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In this mixed methods study, the researchers developed a video-based measure called a "Prediction Assessment" to determine preservice elementary teachers' abilities to predict students' scientific reasoning. The instrument is based on teachers' need to develop pedagogical content knowledge for teaching science. Developing a knowledge base for aiding teachers in their abilities to predict students' scientific reasoning promotes student learning because it enables teachers to understand students' current conceptions and to be able to build lessons to improve upon those ideas. To determine whether preservice teachers are improving in their abilities to predict scientific reasoning it is necessary to have an instrument that can measure their current abilities and then to measure whether those abilities improve through instruction. In the second part of this study the authors used the prediction assessment to determine whether the traditional or new (Iterative Model Building, or IMB) field experience improved preservice elementary teachers' abilities to make reasonable predictions of student scientific reasoning. It was found that though preservice teachers in both the traditional and IMB field experience approaches improved their abilities to make predictions, there was a greater number in the IMB group who made reasonable predictions and based those predictions on student reasoning.

After realizing the difficulty educators face with integrating the crosscutting concepts (CCCs) from the Next Generation Science Standards into their lessons and noticing missed opportunities for caregivers to engage children in scientific thinking, we posited that if the CCCs are presented in a more accessible way then children will have more opportunities to engage in sensemaking in science. This lesson is the thinking and learning from our attempt to bring this wondering to life. We are a museum educator, a teacher educator, and a first-grade teacher. We developed and taught this lesson with the hope that it engages all students in rich thinking by using a small, manageable lesson as an entry point to begin this work regardless of students' levels of conceptual understanding. This lesson focuses on patterns in students' everyday lives, particularly on the schoolyard. It demonstrates expansive teaching practice and is accessible to all learners and educators by centering CCCs in a decontextualized manner and using elements of photovoice to highlight students' thinking. We describe the lesson we taught using the 5E learning cycle format and provide reflections and recommendations for educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local environmental topics can serve to motivate and empower students to change their behavior and take action for sustainable practices. In order to better support middle level teachers as they incorporate such topics into their professional practice, we sought to enhance our own understanding of their classroom-based experiences. In light of this, we conducted this study on a middle level teacher as she attempted to integrate place-based pedagogy on environmental sustainability into her science curriculum. The guiding questions of the study were: a) What student experiences emerged as a result of the teacher's implementation of the curriculum?, and b) What beliefs, understandings and practices emerged for the teacher as a result of the experiences? Data sources included interviews, observations and written documents. The findings revealed that the teacher's efforts to connect the instruction to a local issue of water quality led to student engagement and an eagerness on the part of the students to share what they did with others. Unfortunately, several aspects of the teacher's efforts did not successfully lead to greater student understanding of content and multiple viewpoints on local issues. The results extend current understandings of how to support middle level teachers in the development, enactment, and refinement of place-based pedagogy on environmental sustainability.

The purpose of this study was to explore how participation in iterative cycles of a modified model of lesson study could potentially provide preservice teachers opportunities to develop the ability to notice students' science thinking. Using a case study approach, we examined how six preservice teachers illustrated aspects of "professional noticing" while engaged in a modified model of lesson study during an early field experience practicum. We analyzed video and artifacts from five lesson study cycles, mapped how the preservice teachers professionally noticed throughout each cycle, and examined interactions between the three components of noticing. Participants' abilities to attend to student thinking ranged from general descriptions of how students were exploring and discussing the content, to detailing the specific actions and words of individual students (attending), and to identifying patterns of student thinking across the class and across the five lessons (interpreting). The preservice teachers were able to respond to students' thinking at various levels, thus demonstrating the ability to engage in the three components of noticing and sometimes connected their observations (attending) to their interpretations and their responses to how students were thinking. We believe participants' abilities to notice can be attributed to the iterative approach to our model of teaching, reflecting, and revising through the lens of assessing and revising lessons based on students' learning needs in an authentic context. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for supporting preservice teachers as they further develop their abilities to professionally notice. [Note: The second page is numbered as page 1, and there are two pages marked as page 17.]

Our goal in this article is to provide research-based strategies for embedding Nature of Science (NOS) into science instruction at the elementary level. We thus intend to aid researchers, professional developers, and teachers in noting that not only is it important and possible to teach NOS at the elementary levels, but also that elementary students can learn ideas about NOS. The manuscript reviews research from the past two decades on what students of ages 5 to 12 understand about NOS after appropriate instruction. Research-based teaching strategies are then shared to provide methods for researchers, professional developers, and teachers to improve students' NOS understandings. These strategies include embedding NOS into existing curricula, using classroom interactions, using visual representations, and using students' written work.

