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The increasing attention in science education reform documents to language and literacy, coupled with the growing linguistic diversity of United States classrooms, means that science teacher educators and researchers are facing an important task of preparing secondary science preservice teachers (PSTs) to teach a language- and literacy-integrated form of science in linguistically diverse classrooms. Unfortunately, research in this field is in its nascency, and while some studies have addressed PSTs' instructional planning for and implementation of language- and literacy-integrated science instruction, none have considered the unique contextual factors that inform PSTs' uptake of these reform-oriented instructional practices, despite many studies suggesting student-teaching contexts are a key factor in PSTs' instructional decisions. The purpose of this multiple case study was to consider the unique contextual factors that supported and constrained three PSTs' uptake of language- and literacy-integrated science practices through a Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) lens. Findings indicated that PSTs' implementation of language- and literacy-integrated science instruction was shaped by interactions among the mediating elements of their student teaching activity systems, including PSTs' division of labor with mentor teachers, the classroom and school norms, PSTs' perceptions of their classroom communities, and PSTs' past life experiences and resources. These findings highlight the roles that different elements of learning-to-teach contexts can play in PSTs' enactment of reform-oriented instruction. Implications for science teacher education, instruction for emergent bilinguals, and research are discussed.

The current US science education reforms call for integrating engineering design in science instruction requires teachers to develop and teach engineering design-integrated science (EDIS) lessons. However, very few teachers have received training in engineering and how to integrate engineering design into science lessons. In response to this challenge, our teacher education program has been training secondary pre-service science teachers in engineering design and how to develop EDIS instructional materials. Thus, this study reports on the representation of science and engineering practices and engineering design skills in the EDIS instructional units developed by participant pre-service teachers, in aggregate and by science discipline and by different sections within the units. Results show that all science and engineering practices and design skills were included in the units. However, engineering practices and design skills were covered more than science practices in the EDIS instructional units. Pre-service teachers did not treat engineering design as an add-on or culminating activity. Instead, they planned the units to teach science through engineering design process, which was consistent to the model of our intervention, and the Next Generation Science Standards. We conclude that instruction on engineering design process and how to integrate it in science instruction through intensive professional development activities can enhance pre-service science teachers' abilities to develop EDIS instructional units, even for science subjects like life science.

The Next Generation Science Standards and increasing linguistic diversity of students in United States science classrooms require language-focused science instruction for which many secondary science teachers are not prepared. To date, minimal research has addressed how to best support secondary science pre-service teachers (PSTs) in teaching in linguistically diverse classrooms despite the fact that most PSTs will have the opportunity to teach emergent bilinguals (EBs) at some point in their careers. The purpose of this multiple case study was to determine at what level and in what ways three secondary science PSTs were able to integrate language and literacy into their science instruction following their participation in two language- and literacy-integrated science methods courses. PSTs' instruction was analyzed using an observation rubric and supported by instructional materials, interviews, and reflections. Results indicated that, following the intervention, PSTs were able to enact most language- and literacy-integrated science practices at the targeted level. However, the ways in which they did so varied and at times led to missed opportunities for EBs' participation in key scientific practices. Implications for teacher educators and researchers are addressed.

Most studies on inquiry have focused on student outcomes, teachers' conceptions of inquiry, implementation of inquiry in science classrooms, and inquiry coverage in science textbooks. Little is known about the nature of inquiry representation in science practitioner journals that serve as sources of inquiry science activities for many science teachers, science teacher educators, college instructors, and informal science practitioners. Therefore, this study examined the nature of inquiry representation in the articles that were published in "The American Biology Teacher" from 1998 to 2015. The study also sought to find out if there was a difference in inquiry representation between the articles that were written by teachers and college instructors. The nature of inquiry representation in the articles was determined by establishing the extent to which six essential features of inquiry--"question," "evidence," "analysis," "explain," "connect," and "communicate"--were addressed in the articles. Results showed that most essential features of inquiry were adequately represented in the articles analyzed. However, most science activities did not have investigative questions to guide the inquiry process. We also found a significant difference in inquiry representation between the articles written by biology teachers and college instructors. Teachers addressed more essential features of inquiry in the articles than college instructors. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the degree of student-directedness inquiry in the articles written by the teachers and college instructors. Overall, there was more partial inquiry than full inquiry representation in the articles analyzed. Implications of the findings and recommendations are discussed.

