In this article we describe current educational research underlying a comprehensive model for building a scientific classroom discourse community. We offer a professional development activity for a school-based professional learning community, providing specific science instructional strategies within this interactive teaching model. This design…

The term "open educational resources" (OERs) was first coined by UNESCO in 2005 and refers to "teaching, learning or research materials that are in the public domain or released with an intellectual property license that allows for free use, adaptation, and/or distribution." OERs offer educators what might be termed "value neutral" online…

Prior research suggests that students' understanding of scientific concepts is pre-determined by their reasoning ability. Other efforts suggest that American students' scientific literacy is in decline. One difficulty Bybee (2009) acknowledges is that there are two divergent philosophical models of scientific literacy. The first describes the…

This article is intended to help teacher educators, administrators, and mentor teachers envision how to support beginning STEM teachers as they transition from university-based preservice preparation into their first year of classroom teaching in high-need schools. Based on our experiences, and grounded in the associated research and literature,…

This paper introduces a model for using informal science education venues as contexts within which to teach the nature of science. The model was initially developed to enable university education students to teach science in elementary schools so as to be consistent with "National Science Education Standards" (NSES) (1996) and "A Framework for…

Chronically high rates of new and experienced science teacher attrition and the findings of new large-scale mentoring programs indicate that administrators should adopt new approaches. A science teacher's role encompasses demanding responsibilities, such as observing laboratory safety and OSHA mandates, as well as management of a business-like,…

The state of education in the United States, particularly in the areas of science, mathematics and technology, has been a consistent source of concern since at least the early 1980s when student performance on the 1986 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed that science proficiency was lower than comparable measures from the…

Inquiry has been cited as an essential goal of science education for decades. While terminology has evolved over time, the notion that students need to apply various analytic and thought related skills in order to better learn underlying scientific concepts and processes, remains central to science education. This article looks at four major…

This paper presents a discussion of writing frames as a method of fostering scientific writing skills in the inquiry-based science classroom. Writing frames are described as templates that contain leads, cues, clues, and insights that collectively work together and provide a skeleton outline to scaffold writing tasks. The uses and benefits of…

Making chemistry both accessible and interesting to middle and high school students can be difficult. Convincing middle and high school teachers that they will learn something new and applicable from a professional development workshop in chemistry can be equally challenging. This paper describes the use of material science as a means to enhance…

This article is the first in what will become a continuing series of articles highlighting the perspectives of renowned science educators. The first featured article is by Robert Yager, Science Education Center, University of Iowa, USA. Dr. Yager has directed over 100 NSF projects designed to improve K-16 science programs. He has served as…

In this article, the authors offer a framework that identifies two critical problems in designing inquiry-based instruction and suggests three models for developing instruction that overcomes those problems. The Protocol Model overcomes the Getting on Board Problem by providing students an initial experience through clearly delineated steps with a…

Almost one half of U.S. students receiving B.S. and M.S. science degrees attend community colleges during their academic careers, yet for the large majority of community college students in the sciences, a four-year degree in a STEM discipline remains an unrealized goal. The authors describe methods intended to improve student learning, retention,…

This article describes the idea of scientific literacy as defined in PISA, discusses relevant results of PISA, and clarifies meaningful relationships between PISA data and scientific competencies of U.S. students. Finally, the author includes insights and recommendations for contemporary leadership in science education. (Contains 8 tables and 1…

This article looks at how professional learning communities (PLCs) have become an operational approach for professional development with potential to de-isolate the teaching experience in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The authors offer a short synopsis of the intellectual origins of PLCs, provide multiple…