Elementary school teachers are commonly known to have low self-efficacy in mathematics and science. Previously conducted research on science teaching self-efficacy and content knowledge has often focused on whether methods courses, professional development or other interventions improve both self-efficacy and content knowledge among elementary…

This article describes a culminating assignment for students enrolled in a human ecology course in a Masters in Science Education program. The goal of this assignment was for students to use published scientific data to link daily life, human impact, and sustainability to ecological function. This activity required students to consider the…

This paper describes the Science in the City seminar, an innovative approach to in-service and preservice science teacher development that bridges formal and informal science learning contexts. Drawing upon the tenets of design and evaluation research, the study focuses on the teachers' presentations of evidence of student learning from trips they…

This qualitative study looks at 23 elementary preservice teachers' roles as science teachers and the importance of understanding linguistic diversity for science instruction. Using individual and group reflection papers, two important points are made that reflect the importance of preparing preservice teachers in science. Explicit conversations…