Despite growing numbers of English Learners (ELs) in United States science classrooms and recent science education reforms calling for language and literacy integrated science instruction, research is just beginning to address how to prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to teach science to ELs. Using a framework highlighting key structural and task-related components for preparing PSTs to teach science to ELs, we systematically examined interventions designed to prepare PSTs to teach in linguistically diverse science classrooms for variations in their structures and tasks for learning, and for outcomes. Results indicate that interventions for preparing PSTs to teach science to ELs ranged from parts of science methods courses to integrated programs spanning both science methods courses and field experiences. Most interventions addressed language and literacy integrated instruction, field experiences, skills for language-integrated science instruction, and identification and use of students' funds of knowledge in the classroom. Integration of language and literacy into science methods instruction, cohesion across program components, instructor modeling of targeted instructional strategies, and opportunities to practice targeted instructional strategies in K-12 classrooms were found to be common contributing factors to intervention success. However, the studies highlighted difficulties in PSTs' ability to transfer understanding to instruction and integrate students' funds of knowledge into instruction. Further, other parts of the framework, including asking PSTs to examine their beliefs about learners and science learning in linguistically diverse classrooms and development of PSTs' science content knowledge, were under-studied. Implications for science teacher preparation, science teaching and learning, and future research are discussed.

As science classrooms become more linguistically diverse, it is becoming increasingly important that pre-service teachers (PSTs) are trained with the skills and knowledge they need to support science learning for all students, especially English Learners. The purpose of this study was to determine how 11 secondary science PSTs' instructional planning for language- and literacy-integrated science instruction changed over the course of their participation in two language- and literacy-integrated science methods courses. Data sources included open-ended survey questions, interviews, and participant-created lesson plans, instructional materials, and reflections. Inductive and deductive qualitative analyses were employed to identify themes across participants and data sources. Results suggest that, following participation in the methods courses, more PSTs integrated language- and literacy-integrated science practices into their instructional materials than prior to the intervention. Further, important changes in the nature of integration were observed. Results add to the emerging literature on preparing secondary science PSTs to teach in linguistically diverse classrooms and have implications for science teacher education and student learning.

Despite its positive impact on students' understanding of the nature of science and science content knowledge, few secondary science teachers incorporate the history of science into their instruction. This article describes the effects of an online history of science course on preservice teachers' perceptions of and content and pedagogical knowledge for history of science-integrated science instruction. Eleven secondary preservice science teachers participated in a semester-long history of science course focused on developing their conceptual understanding of and pedagogical knowledge for incorporating history of science into their science instruction. Data were collected from preservice teachers' discussions, reflections, assignments, and surveys. Results indicate that participation in the online history of science course led to preservice teachers' understanding of history of science content and pedagogy and to positive perceptions about history of science-integrated science instruction. Preservice teachers also demonstrated skills for developing history of science instructional materials using "recurrent, storyline, and argumentation" approaches. Implications of the findings for secondary science teacher preparation are discussed.

