The shortage of science teachers in the United States and throughout the world indicates a collective need to recruit more students into the science teaching field and to retain current science teachers. This study explores the profiles of U.S. science teacher candidates and investigates what attracts and discourages these pre-service teachers…

The science education literature clearly shows that knowledge of the nature of technology is an educational goal; however there is a lack of research on student conceptions about the nature of technology. To address this gap in the literature, this research began with a thorough review of the literature on scientific and technological literacy,…

"If someone were traveling to our area for the first time during this time of year, what would you tell them to bring to wear? Why?" This question was used to engage students in a guided-inquiry unit about how climate differs from weather. In this lesson, students explored local and national data sets to give "travelers" advice…

This study is an initial analytic attempt to iteratively develop a conceptual framework informed by both theoretical and practical perspectives that may be used to analyze non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks. Despite the importance of visual representations in teaching and learning, little effort has been made to specify in any…

Background: Research on teacher-student relationships has focused logically on classroom talk. Investigations of classroom talk range from broad consideration of the structures of such talk to a somewhat narrower focus on the interpersonal dimensions of such talk, and their consequences for student achievement and motivation. Purpose: This study…

In teaching middle school students about diseases and microbes, it is surprising to discover how little they know about transmission. Misconceptions range from the idea that "giving a disease to someone" actually means "giving it away so you didn't have it anymore yourself" to a lack of understanding that tiny living things,…

The purpose of this research report is to describe some of the findings from a study of teacher investigations of students' work. The intent of the teacher investigations was for teachers to interpret their students' thinking as revealed on non-routine, thought-revealing mathematical tasks, known as Case Studies for Kids (Lesh, Hoover, Hole, Kelly…