JoinAll Resources
Book Chapter
Understanding Supply and Demand Among Mathematics and Science Teachers
Concern over school staffing problems has given impetus to empirical research on teacher shortages and turnover. As a result, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Education, designed the S...
Book Chapter
The Importance of Partnerships in Science Education Reform
In this chapter, the authors make the case for the importance of partnerships for science education reform. Building and nurturing appropriate partners for tasks large and small helps to overcome formidable barriers. Good partnerships can shorten the...
Book Chapter
Developing Professional Learning Communities
Adlai E. Stevenson High School (AESHS) is a suburban school in Illinois that has been consistently cited in educational literature as an exemplary professional learning community (DuFour et al. 2004; Richardson 2004; Schmoker 2001). How did this happ...
Book Chapter
No Child Left Behind: Implications for Science Education
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB 2002) acknowledges and supports the need for partnership and collaboration among the many stakeholder groups to increase learning for all students—especially students in poverty who have traditionally fare...
Book Chapter
Alternative Certification: Aspirations and Realities
Although the number of alternative programs is ever increasing, shortages in the number of qualified science teachers continue. These programs have not solved the teacher shortage problem alone, but they should not bear full responsibility. Numerous ...
Book Chapter
Brain Research: Implications for Teaching and Learning
As knowledge of many aspects of the brain has exploded over the past few decades, there has been a strong desire to link the study of the brain, i.e., neuroscience, with education, the applied learning endeavor of students. This interest accelerated ...
Book Chapter
How Do Students Learn Science?
As we search for ways to improve classroom science experiences for students, we repeat the same question over and over: “How do students learn science?” In one sense, how students learn science falls within the realm of cognitive neuroscience. Pe...
Book Chapter
The Science Curriculum: Trends and Issues
Among the 21st century issues and trends in science education, one must acknowledge the fundamental importance of the science curriculum. It is the one component that brings together social aspirations, content standards, research on learning, approp...
Book Chapter
The Psychology of Scientific Thinking: Implications for Science Teaching and Learning
Science education has two primary aims: to teach children about our accumulated knowledge of the natural world and to help them employ the methods, procedures, and reasoning processes used to acquire that knowledge—in other words, to “think scien...
Book Chapter
Research in Science Education: An Interdisciplinary Perspective
The continuing goal of science education research is the generation of pedagogical knowledge that can be used to improve meaningful understanding of science concepts by students. Using present initiatives in science education as a foundation, the aut...
Book Chapter
Classroom Assessment in the Service of Student Learning
Science education reform literature acknowledges the close relationship between assessment and learning. This chapter takes a closer look at this tight link between assessment and learning, specifically at how classroom assessment can be organized to...
Book Chapter
Engaging Teachers in Research on Science Learning and Teaching
Professional Development Standard C of the National Science Education Standards recommends that professional development activities for teachers "provide opportunities to learn and use the skills of research to generate new knowledge about science" (...
Book Chapter
Celebrating Diverse Minds: Using Different Pedagogical Approaches
The idea of science for all has been echoed nationwide. In order to be successfully implemented, inclusive quality pedagogical approaches are essential. These approaches should be authentic not just to the nature and content of science but also to ch...
Book Chapter
Leading Professional Development for Curriculum Reform
The ultimate goal of curriculum reform is to improve student learning through better teaching practices. One way to improve these teaching practices is to develop stronger instructional systems and support systems. In particular, supporting teachers ...
Book Chapter
Advancing Student Achievement Through Professional Development
Kindergarten through twelfth grade teacher competence, in both subject matter and pedagogy, is critical for advancing student achievement in science. The National Science Foundation (NSF 1996), however, has found that only about two-thirds of first- ...