Preparing Informal Science Educators
Preparing Informal Science Educators

Author: Patricia G Patrick

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-01-16

Total Pages: 612

ISBN-13: 3319503987

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This book provides a diverse look at various aspects of preparing informal science educators. Much has been published about the importance of preparing formal classroom educators, but little has been written about the importance, need, and best practices for training professionals who teach in aquariums, camps, parks, museums, etc. The reader will find that as a collective the chapters of the book are well-related and paint a clear picture that there are varying ways to approach informal educator preparation, but all are important. The volume is divided into five topics: Defining Informal Science Education, Professional Development, Designing Programs, Zone of Reflexivity: The Space Between Formal and Informal Educators, and Public Communication. The authors have written chapters for practitioners, researchers and those who are interested in assessment and evaluation, formal and informal educator preparation, gender equity, place-based education, professional development, program design, reflective practice, and science communication. Readers will draw meaning and usefulness from the array of professional perspectives and be stimulated to begin a quest to scaffold programs and professional development around the frameworks described in this book.

Learning Science in Informal Environments
Learning Science in Informal Environments

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-05-27

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0309141133

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Informal science is a burgeoning field that operates across a broad range of venues and envisages learning outcomes for individuals, schools, families, and society. The evidence base that describes informal science, its promise, and effects is informed by a range of disciplines and perspectives, including field-based research, visitor studies, and psychological and anthropological studies of learning. Learning Science in Informal Environments draws together disparate literatures, synthesizes the state of knowledge, and articulates a common framework for the next generation of research on learning science in informal environments across a life span. Contributors include recognized experts in a range of disciplines-research and evaluation, exhibit designers, program developers, and educators. They also have experience in a range of settings-museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, aquariums, zoos, state parks, and botanical gardens. Learning Science in Informal Environments is an invaluable guide for program and exhibit designers, evaluators, staff of science-rich informal learning institutions and community-based organizations, scientists interested in educational outreach, federal science agency education staff, and K-12 science educators.

Preparing Science Teachers Through Practice-Based Teacher Education
Preparing Science Teachers Through Practice-Based Teacher Education

Author: David Stroupe

Publisher:

Published: 2020-10-13

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9781682535301

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This comprehensive volume advances a vision of teacher preparation programs focused on core practices supporting ambitious science instruction. The book advocates for collaborative learning and building a community of teacher educators that can collectively share and refine strategies, tools, and practices. A renewed interest in practice-based teacher education paired with increasingly rigorous requirements, notably the Next Generation Science Standards, has highlighted the importance of teachers' deep disciplinary knowledge. This volume examines the compelling ways teacher educators across the country are using core practices to prepare preservice teachers for ambitious and equitable science teaching. With contributions from a wide network of teacher educators focusing on science education in various geographical and institutional contexts, Preparing Science Teachers Through Practice-Based Teacher Education serves as a valuable resource both for teacher educators and for administrators.

How People Learn in Informal Science Environments
How People Learn in Informal Science Environments

Author: Patricia G. Patrick

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-04-01

Total Pages: 559

ISBN-13: 3031132912

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This edited volume brings together an international perspective of 22 diverse learning theories applied to a range of informal science learning environments. The book is divided into 7 sections: community of practice, critical theory, identity theory, sociocultural, socioscientific, and social entrepreneurship, systems theory, and theory development. The chapters present how researchers from diverse backgrounds and cultures use theories in their work and how these may be applied as theoretical frameworks for future research. The chapters bridge theory and practice and collectively address a wide range of ages (children-adults) and contexts. The book is written to engage a broad audience of researchers in universities and museums, while appealing to the growing number of researchers and educators who recognize the importance of informal learning to the development of environmental and scientific literacy. It is essential reading for inexperienced researchers and those seeking new theoretical perspectives.

Help! I'm Teaching Middle School Science
Help! I'm Teaching Middle School Science

Author: C. Jill Swango

Publisher: NSTA Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1933531800

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Like your own personal survival guide, Help IOCOm Teaching Middle School Science is a nontechnical how-to manualOCoespecially for first-year teachers. But even veteran teachers can benefit from the plentiful ideas, examples, and tips on teaching science the way middle-schoolers learn best. The book covers all the basics: .: .; what to do on the first day of school (including icebreaker activities), .; preparing safe and effective lab lessons, .; managing the classroom, .; working with in-school teams as well as parents. But its practicalOCoand encouragingOCoapproach doesnOCOt mean it shortchanges the basics of effective pedagogy. YouOCOll learn: how to handle cooperative learning and assessment; how to help students write effectively and; the importance of modeling for early adolescents."

