The addition of the arts to STEM education, now known as STEAM, adds a new dimension to problem-solving within those fields, offering students tools such as imagination and resourcefulness to incorporate into their designs. However, the shift from STEM to STEAM has changed what it means for students to learn within and across these disciplines.…

Undergraduate college "science partners" provided content knowledge and a supportive atmosphere for K-5 teachers in a university-school professional development partnership program in science instruction. The Elementary Science Education Partners program, a Local Systemic Change initiative supported by the National Science Foundation,…

This study has resulted in an elementary science methods course that facilitates the identification and description of the changes in students' conceptions and understanding of inquiry teaching, and the cultural influences, reflections, and situational factors influencing these changes. Written responses to open-ended questions, reflective…

We developed a course in inquiry-based science for students training to become primary school teachers. The emphasis of the course was teaching students to do inquiry-based science activities themselves, as this is the best way of learning how to teach using inquiry-based methods. (Contains 1 table.)

Science 101 was designed by a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional team, with leadership from the Departments of Biology and Teacher Education, and participation by faculty in the Departments of Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics, the College of Engineering, and master teachers from school districts in the state of Illinois. Their goal was to…

This study reports on the measured change in the attitude of students toward teaching science as a result of their experiences in an elementary activity-based science course for preservice elementary teachers. Overall, the students in this study showed a positive shift in attitude as measured by the Revised Science Attitude Scale instrument that…

"Science for Girls: Successful Classroom Strategies" looks at how girls learn, beginning with the time they are born through both the informal and formal education process. In the author's current role as professor of science education, Dr. Goetz has surveyed hundreds of female elementary education majors in their junior and senior year of…