This study explored students' perceptions of instructional practices of international teaching assistants (ITAs) who did and did not participate in additional professional development through a Teaching Methods course. The study also sought to understand the components of the Teaching Methods course that supported ITAs in inquiry-based chemistry lab instruction. Participants were treatment ITAs (n = 4), control ITAs (n = 5), and students who were enrolled in a project-based guided inquiry (PBGI) introductory chemistry lab II course (n = 341). All ITAs attended a week-long course-specific training for all TAs, while treatment ITAs received additional professional development (PD) on teaching through a semester-long Teaching Methods course with all department TAs. Data on students' perceptions of their ITAs were collected using a postsurvey that included Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. We also collected written reflection assignments from treatment ITAs. Data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Likert questions were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and qualitative data from student surveys and TA reflections were analyzed using an inductive content analysis approach. Students with treatment ITAs (n = 160) qualitatively reported more positive perceptions of ITAs' instructional practices and learning outcomes than students of control ITAs (n = 181). Specifically, treatment ITAs were reported to be significantly more supportive, interactive, and effective than control ITAs (all p values <0.001). Treatment ITAs reported increased understanding of their role as facilitators of student learning in PBGI laboratories. Results also suggest that the Teaching Methods course, along with concurrent teaching experience, enabled treatment ITAs to increase their confidence in teaching PBGI laboratories and to provide a supportive learning environment to students. These findings imply that TAs can learn more about active learning approaches and how to support student learning in inquiry-based chemistry lab if they receive sustained instruction on learning theories and inquiry and engage in reflective practice. Results have implications for ITA training and on chemistry teaching and learning.

This study examined Zambian preservice chemistry teachers' views on the goals of chemistry education, the importance of the goals, and challenges for achieving them in schools. The study sample was comprised of 59 pre-service chemistry teachers at the University of Zambia. Data were collected using a modified Likert-scale questionnaire that was initially developed by Gayon (2010). In general, teachers were positive about the goals of chemistry education in schools. However, the pre-service chemistry teachers did not rank the five goals of chemistry education equally. Instead, the pre-service chemistry teachers ranked the goals of chemistry education in the following descending order: Career awareness, Scientific method, Personal needs, Scientific knowledge, and Societal issues. A similar trend was revealed in the participants' ranking of the important goals of chemistry education in the following order of importance: Career awareness, Scientific methods, Scientific knowledge, Personal needs, and Societal issues. Teachers perceived lack of resources, and teacher preparation and development as the primary challenges for achieving the goals of chemistry education in schools. These findings have implications on chemistry teaching and learning, and teacher education.

GeoGebra is an emergent open-source Dynamic and Interactive Mathematics Learning Environment (DIMLE) (Martinovic & Karadag, 2012) that invites a modeling perspective in mathematics teaching and learning. In springs of 2010 and 2012, GeoGebra was integrated respectively into two online professional development courses on mathematical problem solving in a rural region of a Midwest state in the USA. Using GeoGebra as a primary tool for modeling and communication, fifty-three K-8 inservice elementary school teachers with no or little previous exposure to DIMLEs participated in the graduate level course, where they experimented with various resources of GeoGebra for mathematical modeling in the broad context of problem solving. The instructional team incorporated a variety of pedagogical components to support teachers' exploration of the new technologies and the mathematical content, including video-based demonstration, affective intervention, learning with children, and social and cognitive scaffoldings. After intensive online instruction, a 25-item questionnaire was administered to collect data on participants' attitudes, curricular awareness, mathematical content, and pedagogical reflection regarding the integration of GeoGebra. Based on results of the questionnaire (N = 45), this article provides a preliminary description of inservice elementary school teachers' learning experience in a GeoGebra integrated DIMLE setting, including an exploratory dimension analysis of the survey data. Overall, the use of GeoGebra challenged teachers' view about the nature of mathematics and student-teacher interactions and further enriched their mathematical knowledge and pedagogical choices. The course design, context, and implications for future efforts are discussed. An appendix contains GeoGebra Survey and Item Coding. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.) [This work was partially supported by the Illinois School Board of Education through an MSP Grant.]

