This article reports on changes in science discourse practices of four teachers who participated in an extended professional development (PD) program. Teachers were selected for their different patterns of improvement in the quality of their classroom discourse during their participation in the program. Analyses of their practices to support…

Describes the theoretical premises of project-based instruction and its features. Presents a model of collaboration between teachers and university faculty designed to support teachers in attempts to enact project-based instruction. Describes the teachers in the initial collaboration, the science projects they enacted, and the methods used to…

Examines one teacher's attempts to understand and enact a nonprescriptive, nonlinear project-based approach to science instruction. Details the challenges the teacher faced in enacting two projects and some of the dilemmas she faced as some of her previous beliefs about teaching and learning came into conflict with her emerging understanding of…

Four case studies demonstrate how middle grade teachers addressed the challenges and dilemmas of enacting project-based science in their classrooms. Notes that the teachers attempted to enact several common features of project-based science, including student collaboration and ownership and the use of technology. Also notes that teachers'…

Draws conclusions regarding how five teachers learned to enact project-based science, a method grounded in constructivist theory. Describes how the teacher-researcher collaborative activities unfolded, based on a model of teacher change that focused on cycles of collaboration, enactment, and reflection and how these activities contributed to a…