STEM Education Now More Than Ever
STEM Education Now More Than Ever

Author: Rodger W. Bybee

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781681406015

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In response to " these unconventional and uncertain years," veteran educator Rodger W. Bybee has written a book that' s as thought-provoking as it is constructive. Now more than ever, he writes, America needs reminders of both the themes that made it great in the first place and STEM' s contributions to its citizens." Science educators must address STEM issues at local, national, and global levels. And teachers should help students tackle today' s problems with new approaches to STEM learning that complement traditional single-discipline programs. STEM Education Now More Than Ever addresses these themes through four wide-ranging sections. Parts of the book are what you might expect from a longtime thought leader in science education. In light of the 2016 election and recent assaults on science' s validity, Bybee strongly asserts the need for a new case for STEM education. Other parts may not seem typical for a book on STEM. He writes about the Enlightenment, the U.S. Constitution, democracy, and citizenship as reminders of the effects of STEM disciplines on America' s foundational ideas and values. In the end, Bybee ties it all together with positive, practical recommendations. A major one involves newer, faster ways to help teachers develop STEM units that address contemporary challenges in their classes. Another involves the importance of strong leadership from teachers and the STEM education community-- leadership Bybee believes we need now more than ever.

Intersections of Formal and Informal Science
Intersections of Formal and Informal Science

Author: Lucy Avraamidou

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-10

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 1317361040

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Science learning that takes place between and at the intersections of formal and informal science environments has not been systematically reviewed to offer a comprehensive understanding of the existing knowledge base. Bringing together theory and research, this volume describes the various ways in which learning science in various settings has been conceptualized as well as empirical evidence to illustrate how science learning in these settings can be supported.

Science Teachers' Learning
Science Teachers' Learning

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2016-01-15

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0309380189

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Currently, many states are adopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or are revising their own state standards in ways that reflect the NGSS. For students and schools, the implementation of any science standards rests with teachers. For those teachers, an evolving understanding about how best to teach science represents a significant transition in the way science is currently taught in most classrooms and it will require most science teachers to change how they teach. That change will require learning opportunities for teachers that reinforce and expand their knowledge of the major ideas and concepts in science, their familiarity with a range of instructional strategies, and the skills to implement those strategies in the classroom. Providing these kinds of learning opportunities in turn will require profound changes to current approaches to supporting teachers' learning across their careers, from their initial training to continuing professional development. A teacher's capability to improve students' scientific understanding is heavily influenced by the school and district in which they work, the community in which the school is located, and the larger professional communities to which they belong. Science Teachers' Learning provides guidance for schools and districts on how best to support teachers' learning and how to implement successful programs for professional development. This report makes actionable recommendations for science teachers' learning that take a broad view of what is known about science education, how and when teachers learn, and education policies that directly and indirectly shape what teachers are able to learn and teach. The challenge of developing the expertise teachers need to implement the NGSS presents an opportunity to rethink professional learning for science teachers. Science Teachers' Learning will be a valuable resource for classrooms, departments, schools, districts, and professional organizations as they move to new ways to teach science.

Empowering Formal and Informal Leadership While Maintaining Teacher Identity
Empowering Formal and Informal Leadership While Maintaining Teacher Identity

Author: Zugelder, Bryan S.

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2021-05-07

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 1799865029

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Teacher leadership remains at the forefront of conversations in teacher education, with discussions on recruitment, retention, and effectiveness. Teachers are at the core of schooling, and the roles they assume and types of leadership they engage in are multi-dimensional. Teacher leadership comes in many shapes and definitions. In this sense, both opportunities and challenges exist in teacher leadership. While national competencies continue to define dispositional and knowledge base for teacher leaders, there is still work to be done to define and add to the body of scholarship on this topic. Teacher leadership opportunities provide development for teachers as a key retention strategy; however, role ambiguity presents challenges in how to empower teachers for formal and informal roles of leadership while maintaining the teacher identity. Empowering Formal and Informal Leadership While Maintaining Teacher Identity provides a comprehensive look at the opportunities and challenges of teacher leadership, drawing on research and practice that add to the body of knowledge for teacher leadership, which is a niche in education that differs from educational administration. Highlighted topics within this book include models for teacher leadership, teacher education, types of leadership roles, the development and retention of teacher leaders, and leadership across different types of school districts. This book is ideally designed for inservice and preservice teachers, administrators, teacher educators, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in teacher leadership roles and the way in which teacher identity is maintained in relation to these other leadership positions.

Supporting Self-Directed Learning in Science and Technology Beyond the School Years
Supporting Self-Directed Learning in Science and Technology Beyond the School Years

Author: Léonie J. Rennie

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-12-21

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 0429784589

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While much has been written about science education from pre-K through to postgraduate study, interaction with science and technology does not stop when schooling ends. Moving beyond scholarship on conventional education, this book extends the research and provides an original in-depth look at adult and lifelong learning in science and technology. By identifying the knowledge and skills that individuals need to engage in self-directed learning, the book highlights how educators can best support adult learners beyond the years of formal schooling. Through case studies and empirical analysis, the authors offer a research-based exploration of adults’ self-directed learning and provide tools to support adults’ learning experiences in a wide range of environments while being inclusive of all educational backgrounds.