This paper is aimed at elucidating the current state of inquiry-based science education (IBSE) in Zambia's high school science curriculum. Therefore, we investigated Zambian teachers' conceptions of inquiry; determined inquiry levels in the national high school science curriculum materials, which include syllabi, textbooks and practical exams; and determined the extent to which inquiry tasks and skills are emphasized in the science curriculum materials. Based on the results, we have proposed ways in which IBSE in Zambia can be improved, particularly in teacher preparation curriculum, assessment and pedagogy. The major results emerging from this study were that teachers' have a narrow conception of inquiry; there is a discrepancy in the coverage of inquiry levels in syllabi, textbooks and practical exams; and there is much emphasis on lower inquiry tasks and skills in textbooks and exams. These findings laid a basis for our proposed plan for improved inquiry-based science education in Zambia, as discussed herein. It is anticipated the proposed plan on IBSE will prove useful to Zambian science teachers, teacher educators, professional development providers and curriculum developers in resituating Zambian's science curriculum to be in line with current IBSE models. (Contains 9 tables.)

This study examined elementary education pre-service teachers' attitudes towards biotechnology processes. A sample comprised 88 elementary education pre-service teachers at a mid-sized university in the Midwest of the USA. Sixty and 28 of these pre-service teachers were enrolled in Introductory Science Methods course and Advance Science Methods Course, respectively. Data were collected using a questionnaire which had 15 statements on a 3 Likert-scale and required students to indicate whether each statement is acceptable or unacceptable. The results indicated that elementary education pre-service teachers from both courses generally held a wide range of attitudes towards biotechnology. Notably, majority of the pre-service teachers approved the genetic modification of microorganisms and plants, but disapproved the processes that involved the insertion or removal of genes in humans and animals. Implications for science teacher education, curriculum as well as recommendations for further research are discussed. (Contains 6 tables.)

This study in Zambia examined 66 junior high school pre-service science teachers' familiarity with, conceptual understanding of and levels of interest in learning more about electrochemistry concepts. Data were collected using the Familiarity with Electrochemistry Questionnaire, the Conceptual Understanding of Electrochemistry Test and the Interest in Electrochemistry Questionnaire. Statistical tests were used to analyse data. Pre-service teachers reported high levels of familiarity with the electrochemistry concepts surveyed. They were more familiar with basic than advanced electrochemistry concepts. On average, participants demonstrated moderate conceptual understanding of electrochemistry concepts. Although there was a significant difference between males' and females' familiarity with electrochemistry concepts, there was no significant difference between the two gender groups in their understanding of and interest in electrochemistry. There were no significant correlations between participants' familiarity with, understanding of and interest in electrochemistry. Overall, pre-service science teachers' self-reported high levels of familiarity with electrochemistry concepts was at variance with their actual conceptual understanding of the concepts. However, pre-service science teachers expressed high levels of interest in learning more about electrochemistry concepts they did not understand. In particular, pre-service teachers were interested in learning more about advanced electrochemistry concepts. The implications for teacher education and chemistry teaching and learning are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to establish the nature and extent of scientific literacy (SL) themes coverage in Zambian national high school biology curriculum. The three data sources are biology textbooks, biology syllabi, and grade twelve national biology examination papers for a five-year period (2000-2004). These data sources were analyzed using the framework and procedure developed by Chiappetta, Fillman, and Sethna. The framework has four themes of SL namely: Science as a body of knowledge; Science as a way of investigating; science as a way of knowing; and Interaction between science, technology and society. The results show that the biology textbooks and syllabi content objectives emphasized basic knowledge of science while the biology examination papers, and the syllabi aims and assessment objectives emphasized science as a way of knowing. The interaction between science, technology and society theme was the least represented in the biology course. The results also suggest lack of curriculum and instructional validity in biology examinations with respect to the four themes of SL. The inadequate coverage of interaction of science, technology and society theme in the curriculum materials may be a barrier to a better preparation of scientifically literate citizens. Some recommendations have been made. (Contains 4 tables.)

