New reforms and the Next Generation Science Standards call for three-dimensional learning through the integration of the crosscutting concepts (CCCs) with the science and engineering practices (SEPs) and disciplinary core ideas (DCIs). However, teachers face challenges in knowing how and why to incorporate the CCCs in their planning and teaching,…

Teaching practice internships provide opportunities for pre-service teachers (PSTs) to enact their knowledge in real classroom settings. This paper investigated PSTs' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) about electrostatics, its translation into practice and factors that affect the translation. The refined consensus model (RCM) of PCK served as…

This study examined the impact of a practice-based approach to in-service science teacher education, using small-group discussions about photovoltaic (PV) science to support teachers' instruction on sustainable energy transitions in response to climate change risks. Ultimately, we aimed to promote teachers' PV science comprehension as well as…

Learning to plan modeling-based investigations (MBIs) presents significant challenges for pre-service elementary teachers. Although they understand disciplinary core ideas and modeling practices, they address both as competing learning goals and, as novices, they have not experienced how to structure MBIs for their future students. In the context…

A mixed-methods, quasi-experimental design was employed to explore how the Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) framework along with written, verbal, and peer scaffolds would influence early childhood/elementary and elementary/middle childhood preservice teachers' (PSTs) abilities to formulate scientific explanations within a physical science…

Developing knowledge about science instruction is critical for preservice teachers. This study explores how 79 elementary preservice teachers perceive the relevance and importance of assessment task scenarios designed to elicit information about content knowledge for teaching (CKT) about matter and its interactions--a foundational topic for…

Recent national reforms focus on learning disciplinary core ideas through engaging in science and engineering practices. These reforms also call for students and teachers to use crosscutting concepts (CCCs), or analytical lenses, that support scientific sensemaking and connections across disciplines. The "Framework for K-12 Science…

As elementary schools across the U.S. continue to adopt new science education reform, attention is needed to understand how teachers make sense of using engineering design to teach science in their classroom settings. This study examined fourth-grade teachers' sense-making with learning to integrate engineering design-based science instruction and…

A common practice amongst scientists is to evaluate the connections between evidence and claims about natural and human-induced phenomena. Teacher education coursework may improve understanding of this important activity and facilitate teachers to implement evidential thinking approaches into their future science teaching. Instructional scaffolds…

This article is a qualitative study that explored bilingual/ESL science teachers' reflections about subject matter knowledge (SMK) and instructional practice in the elementary grades. Thirty-three teachers were part of a 5-year professional development program designed to enhance instructional quality and effectiveness to teach English learners.…

To support science teachers in learning how to engage in ambitious teaching practices, teacher educators, professional development facilitators, and researchers need to develop a nuanced understanding of the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) that science teachers access and use in their daily work. Despite the consensus on the importance of…

Climate change is complex and controversial in nature, yet seen by educators and policymakers as an important topic to be taught within secondary science education. Teachers' beliefs about the instruction of climate change are unclear. The presence of controversy can influence teachers' instructional decisions causing confusion about the science…

We report on seven secondary science teachers' initial efforts to understand and enact NGSS-aligned teaching. After interviewing and observing them over the course of the school year, we found that teachers revised their lessons to include instructional strategies that aimed to meet the demands of the NGSS. Yet at times, the purpose for which…

The academic language of science includes science content words and words that describe the practices of scientists. The present study examined science vocabulary knowledge and science vocabulary instruction practices of pre-service teachers enrolled in a primary science methods course. This exploratory mixed-methods study presents quantitative…

Prospective teachers perceive peer coaching as a supportive learning opportunity providing benefits in peers' engagement in active learning, communicative competences, and critical thinking about teaching. Little is known about whether peer coaching also promotes the development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in teacher education, which is…