The purpose of this study is to describe the conditions under which diffracting noticing becomes both a process and product in dynamic relations to re-imagine preservice science teachers' becoming as ethical mattering, a concept rooted in a relational ontology of change and emergence. Drawing on theories of posthumanism, this study theorized…

This study examined the impact of action research conducted by five science teaching methods course instructors on their students' perceptions of the classroom learning environments at a large public university in Texas. The study analyzed the results from 133 students who completed two administrations of the What is Happening in this Class…

Given the myriad mandates and policies related to math and language arts education, U.S. public elementary teachers must "care about" teaching science for it to actually happen. Consequently, this study sought to explore the impacts of assignments in a science methods course supporting teacher candidates (TCs) in "caring about"…

Research and national surveys show that deficiencies in elementary science teaching preparation are frustratingly persistent. Understanding positive and negative emotions as they relate to planning and teaching science is relevant for both the well-being of teachers and the quality of their teaching. There needs to be more empirical evidence on…

This study reports on eleven second-year teachers who were all students in the same practice-based secondary science methods courses framed around ambitious science teaching. In this qualitative embedded single case study, we examined if, how, and why novice teachers linked their current critical pedagogical discourses and instruction back to any…

Literature suggests the transfer of understanding the nature of science to instructional practice requires preservice teachers to value teaching about the nature of science. Despite decades of research developing preservice teachers' views of nature of science, there is still a disconnect between their understanding and instructional practice.…

This study investigates how preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) engage and reflect on two science disciplinary practices: engaging with representations and engaging in evidence-based arguments. In the context of elementary science, teachers blend multiple practices across curricular topics and instruction. However, studies of teachers' use of…

Preservice elementary teachers need to be able to engage young students in science practices but may not have extensive experiences with those practices. They also may have contrasting beliefs about them, which inform their teaching practice. To understand preservice teachers' beliefs related to science practices, we focus on the connections they…

Research on teacher identity has suggested that being able to envision oneself as a teacher of science is an important part of becoming a teacher of science. Identity is a multifaceted construct and for prospective elementary teachers there are many possible sources for learning about what it means to be a teacher and these sources may tell…

This study investigated the nature of the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) development among 22 prospective teachers enrolled in an elementary science methods course. The nature of prospective teachers' PCK development was investigated in relation to their experiences in planning, enacting, and reflecting upon a Physical science lesson. The…

The Next Generation Science Standards articulate a new vision for K-12 science learning that engages students in disciplinary practices to encourage deeper participation in and understandings of science and engineering. Teacher educators have a major responsibility in helping pre-service teachers (PSTs) develop knowledge of these practices and…

If the declines in interest and performance within school science are to be reversed, it is imperative that competent and confident teachers deliver quality science experiences. This paper reports on the long-term implementation of two complementary, student-centered tertiary science methods courses that integrated instruction in content with…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate preservice elementary teachers' science teacher identity development during their participation in the field-based science methods course and a year after. Grounded within the Feiman-Nemser's thematic framework of learning to teach, this study utilized a case study approach aimed to examine…

Meaningfully engaging students in the NGSS scientific practices requires that student ideas become the driving force of classroom activity. However, in order for student ideas to take on this new role, teachers must engage in responsive teaching in which they elicit, notice, and respond to the substance of student thinking. In this work, we…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) on which they are based, describe a new vision for science education that includes having students learn science in a way that more closely aligns to how scientists and engineers work and think. Accomplishing this goal will require teacher…