Instructional planning has increasingly been recognized as an essential element for good teaching at different levels of education. Instructional planning constitutes many things which teachers consider and do when they are planning for teaching. It provides a roadmap that assists the teachers to focus on achievable objectives and learners' needs, and to create a flow of events with starting, middle, and ending points in a lesson. As such, its primary purpose is to provide students with meaningful learning experiences. Although several studies have investigated instructional planning processes, studies of this nature have only focused on pre-service and in-service teachers. However, it is also of value to explore instructional planning practices of university graduate students in traditional mathematics and science degree programs, who are providing content knowledge and instructional support to K-12 teachers in schools through university-school partnership programs. The traditional mathematics and science degree programs are programs that prepare mathematicians and scientists, respectively. The graduate students in these programs have content backgrounds and career goals that differ greatly from K-12 mathematics and science pre-service and in-service teachers. There is also paucity of research that compares trained teachers' instructional planning practices with those of scientists and mathematicians in training who are involved in mathematics and science teaching in K-12 schools. Yet, such a knowledge base could be essential in designing outreach programs that would be successful in helping graduate students or scientists and mathematicians acquire desirable instructional planning practices. The assumption is that these graduate students or scientists and mathematicians would translate the desirable instructional planning practices into effective instructional practices in K-12 classrooms, and this in turn would improve the quality of mathematics and science learning among K-12 students. This study explores university mathematics and science graduate students' instructional planning practices for K-12 classrooms. All the participants were serving in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded GK-12 project. The GK-12 program is a mathematics and science education outreach program that uses the content knowledge and skills of graduate students and faculty at US universities to improve teaching and learning in schools. The acronym GK-12 is used to mean that the Fellows provide content knowledge and instructional support in classrooms from kindergarten to twelfth grade. (Contains 1 table.)

The current "K-12 Science Education framework" and "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) in the United States emphasise the integration of engineering design in science instruction to promote scientific literacy and engineering design skills among students. As such, many engineering education programmes have developed curriculum materials that are being used in K-12 settings. However, little is known about the nature and extent to which engineering design skills outlined in NGSS are addressed in these K-12 engineering education programme curriculum materials. We analysed nine K-12 engineering education programmes for the nature and extent of engineering design skills coverage. Results show that developing possible solutions and actual designing of prototypes were the highly covered engineering design skills; specification of clear goals, criteria, and constraints received medium coverage; defining and identifying an engineering problem; optimising the design solution; and demonstrating how a prototype works, and making iterations to improve designs were lowly covered. These trends were similar across grade levels and across discipline-specific curriculum materials. These results have implications on engineering design-integrated science teaching and learning in K-12 settings.

This study investigated the effect of an inquiry-based computer simulation modeling (ICoSM) instructional approach on pre-service science teachers' understanding of homeostasis and its related concepts, and their perceived design features of the ICoSM and simulation that enhanced their conceptual understanding of these concepts. Fifty pre-service teachers participated in this study. A pre-posttest design was used to compare participants' understanding of homeostasis concepts before and after their interaction with the ICoSM. A perception survey was used to determine participants' perceived design features of the ICoSM and simulation that enhanced their conceptual understanding. Results show that ICoSM approach enhanced pre-service teachers' conceptual understanding of homeostasis and its related concepts. The ICoSM design features that enhanced their understanding of homoeostasis were systematic lesson progression/cycle, context for knowledge generation, cause-and-effect investigations, and data gathering tools. The homeostasis simulation design features that enhanced their understanding included interactive and animated representations, data gathering tool, variable manipulation, and knowledge generation tool. These results have implications on science teaching and learning, computer simulation design, research, and teacher education.

This study explored elementary school teachers' familiarity, conceptual knowledge, and interest in learning more about light and its related concepts. This study also sought to establish the relationship between elementary school teachers' familiarity, conceptual knowledge, and interest in learning light concepts. Sixty-six lower and upper elementary school teachers in Midwest of the USA participated in this study. Data were collected using 3 instruments namely Familiarity with Light Concepts Questionnaire, Conceptual Knowledge of Light Test, and Interest in Learning about Light Concepts Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using statistical tests. Most teachers expressed high levels of familiarity with light concepts surveyed. The upper elementary grade teachers expressed more familiarity with advanced light concepts than lower elementary grade teachers. However, most teachers exhibited low conceptual knowledge of light concepts. There was no significant difference in conceptual knowledge of light concepts between lower and upper elementary grade teachers, and between more experienced and less experienced teachers. As such, teachers' self-reported familiarity with light concepts was not consistent with their actual knowledge of the concepts. However, most teachers expressed high interest in learning more about the light concepts. Thus, teachers showed willingness to learn more about light concepts they did not understand. These findings have implications on teacher education, and science teaching and learning.

