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The creation of outdoor learning spaces (OLS) such as school gardens is increasing in frequency in elementary and secondary schools in Canada. Previous research has indicated that students benefit from learning in OLS, but little is known about teachers' perceptions of their experiences using school gardens or other OLS. Given that teacher buy-in is essential for effective use of these learning environments, better understanding of the factors which affect teachers' adoption and continued use of OLS is needed. Thus, we interviewed elementary- and high-school teachers who used school gardens in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, to explore their perceptions of their experiences of using school gardens and other OLS. We analysed interview transcripts, guided by Roger's Diffusion of Innovations theory, and identified key factors influencing teachers' adoption of school gardens or other OLS in their pedagogy: personal values, gardening experience, environmental education, and administrative support. Teachers' continued use of various OLS was supported by students' enthusiasm for learning in those spaces. Barriers to using OLS included lack of administrative support, principals' disapproval, and lack of professional development regarding their use. Insights from this study can be applied to support teachers in the adoption of school gardens and other OLS in their teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific thinking is a basic skill that can support problemsolving of interdisciplinary tasks in science. Our research is leading us to creation of materials and resources that will support this interdisciplinary approach to education. The research includes interviews with high-school teachers of mathematics, chemistry and science, item analysis of extensive testing of knowledge and skills of high school students in chemistry in Czech Republic, follow-up survey of students’ problem-solving processes in tasks requiring the use of combined knowledge of mathematics and chemistry and the creation of educational materials. The article contains a few examples of proposed educational materials. The effectiveness of created materials is verified in high-schools. Students have got the most difficulties applying algebraic calculations in chemistry, using proportions, solving equations, expressing the unknown, the spatial imagination, geometry and stereometry and the resulting arrangement of atoms and shapes of molecules, chemical analytical tasks with logical thinking, interpretation of information from graphs and tables, plotting measured values into graphs and statistical evaluation.

It is well known that most teachers appear to take little or no interest in the activities and findings of educational researchers. In two successive studies, experienced senior high-school teachers’ interest and the questions they pose about their educational practice were studied to establish insights for teacher education and teacher-educator researchers. In the first study, 81 teachers’ research reports for obtaining a master’s degree were analysed and the results were validated by questioning another 39 teachers and having them pose questions about their practice. The results showed that students’ cognitive learning was the teachers’ main priority. In the second study, 22 teachers completed a questionnaire about themes from educational research related to cognitive learning. The results showed that the teachers were interested in the topics of cognitive growth and insightful and engaged learning. How to practise these topics regularly was important to the teachers regardless of their teaching discipline. Implications for teacher-educator researchers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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As a regional institution, our university's historic mission is to train area teachers who must operate under the auspices of the Kentucky Educational Reform Act, which mandates extensive writing portfolios in Grades 4, 7 and 12. While these portfolios may include as much as 50% creative writing or work employing creative writing techniques, a recent survey of teachers responsible for guiding students revealed that not a single teacher had ever taken a course in creative writing pedagogy and only a handful had even had any formal training in creative writing. We suggested that this lack of teacher training was one reason the majority of K-12 student portfolios had plateaued at the lowest 'Novice' level, unable to move to 'Apprentice,' 'Proficient' or 'Distinguished.' To address the problem, we created and team-taught a graduate course in creative writing pedagogy. This highly popular course consisted of an exploration of the various theoretical approaches to the discipline, demonstrations of these approaches, and each student's creation of a Planned Unit of Study that integrated theory and practice at a particular grade level. Our observations, exit evaluations, and follow-up discussions with teachers after they had actually returned to the classroom pointed to the course's success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A questionnaire of 19 questions given to a total of 433 students in college preservice training for future high-school teachers showed that science and nonscience majors held a series of misconceptions on several central topics in basic astronomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]