Science Teachers' Learning

Science Teachers' Learning
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2016-01-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309380189

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.

Ambitious Science Teaching

Ambitious Science Teaching
Author: Mark Windschitl
Publisher: Harvard Education Press
Total Pages: 455
Release: 2020-08-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1682531643

2018 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Ambitious Science Teaching outlines a powerful framework for science teaching to ensure that instruction is rigorous and equitable for students from all backgrounds. The practices presented in the book are being used in schools and districts that seek to improve science teaching at scale, and a wide range of science subjects and grade levels are represented. The book is organized around four sets of core teaching practices: planning for engagement with big ideas; eliciting student thinking; supporting changes in students’ thinking; and drawing together evidence-based explanations. Discussion of each practice includes tools and routines that teachers can use to support students’ participation, transcripts of actual student-teacher dialogue and descriptions of teachers’ thinking as it unfolds, and examples of student work. The book also provides explicit guidance for “opportunity to learn” strategies that can help scaffold the participation of diverse students. Since the success of these practices depends so heavily on discourse among students, Ambitious Science Teaching includes chapters on productive classroom talk. Science-specific skills such as modeling and scientific argument are also covered. Drawing on the emerging research on core teaching practices and their extensive work with preservice and in-service teachers, Ambitious Science Teaching presents a coherent and aligned set of resources for educators striving to meet the considerable challenges that have been set for them.

Preparing STEM Teachers

Preparing STEM Teachers
Author: Joanne E. Goodell
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2020-09-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1648021689

STEM project-based instruction is a pedagogical approach that is gaining popularity across the USA. However, there are very few teacher education programs that focus specifically on preparing graduates to teach in project-based environments. This book is focused on the UTeach program, a STEM teacher education model that is being implemented across the USA in 46 universities. Originally focused only on mathematics and science, many UTeach programs are now offering engineering and computer science licensure programs as well. This book provides a forum to disseminate how different institutions have implemented the UTeach model in their local context. Topics discussed will include sustainability features of the model, and how program assessment, innovative instructional programming, classroom research and effectiveness research have contributed to its success. The objectives of the book are: • To help educators gain insight into a teacher education organizational model focused on STEM and how and why it was developed • To present the theoretical underpinnings of a STEM education model, i.e. deep learning, conceptual understanding • To present innovative instructional programming in teacher education, i.e. projectbased instruction, functions and modeling, research methods • To present research and practice in classroom and field implementation and future research recommendations • To disseminate program assessments and improvement efforts

Integrating Social Justice Education in Teacher Preparation Programs

Integrating Social Justice Education in Teacher Preparation Programs
Author: Clausen, Courtney K.
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2020-06-26
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1799850994

Due to the increasingly diverse populations found in Pre-K-12 education, it is imperative that teacher educators prepare preservice teachers to meet the shifting needs of changing student populations. Through the integration of social justice education, teacher educators can challenge the mainstream curriculum with a lens of equity and collaborative equality. Handbook of Research on Integrating Social Justice Education in Teacher Preparation Programs is a critical research book that explores the preparation and teaching methods of educators for including social justice curriculum. Highlighting a wide range of topics such as ethics, language-based learning, and feminism, this book is ideal for academicians, curriculum designers, social scientists, teacher educators, researchers, and students.

Preparing Teachers

Preparing Teachers
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2010-07-25
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309128056

Teachers make a difference. The success of any plan for improving educational outcomes depends on the teachers who carry it out and thus on the abilities of those attracted to the field and their preparation. Yet there are many questions about how teachers are being prepared and how they ought to be prepared. Yet, teacher preparation is often treated as an afterthought in discussions of improving the public education system. Preparing Teachers addresses the issue of teacher preparation with specific attention to reading, mathematics, and science. The book evaluates the characteristics of the candidates who enter teacher preparation programs, the sorts of instruction and experiences teacher candidates receive in preparation programs, and the extent that the required instruction and experiences are consistent with converging scientific evidence. Preparing Teachers also identifies a need for a data collection model to provide valid and reliable information about the content knowledge, pedagogical competence, and effectiveness of graduates from the various kinds of teacher preparation programs. Federal and state policy makers need reliable, outcomes-based information to make sound decisions, and teacher educators need to know how best to contribute to the development of effective teachers. Clearer understanding of the content and character of effective teacher preparation is critical to improving it and to ensuring that the same critiques and questions are not being repeated 10 years from now.