This paper presents a Simulation-based interactive Virtual ClassRoom web system (SVCR: www.vclasie.com) powered by the state-of-the-art cloud computing technology from Google SVCR integrates popular free open-source math, science and engineering simulations and provides functions such as secure user access control and management of courses, assignments and grading. This system allows customized course and lesson development and supports teacher and student account management. The simulation programs are built into a single database to be indexed for easy browsing and keyword search and can be downloaded and run with Java support from our web site. This system has an intuitive and user-friendly interface to allow a quick and easy transition to this system for most users. Teachers can create five types of popular assessment questions namely true or false, multiple choice, matching, word bank, and free answer questions. The system can be viewed in both English and Spanish. In addition, the system can automatically grade assignments--with the exception of free answer questions--to reduce the teacher's workload. Clouding computing technology driven by the Google App Engine is used to achieve scalability when the system is under high access demand. (Contains 18 figures.)

The increasing attention in science education reform documents to language and literacy, coupled with the growing linguistic diversity of United States classrooms, means that science teacher educators and researchers are facing an important task of preparing secondary science preservice teachers (PSTs) to teach a language‐ and literacy‐integrated form of science in linguistically diverse classrooms. Unfortunately, research in this field is in its nascency, and while some studies have addressed PSTs' instructional planning for and implementation of language‐ and literacy‐integrated science instruction, none have considered the unique contextual factors that inform PSTs' uptake of these reform‐oriented instructional practices, despite many studies suggesting student‐teaching contexts are a key factor in PSTs' instructional decisions. The purpose of this multiple case study was to consider the unique contextual factors that supported and constrained three PSTs' uptake of language‐ and literacy‐integrated science practices through a Cultural‐Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) lens. Findings indicated that PSTs' implementation of language‐ and literacy‐integrated science instruction was shaped by interactions among the mediating elements of their student teaching activity systems, including PSTs' division of labor with mentor teachers, the classroom and school norms, PSTs' perceptions of their classroom communities, and PSTs' past life experiences and resources. These findings highlight the roles that different elements of learning‐to‐teach contexts can play in PSTs' enactment of reform‐oriented instruction. Implications for science teacher education, instruction for emergent bilinguals, and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored pre-service teachers' conceptual understanding and performance on science process skills. A sample comprised 91 elementary pre-service teachers at a university in the Midwest of the USA. Participants were enrolled in two science education courses; introductory science teaching methods course and advanced science methods course. Data were collected through a questionnaire. Results showed that pre-service teachers had limited conceptual understanding of science process skills. On the other hand, they had higher performance on the science process skills. Whilst majority of the participants were unable to provide correct definitions of the science process skills, they performed well on the test that involved novel situations of the process skills. The findings have implications for science teaching, learning and teacher education. (Contains 8 tables.)

This study diagnosed the understanding about energy and biological-context energy concepts held by 90 first-year South African university biology students. In particular, students' explanations of energy in a biological context, how energy is involved in different biological situations and whether energy is present and what types of energy are involved in diagrams depicting biological phenomena were investigated. The pencil-and-paper diagnostic test, specifically designed for this study, was used to elicit students' understanding using test items involving biological phenomena. The results showed that many students had problems in understanding energy and energy-related concepts in the following areas: First, the majority of the students provided "definitions" of energy rather than the "explanations" they were asked to provide, and the definition could have been rote-learned. Second, although nearly all students knew the energy conservation principle (energy cannot be created or destroyed), many of them were unable to apply this concept to biological contexts. Third, many students erroneously claimed that the energy for metabolism and life processes is made available during photosynthesis in plants, during digestion in animals or that this energy comes "directly" from the sun. Fourth, about two thirds of the students erroneously indicated that there is no energy involved/present in inanimate objects such as a statue. The implications for the teaching and learning of energy and its related concepts and recommendations for further research are discussed.

