Scientists and Science Educators Mentoring Secondary Science Teachers

This paper examines secondary science teachers' perspectives of the role that mentoring by a scientist and science educator pair played in their professional development. Multiple data sources from three years of a professional development project, including interviews, participant reflections, and a focus group, were used to examine the benefits, supporting characteristics, and challenges of the mentoring relationship. Results indicated that primary benefits of the mentoring included assistance in translating science content and inquiry‐based pedagogy from the professional development into practice and breaking the isolation felt by secondary science teachers. Specific characteristics that were found to support the teachers in the mentoring relationship included: (1) mentors who were seen as objective, outside observers; (2) a sustained relationship with the mentors; and (3) accountability. Challenges included matching scientists' and science educators' content expertise with teachers' curriculum and the negotiation of roles and expectations between the teachers and mentors.     

Science Vocabulary Load of Selected Secondary Science Textbooks

It has been argued that many students view science as a collection of facts and terms to be memorized. Robert Yager (1983) analyzed secondary level science textbooks to determine vocabulary load and found that the amount of new vocabulary terms presented in such textbooks is higher than that recommended for junior high and high school foreign language courses. Three textbooks analyzed in that study were re-evaluated, taking into account limitations expressed in the earlier study. The new study also included analysis of an earth science textbook; the first study did not. The re-analysis produced a noticeable reduction in vocabulary load estimates with only one book, Modern Chemistry, still measuring above the recommended level for foreign language courses. It is argued that the amount of vocabulary load presented is still too high and may contribute to the problem of science avoidance by secondary students.     

Teaching Science as Science Is Practiced: Opportunities and Limits for Enhancing Preservice Elementary Teachers' Self‐Efficacy for Science and Science Teaching

Science teaching in elementary schools, or the lack thereof, continues to be an area of concern and criticism. Preservice elementary teachers' lack of confidence in teaching science is a major part of this problem. In this mixed‐methods study, we report the impacts of an inquiry‐based science course on preservice elementary teachers' self‐efficacy for science and science teaching, understanding of science, and willingness to teach it in their future careers. Our findings suggest that for some students, the inquiry‐based science course positively influenced their self‐efficacy for science and science teaching. Gains were made in a majority of students' conceptual understanding of science, understanding of the science process and scientific research, and confidence with science and science teaching. The subjects did not experience the course uniformly, however. Rather, there appeared to be two distinct groups, one on a trajectory of improving their outlook on science teaching and one worsening. The results presented here therefore provoke some interesting questions regarding preservice elementary teachers' preparation for science teaching.     

Representations of Nature of Science in Selected Histories of Science in the Integrated Science Textbooks in China

This study aimed to examine the representations of nature of science (NOS) in the eight histories of science selected from three series of integrated science textbooks used in junior high school in China. Ten aspects of NOS were adopted in the analytical framework. It was found that NOS had not been well treated in the selected histories of science in the three series of science textbooks. Specifically, it was found that the empirical and inferential aspects were treated better than other aspects, and discrepancies existed among the three series of science textbooks and among the eight histories of science in terms of dealing with the target NOS aspects. Implications for addressing NOS in historical materials in science textbooks were discussed in the final part of this paper.