Traditional teacher professional development (PD) programs frequently lack sufficient face-to-face preparation time to adequately support the implementation of evidence-based pedagogical strategies in classrooms, with teachers citing insufficient preparedness and training time for new methods. To investigate potentials for online PD methods to…

This study explored how preservice teachers engaged in collaborative inquiry with elementary students to facilitate social justice and equity in science education. By inviting elementary students as key stakeholders into collaborative inquiry, we examined how preservice teachers uncovered critical problems of science education in underserved…

Virtual reality (VR) in science classrooms has the potential to enhance students' learning by bridging the knowledge in the learners' communities with science instruction. When virtual environments reflect students' culture, it has the potential to influence their attitudes toward the value of science in their community. This qualitative study…

What teachers believe about their own effectiveness in the classroom influences what and how they teach, so teacher preparation programs should work to cultivate strong self-efficacy beliefs (SEBs) in future teachers. I designed a science content course for future elementary teachers around the simultaneous goals of teaching science content and…

Teacher induction programs are an important investment in supporting novice teacher development and retention in the classroom. Effective induction support for beginning science teachers should address content-specific understanding and needs that are differentiated from other subjects. Informal science institutions that have unique resources…

Considerable evidence suggests that dialogical interaction in the classroom promotes students' scientific knowledge building and reasoning. Hence, scientific argumentation is recognized as a central component of the Next Generation Science Standards. A focus on argumentation, however, requires teachers to adopt instructional practices that…

This article examines a 7th grade teacher's pedagogical practices to support her students to provide peer feedback to one another using technology during scientific inquiry. This research is part of a larger study in which teachers in California and Washington and their classes engaged in inquiry projects using a Web-based system called Web of…

This paper presents findings from a 4-year project that developed and implemented a blended inquiry science and English Language Development (ELD) program in a large urban California school district. The sample included over 2,000 students in Kindergarten through 5th grade. Participating students' English and science achievement was compared to a…

National shortages of math and science teachers have led to a variety of strategies and programs to attract second career professionals into teaching. This qualitative study explores the development of professional teaching identities in six STEM career changers in a post-baccalaureate pre-service teacher credential program in California. Findings…

This study sought to determine what elementary teachers know about student science misconceptions and how teachers address student misconceptions in instruction. The sample included 30 teachers from California with at least 1-year of experience teaching grades 3, 4, and 5. A semistructured interview was used. The interview transcripts were…

Presents the results of an ongoing evaluation in a project designed to recruit, educate, retain, and accredit ethnic minority science teachers in the larger central valley of California. Contains 23 references. (DDR)