This study assessed Zambian Junior High School pre-service science teachers' understanding of the particulate nature of matter. A sample comprised 30 pre-service science teachers at a teacher training college. Data was collected through a questionnaire adopted from Ozmen and Kenan (2007). Results show that most teachers had correct views on the effect of phase change on speed, spaces and number of particles in a substance. However, most pre-service teachers had poor understanding about the effect of phase change, cooling and heating on the size of the particles in a substance. Most pre-service teachers erroneously believed that when a substance is cooled it contracts because the sizes of its particles decrease, and when a substance is melting the size of its particles increase. Results have implications on science teaching and learning and teacher education. (Contains 3 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which six cognitive and attitudinal variables predicted pre-service elementary teachers' (N = 87) performance on line graphing. Predictors included reading comprehension and mathematics scores, logical thinking performance scores, as well as measures of attitudes toward science, mathematics and graphing. Results indicated that mathematical and logical thinking ability were the most significant predictors of line graph performance among the other variables, accounting for 41% of the total variability. Findings from this study suggest that elementary science education programs augment instruction to include aspects of mathematics and logical thinking.

This study examined preservice teachers' understanding of biotechnology and its related processes. A sample comprised 88 elementary education preservice teachers at a large university in the Midwest of the USA. A total of 60 and 28 of the participants were enrolled in introductory and advanced science methods courses, respectively. Most participants had taken two integrated science courses at the college level. Data were collected using a questionnaire, which had open-ended items and which required participants to write the definitions and examples of the following terms: biotechnology, genetic engineering, cloning and genetically modified foods. The results indicate that preservice teachers had limited understanding of biotechnology and its related processes. The majority of the preservice teachers provided poor definitions, explanations, and examples of biotechnology, genetic engineering and genetically modified foods. Surprisingly, however, a moderate number of preservice teachers correctly defined cloning and provided correct examples of cloning. Implications for science teacher education, science curriculum, as well as recommendations for further research are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to find out how the scientific literacy themes are represented in the current Zambian high school chemistry syllabus, textbooks and grade twelve chemistry examination papers in an attempt to find out whether or not the chemistry course has adequate potential to contribute to the preparation of scientifically literate citizens. The results show some disparity among the high school chemistry course materials. The chemistry syllabus had a better representation of the scientific literacy themes than the chemistry textbooks and examination papers. The chemistry textbooks mostly emphasized science as a body of knowledge theme, whereas the examination papers mostly covered the investigative nature of science theme. Both the chemistry syllabus and examination paper 2 placed some emphasis on the interaction of science and technology theme. Despite the disparity in the representation of scientific literacy themes among the high school chemistry course materials, the course has adequate potential to contribute to the preparation of scientifically literate citizens. (Contains 4 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to analyze the new Zambian high school physics syllabus and practical examinations for levels of inquiry and inquiry skills. Several inquiry skills are explicitly emphasized in the introduction, aims, content objectives and assessment sections in the national high school physics syllabus. However, the syllabus is less explicit on levels of inquiry. The syllabus has no suggested inquiry activities and guidelines for inquiry-based teaching. As such, teachers are expected to create inquiry activities for their physics lessons to address the content and inquiry skills outlined in the syllabus. The experiments in the practical examinations were restricted to structured and confirmation/verification inquiry levels. The inquiry skills emphasized in the practical examinations were the same as those outlined in the physics syllabus. Implications for science teaching, learning, and curriculum design have been stated.

