Effective questioning and discussion are fundamental instructional skills for science teacher candidates to master. These skills are important for teacher competence that aids student achievement. Opportunities to practice these skills in traditional teacher preparation programs may be limited. This embedded single case study focused on an…

Research has revealed that teachers find teaching and assessing socioscientific argumentation (SSA) to be challenging. In this study, ten pre-service science teachers (PSTs) tested a new Practical Assessment of Socioscientific Argumentation Model (PASM) that was developed to enhance skills in assessing SSA. The models' design is based on the…

It is necessary to foster teachers' ability to design and implement instructions that encourage students to construct evidence and engage in argumentative discourse. The argument of this paper is that the continuous reflection and discussion as well as regular practice on instructional designs will promote pre-service science teachers' (PSSTs')…

International research shows that primary school teachers don't have the necessary level of self-efficacy to provide high quality science learning and teaching opportunities to their students. The aim of the present study is to validate the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) and to investigate the self-efficacy beliefs of 408…

Science Olympiad is a K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) competition that engages approximately 7,000 teams across the U.S. in individual and team challenges at regional, state, and national levels. Science Olympiad began expanding to include elementary students in 2008. Yet, little is known about the adults who…

This qualitative case study examines the experiences of three Black female science teachers who experienced and participated in the triumphs and failings of today's charter school system while teaching Black and Brown students. Using Critical Race Theory and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy as frameworks, the findings of the study revealed that the…

Calls to immerse students in the sensemaking practices of science recommend that students propose ideas and work together to construct explanations as well as drive the evaluation and decision-making around classroom knowledge-building. In other words, they should be participating with epistemic agency. Part of the teaching work of supporting…

The teaching of genetics has not been effective in promoting a scientifically acceptable understanding of basic genetics concepts. This study addresses that gap by reporting on topic-specific pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) enacted by a teacher educator as she teaches a content course on basic genetics concepts to fourth-year pre-service…

A key goal of science learning today is to support students in posing and answering questions about phenomena that matter to them while establishing a need to grapple with disciplinary ideas and practices reflected in standards. To be successful in this endeavor, teachers need to learn to partner with students on the direction of their learning…

Teacher education programs have the dual task of teaching specific subject content while also providing examples of how this content can be taught in schools. This task is especially important, and also problematic, when it comes to technology and science education, where hands-on components such as design/construction exercises, laboratory…

This study explored whether, and how, preservice elementary teachers' scientific curiosity related to their confidence for science teaching. A group of 29 preservice, elementary teachers in the U.S. engaged in a curiosity journaling strategy across a 16-week scientific inquiry course. Their expressions of curiosity were coded using Luce and Hsi's…

This work reports a classroom experience of a general physics course designed to foster also the initiation of preservice mathematics and biology teachers to physics pedagogical content knowledge. To modify the conceptions that these students have about teaching and learning, the course was taught using different active learning instructional…

There is a growing emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education focused learning spaces vis-à-vis science education in the US public schools. These STEM learning spaces mostly take place in informal learning spaces such as STEM makerspace, coding academies, and STEM camps. With this emphasis, teachers teaching…

National reform documents and shifts in educational standards have continued to highlight the importance of engineering and engineering practices within science literacy. High-quality engineering opportunities must be present in formal education due to their association with problem-solving and critical thinking. Given this directive to reach…

There is a growing need for science educators and communicators who can support public understanding of complex science issues. Furthermore, little is known about how to nurture career aspirations for teaching science. This study examined the influence of youth volunteer experiences on career aspirations through a lens of science identity.…