As part of learning to teach, teachers must learn to use a range of teaching practices. In this longitudinal study the authors explore how novice elementary teachers learn to engage in a set of high-leverage science teaching practices, such as "leading a science sensemaking discussion" and "setting up and managing small-group…

The limited availability of research instruments that reflect the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) restricts the field's understanding of whether and how teachers are making instructional shifts called for by the standards. The need for such instruments is particularly urgent with teachers of multilingual learners (MLs), who…

Although teachers have opportunities to learn about many things through teaching experience, we know little about how they develop science subject matter knowledge in this setting. With both limited opportunities to learn science subject matter knowledge before becoming teachers and minimal science professional development available while working…

Despite the importance of developing elementary science teachers' content knowledge for teaching (CKT), there are limited assessments that have been designed to measure the full breadth of their CKT at scale. Our overall research project addressed this gap by developing an online assessment to measure elementary preservice teachers' CKT about…

To gain a holistic understanding of how science teachers dealt with STEM education, this study explored two science teachers' perceptions and practices at primary schools via the lens of curriculum ideology. By examining their perceptions and practices from six essential aspects (i.e., aim, content, student, teaching, learning, and assessment), we…

Engaging children in argumentation-focused discussions is essential to helping them collaboratively make sense of scientific phenomena. To support this effort, teachers must listen and be responsive to students' ideas to move the discussion forward with the goal of reaching consensus. Given the complexity of this ambitious science teaching…

Although research has highlighted the challenges of teaching in urban settings, particularly for science teachers, it has paid less attention to the development of science teaching identities in urban settings. This paper situates science teaching identity within societal discourses of science, education, and teaching to explore the ways in which…

Instructional shifts required by equitable, reform-based science instruction are challenging, especially in the elementary context. Such shifts require professional development (PD) that supports teacher internalization of new pedagogical strategies as well as changes in beliefs about how students learn. Because of this complexity, many PD…

Engineering education research has highlighted the importance of examining, understanding, and supporting teacher learning and identity development, particularly for those that hold marginalized identities. As part of the special issue on Teacher Learning and Organizational Contexts, this study examines the intricate relationship between powered…

Science teaching anxiety is negative emotion that inhibits a teacher's ability to start, proceed, or finish a science teaching task. Despite its detrimental effects on teachers' science teaching quality and practices, there is limited research on science teaching anxiety. To advance research in this area, there is a need for a psychometrically…

Engaging students in scientific argumentation is a hallmark of high-quality science instruction. Despite the importance of this practice, it is not a ubiquitous one within K-12 classrooms since scientific argumentation is complex and difficult to learn how to do well. In this study, we examined similarities and differences in how preservice…

This paper is part of the special issue on Teacher Learning and Practice within Organizational Contexts. Shifting instructional practices in elementary schools to include more equitable, reform-based pedagogies is imperative for supporting students' development as science learners. Teachers need high quality professional development (PD) to learn…

Science teachers struggle to implement and sustain new curricular ideas from professional development (PD) experiences. These PD opportunities are crucial for enacting real-world changes to teaching practice and address pressing global challenges, such as the teaching and learning of socioscientific topics nested in school communities.…

This comparative case study explored the ways two elementary Teachers of Color's science teacher identities and agency to teach science developed as they participated in a year-long science professional development that was situated within the high-stakes testing context of their school. The science professional development model used a dialogical…

A critical component to disciplinary engagement in science is that of epistemic affect--learning how to "feel" as scientists do when engaged in their work. The emotional responses, feelings, and dispositions that emerge as one participates in the construction of knowledge are part and parcel to the experiences of scientists and, we…