Teaching is a moral and educational enterprise. Therefore, teachers are expected to explain and justify the instructional methods and designs they use in their teaching to demonstrate how they meet the moral and educational ends of the teaching enterprise. To justify the use of particular instructional methods and designs goes beyond giving a catalogue of reasons and explanations. It requires coming to grips with questions of whether the instructional methods, practices, and designs are consequential, valuable,and desirable to student learning. The purpose of this paper is to provide a methodology that teachers can use to justify the use of computer-based instructions elements and designs they intend to use in their teaching. We have justified the use of computer-based simulations in science teaching to illustrate the methodology. The methodology has implications for use of technology in teaching, teacher training, and curriculum design.

A simple method based on the moment of forces and Archimedes' principle is described for finding density without measuring the mass and volume of an object. The method involves balancing two unknown objects of masses M[subscript 1] and M[subscript 2] on each side of a pivot on a metre rule and measuring their corresponding moment arms. The object whose density is to be found is then immersed in a liquid of known density and the new moment of the arm of this object is measured. The density of the immersed object is then determined using only its measured moment arms and the density of the liquid. (Contains 2 figures.)

The Next Generation Science Standards and increasing linguistic diversity of students in United States science classrooms require language‐focused science instruction for which many secondary science teachers are not prepared. To date, minimal research has addressed how to best support secondary science pre‐service teachers (PSTs) in teaching in linguistically diverse classrooms despite the fact that most PSTs will have the opportunity to teach emergent bilinguals (EBs) at some point in their careers. The purpose of this multiple case study was to determine at what level and in what ways three secondary science PSTs were able to integrate language and literacy into their science instruction following their participation in two language‐ and literacy‐integrated science methods courses. PSTs' instruction was analyzed using an observation rubric and supported by instructional materials, interviews, and reflections. Results indicated that, following the intervention, PSTs were able to enact most language‐ and literacy‐integrated science practices at the targeted level. However, the ways in which they did so varied and at times led to missed opportunities for EBs' participation in key scientific practices. Implications for teacher educators and researchers are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching is a moral and educational enterprise. Therefore, teachers are expected to explain and justify the instructional methods and designs they use in their teaching to demonstrate how they meet the moral and educational ends of the teaching enterprise. To justify the use of particular instructional methods and designs goes beyond giving a catalogue of reasons and explanations. It requires coming to grips with questions of whether the instructional methods, practices, and designs are consequential, valuable, and desirable to student learning. The purpose of this paper is to provide a methodology that teachers can use to justify the use of computer-based instructions, elements, and designs they intend to use in their teaching. We have justified the use of computer-based simulations in science teaching to illustrate the methodology. The methodology has implications for use of technology in teaching, teacher training, and curriculum design., Teaching is often described as an educational and moral enterprise, one directly concerned with right belief and right conduct (Fitzgibbons, 1981). And yet teachers hardly justify for using the teaching [...]

Despite growing numbers of English Learners (ELs) in United States science classrooms and recent science education reforms calling for language and literacy integrated science instruction, research is just beginning to address how to prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to teach science to ELs. Using a framework highlighting key structural and task‐related components for preparing PSTs to teach science to ELs, we systematically examined interventions designed to prepare PSTs to teach in linguistically diverse science classrooms for variations in their structures and tasks for learning, and for outcomes. Results indicate that interventions for preparing PSTs to teach science to ELs ranged from parts of science methods courses to integrated programs spanning both science methods courses and field experiences. Most interventions addressed language and literacy integrated instruction, field experiences, skills for language‐integrated science instruction, and identification and use of students' funds of knowledge in the classroom. Integration of language and literacy into science methods instruction, cohesion across program components, instructor modeling of targeted instructional strategies, and opportunities to practice targeted instructional strategies in K‐12 classrooms were found to be common contributing factors to intervention success. However, the studies highlighted difficulties in PSTs' ability to transfer understanding to instruction and integrate students' funds of knowledge into instruction. Further, other parts of the framework, including asking PSTs to examine their beliefs about learners and science learning in linguistically diverse classrooms and development of PSTs' science content knowledge, were under‐studied. Implications for science teacher preparation, science teaching and learning, and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]