In this paper, the authors illustrate the impacts of their cross-cultural research in Africa, on their current work in science and STEM education. Through the examination of two research projects in cross-cultural settings in Africa, the authors explore the lasting impacts of this type of work. Specifically, through the use of Critical Personal Narratives and feminist theory, the authors discover fault lines existing in this cross-cultural work and ultimately the shifts in their conceptions of science and STEM education.

This study explored K-12 teachers' understanding and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) during and after participation in a professional development (PD) program that included the development of science teachers' conceptual understanding of science. We add to the literature with our focus on a multi-year PD program emphasizing the vertical progression of concept development from kindergarten to 12th grade, rich engagement in science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts, deep understanding of NGSS, and collaborative discussion to develop research-based pedagogical strategies to teach the three dimensions. In particular, we focus on foregrounding/backgrounding dimensions throughout a science unit to simplify instruction. Through an exploratory qualitative approach, we sought to answer the following research question: During a three-year professional development program, how do K-12 teachers develop an actionable understanding of the intertwining three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards? Teachers participating in all three years of the project were involved in school-based focus group interviews to elicit their understanding and implementation of the NGSS, especially regarding the interweaving nature of the three dimensions of the NGSS. Findings suggested that although the standards are complex, it is critical to be explicit about the three dimensions and intentional about planning for instruction. Collaboration in vertical teams and deep reflection on content and pedagogy were essential elements of the PD program. This study offers insight into the time it may take for individuals to substantially shift their daily teaching practices, underscoring the complexity of the standards and teaching shift we are asking of our teachers. Thus, foregrounding/ backgrounding the dimensions throughout a unit may support teachers' actionable understanding of NGSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesson Study, which assumes multiple variations, is a collaborative method that provides an opportunity for teachers to notice professionally. We analyzed how audible conversational components afforded and constrained the verbalization of professional noticing of a lesson study team. The team, comprised of six prospective teachers, a classroom teacher, and a university facilitator, participated in weekly lesson study cycles in a teacher education program. Results indicate that a structured lesson study process afforded professional noticing as participants attended to and analyzed students' thinking. However, noticing was constrained by shifts in the conversation content and lengthy segments of individuals exerting expertise. Findings indicate that the facilitator played a crucial role in increasing the incidence of professional noticing and also contributed to the decline of noticing. Implications for teacher education programs are included.

This study explored a modified version of Japanese Lesson Study to determine whether and how it influenced preservice elementary teachers in their abilities to deliver science lessons that included nature of science (NOS) to their own students. We used a case study approach that focused on one subset of a cohort of preservice elementary teachers within their field placement settings. Data sources included lesson plans, lesson feedback forms, videotapes of delivered lessons, and videotapes of lesson study feedback sessions. Early in the semester peers provided feedback on content, and later in the semester peers provided feedback on classroom management as well as content during the lesson study feedback sessions. We found that preservice elementary teachers were able to provide feedback to their peers regarding how to include NOS in their science lessons, yet did not naturally included NOS connections within their own lessons.

Recent research in mathematics education has highlighted the importance of teachers' abilities to professionally notice students' thinking. This study examined what preservice teachers professionally notice during lesson study to further describe their attention to students' mathematical thinking, their interpretations about students' reasoning, and the resulting decisions they make. Findings indicate preservice teachers commonly provided evaluative comments but were able to engage in some instances of more advanced Noticing in which they detailed students' strategies and analyzed evidence of student thinking to formulate interpretations about mathematical thinking. Analysis of these findings resulted in a framework for analyzing the content of focused and extended professional Noticing.

Previous research indicates that lesson study can support preservice teachers' abilities to professionally notice. This qualitative case study examined specific lexical and indexical conversational components of lesson study analysis meetings that afford or constrain elementary preservice teachers' incidences of professionally noticing students' mathematical thinking. Results indicate that the facilitator supported preservice teachers to identify and provide evidence of student thinking through direct questioning and probing, allowing free discussion, modeling connections of student thinking to mathematics learning theory, and gesturing to explain mathematical concepts. Professional noticing was constrained by discussion of pedagogical procedures and longer talk segments by the facilitator or classroom teacher. Findings suggest that lexical and indexical inclusions in lesson study analysis meetings can support varied levels of preservice teachers' professional noticing. As demonstrated by the facilitator in our study, we recommend facilitators pay close attention to the prompts they pose and how they guide and model analysis of student thinking.