Model Science Teacher Preparation Programs

Model Science Teacher Preparation Programs
Author: Jon Pedersen
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2017-02-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1681238020

This volume will focus on a much need comparison of science teacher preparation from around the world. In recent times (last 5 years) much has been written and communicated both in the popular press and within the annals of research oriented publications about the performance of students international in math and science. Although not a new discussion or debate, many countries are held as exemplars in how they educate their youth and subsequently how they educate their teachers. Given this situation and given the fact that there is ample evidence to show that some countries youth perform better on tests such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and we know that teacher significantly contribute to the performance of students, it is time that we look at the specific attributes of teacher preparation worldwide. Although this volume will not look at every country that is in the comparator group for PISA and other measures, we have contacted over 18 potential authors in the same number of countries in which there is ample evidence to show successes regarding student performance and quality teacher preparation programs. The intent of the book is not just to report on the “success” of each nation. Rather the intent is to ask authors to take a critical look at the process by which science teachers are educated and share with the reader both the positive and negative aspects of such preparation programs. For all 15 contributed chapters, the editors have analyzed each and from this constructed from the “data” an analysis and report in a final chapter on the exemplary qualities from various nations and make specific recommendations regarding science teacher preparation for the global community.

Preparing Science Teachers Through Practice-Based Teacher Education

Preparing Science Teachers Through Practice-Based Teacher Education
Author: David Stroupe
Publisher:
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2020-10-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781682535301

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.

Modelling-based Teaching in Science Education

Modelling-based Teaching in Science Education
Author: John K. Gilbert
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2016-05-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319290398

This book argues that modelling should be a component of all school curricula that aspire to provide ‘authentic science education for all’. The literature on modelling is reviewed and a ‘model of modelling’ is proposed. The conditions for the successful implementation of the ‘model of modelling’ in classrooms are explored and illustrated from practical experience. The roles of argumentation, visualisation, and analogical reasoning, in successful modelling-based teaching are reviewed. The contribution of such teaching to both the learning of key scientific concepts and an understanding of the nature of science are established. Approaches to the design of curricula that facilitate the progressive grasp of the knowledge and skills entailed in modelling are outlined. Recognising that the approach will both represent a substantial change from the ‘content-transmission’ approach to science teaching and be in accordance with current best-practice in science education, the design of suitable approaches to teacher education are discussed. Finally, the challenges that modelling-based education pose to science education researchers, advanced students of science education and curriculum design, teacher educators, public examiners, and textbook designers, are all outlined.

Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Teach Computer Science

Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Teach Computer Science
Author: Chrystalla Mouza
Publisher:
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2021
Genre: Computer science
ISBN: 9781648024573

"Computer science has emerged as a key driver of innovation in the 21st century. Preparing teachers to teach computer science, however, remains an enormous challenge as there are few highly qualified teachers who can teach computer science or integrate computer science content into K-12 curricula. To address this challenge, NSF established the CS10K program with the aim of preparing 10,000 teachers in 10,000 high schools teaching computer science curricula. While this effort is still under-way, there has not been a systematic attempt to capture the work done in this area. In order to prepare a generation of teachers who are capable of delivering computer science content to students, we must identify research-based examples, pedagogical strategies and policies that can facilitate changes in teacher knowledge and practices. The purpose of this project is to provide examples that could help guide the design and delivery of effective teacher preparation on the teaching of computer science concepts. This book identifies promising pathways, pedagogical strategies and policies that help pre-service and in-service teachers infuse computing ideas in their curricula as well as teach stand-alone computing courses. The book focuses on pedagogical practices for developing and assessing pre-service teacher knowledge of computer science, course design models for pre-service teachers, and discussion of policies that can support the teaching of computer science. The primary audience of the book will be students and faculty in educational technology, educational or cognitive psychology, learning theory, curriculum and instruction, computer science, instructional systems and learning sciences"--

Model Based Learning and Instruction in Science

Model Based Learning and Instruction in Science
Author: John Clement
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2007-12-07
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1402064942

Anyone involved in science education will find that this text can enhance their pedagogical practice. It describes new, model-based teaching methods that integrate social and cognitive perspectives for science instruction. It presents research that describes how these new methods are applied in a diverse group of settings, including middle school biology, high school physics, and college chemistry classrooms. They offer practical tips for teaching the toughest of key concepts.