents the scholarly papers and practical conversations that emerged from the exchanges at a two-day conference of distinctive North American ‘science studies’ and ‘learning science’scholars.
This book reviews the literature on effective science teaching, examining research from the United Kingdom and other countries. The studies included were those that made comparisons between two or more groups differing in science education experiences; those that involved upper elementary or lower secondary students; those that made comparisons in terms of achievement in science or outcomes related to achievement; and those in which innovation was sustainable in normal classrooms. The book focuses on eight aspects of science education that might impact students' achievement but which have received less attention than other aspects (such as gender bias). The book features 10 chapters which include the eight topics: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "The Role of Practical Work"; (3) "Using Computers"; (4) "Approaches to Constructivism"; (5) "Cognitive Acceleration"; (6) "Assessment"; (7) "Planning, Questioning, and Using Language"; (8) "The Curriculum"; (9) "Teachers' Understanding of Science"; and (10) "Discussion." (Contains approximately 197 references.) (SM)
What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, Taking Science to School provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of questions, this book provides a basic foundation for guiding science teaching and supporting students in their learning. Taking Science to School answers such questions as: When do children begin to learn about science? Are there critical stages in a child's development of such scientific concepts as mass or animate objects? What role does nonschool learning play in children's knowledge of science? How can science education capitalize on children's natural curiosity? What are the best tasks for books, lectures, and hands-on learning? How can teachers be taught to teach science? The book also provides a detailed examination of how we know what we know about children's learning of scienceâ€"about the role of research and evidence. This book will be an essential resource for everyone involved in K-8 science educationâ€"teachers, principals, boards of education, teacher education providers and accreditors, education researchers, federal education agencies, and state and federal policy makers. It will also be a useful guide for parents and others interested in how children learn.
Science teacher educators, curriculum specialists, professional development facilitators, and KOCo8 teachers are bound to increase their understanding and confidence when teaching inquiry after a careful reading of this definitive volume. Advancing a new perspective, James Jadrich and Crystal Bruxvoort assert that scientific inquiry is best taught using models in science rather than focusing on scientistsOCO activities."
Researchers, historians, and philosophers of science have debated the nature of scientific research in education for more than 100 years. Recent enthusiasm for "evidence-based" policy and practice in educationâ€"now codified in the federal law that authorizes the bulk of elementary and secondary education programsâ€"have brought a new sense of urgency to understanding the ways in which the basic tenets of science manifest in the study of teaching, learning, and schooling. Scientific Research in Education describes the similarities and differences between scientific inquiry in education and scientific inquiry in other fields and disciplines and provides a number of examples to illustrate these ideas. Its main argument is that all scientific endeavors share a common set of principles, and that each fieldâ€"including education researchâ€"develops a specialization that accounts for the particulars of what is being studied. The book also provides suggestions for how the federal government can best support high-quality scientific research in education.
Indhold: Part I: Science Learning. Part II: Culture, Gender, Society, and Science Learning. Part III: Science Teaching. Part IV: Curriculum and Assessment in Science. Part V: Science Teacher Education.
In contemporary society, science constitutes a significant part of human life in that it impacts on how people experience and understand the world and themselves. The rapid advances in science and technology, newly established societal and cultural norms and values, and changes in the climate and environment, as well as, the depletion of natural resources all greatly impact the lives of children and youths, and hence their ways of learning, viewing the world, experiencing phenomena around them and interacting with others. These changes challenge science educators to rethink the epistemology and pedagogy in science classrooms today as the practice of science education needs to be proactive and relevant to students and prepare them for life in the present and in the future. Featuring contributions from highly experienced and celebrated science educators, as well as research perspectives from Europe, the USA, Asia and Australia, this book addresses theoretical and practical examples in science education that, on the one hand, plays a key role in our understanding of the world, and yet, paradoxically, now acknowledges a growing number of uncertainties of knowledge about the world. The material is in four sections that cover the learning and teaching of science from science literacy to multiple representations; science teacher education; the use of innovations and new technologies in science teaching and learning; and science learning in informal settings including outdoor environmental learning activities. Acknowledging the issues and challenges in science education, this book hopes to generate collaborative discussions among scholars, researchers, and educators to develop critical and creative ways of science teaching to improve and enrich the lives of our children and youths.
Reflective practice is at the heart of effective teaching, and this book helps you develop into a reflective teacher of Science. Everything you need is here: guidance on developing your analysis and self-evaluation skills, the knowledge of what you are trying to achieve and why, and examples of how experienced teachers deliver successful lessons. It includes advice about obtaining your first teaching post, and about continuing professional development. The book shows you how to plan creative lessons, how to make good use of resources and how to assess pupils′ progress effectively. Each chapter contains points for reflection, which encourage you to break off from your reading and think about the challenging questions that you face as a new teacher. The book comes with access to a companion website, www.sagepub.co.uk/secondary, where you will find: - Videos of real lessons so you can see the skills discussed in the text in action - Links to a range of sites that provide useful additional support - Extra planning and resource materials. If you are training to teach science this book will help you to improve your classroom performance, by providing you with practical advice, but also by helping you to think in depth about the key issues. It also supplements guidance on undertaking a research project with examples of the research evidence that is needed in academic work at Masters level, essential for anyone undertaking an M-level PGCE.
