What do aspiring and practicing elementary science teacher education faculty need to know as they plan and carry out instruction for future elementary science teachers? This scholarly and practical guide for science teacher educators outlines the theory, principles, and strategies needed, and provides classroom examples anchored to those principles. The theoretical and empirical foundations are supported by scholarship in the field, and the practical examples are derived from activities, lessons, and units field-tested in the authors’ elementary science methods courses. Designing and Teaching the Elementary Science Methods Course is grounded in the theoretical framework of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), which describes how teachers transform subject matter knowledge into viable instruction in their discipline. Chapters on science methods students as learners, the science methods course curriculum, instructional strategies, methods course assessment, and the field experience help readers develop their PCK for teaching prospective elementary science teachers. "Activities that Work" and "Tools for Teaching the Methods Course" provide useful examples for putting this knowledge into action in the elementary science methods course.

This state-of-the art research Handbook provides a comprehensive, coherent, current synthesis of the empirical and theoretical research concerning teaching and learning in science and lays down a foundation upon which future research can be built.aa aaaaaa The contributors, all leading experts in their research areas, represent the international and gender diversity that exists in the science education research community.a a As a whole, the Handbook of Research on Science Education demonstrates that science education is alive and well and illustrates its vitality. It is an essential resource for the entire science education community, including veteran and emerging researchers, university faculty, graduate students, practitioners in the schools, and science education professionals outside of universities. The National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) endorses the Handbook of Research on Science Education as an important and valuable synthesis of the current knowledge in the field of science education by leading individuals in the field.a For more information on NARST, please visit: http: //www.narst.org/."

"This book is the result of more than a decade of work with teachers through the Quality Elementary Science Teaching professional development program. We used two frameworks that come together in powerful ways to support student learning in science -- the 5E Learning Cycle and Universal Design for Learning. Using these frameworks encourages teachers to rethink how they have typically approached lessons and to reframe them in ways that mirror how students learn, that provide depth and conceptual coherence, and that support the success of all learners. Implementing these frameworks doesn't require adopting a new curriculum, but working with the existing curricula and resources to identify barriers to learning and possible solutions -- in other words, using a sharper knife, a bigger fork, or a deeper spoon to more effectively deal with what's already on your plate! The information in this book will be useful to individual teachers seeking to improve their craft, or to groups of teachers collaborating to support student success in science. In particular, general educators and special educators who are co-teaching science may find valuable common ground in the ideas presented in the book. Even if you are familiar with these frameworks, we believe you will find something new within these pages"--