Most middle school science curriculum has been created to provide superficial treatment of the different subject areas (earth, life, and physical science), and in-depth coverage of very little. The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) criticism of the typical American school curriculum is that it is a "mile wide and an…

According to the National Science Education Standards, Standard A states that science students must have the abilities and understandings necessary to do scientific inquiry. The Standards explicitly state that small groups of students should hypothesize from prior experiences, construct explanations, evaluate explanations, design investigations,…

A workshop to introduce teachers to scientific inquiry as described in the "National Science Education Standards" is designed. Participants were involved in brief case studies and activities, treated to an explanation of "Science as Inquiry," and recommendations for professional development were made. Workshop participants were…

This paper presents the preservice teacher portfolio as a multidimensional tool, addressing three dimensions of the portfolio based on data compiled within one university's teacher preparation program. It recommends the preservice teacher portfolio as a viable tool for assessing preservice teachers' capacity (knowledge, skills, dispositions, and…