This paper describes an ongoing high school science teacher professional development project, Beyond Final Form Science, that focuses on developing teachers' ideas of scientific inquiry and inquiry pedagogy. It analyzes the first several months of the project, highlighting analyses of teachers' interactions during monthly professional development…

This study examined how prior knowledge and experience influenced first-career and second-career beginning science teachers' curriculum and classroom instruction. Observations and interviews indicated that teachers compromised their beliefs about good content and became similar by the end of the year. The classroom curricula of both groups emerged…

Examines the differences between the expectations of high school teachers and college chemistry instructors concerning students who plan to study college chemistry. Focuses on questions dealing with knowledge of chemical concepts and skills using those concepts. A plan of action is suggested. (YP)

Reports the results of a summer institute for secondary science teachers involved in teaching evolutionary biology. Discusses changes in teacher conceptual understanding, anxiety, the adoption of peer discussion on evolution within their instruction, and the influence of peer or mentor teachers on the decision to include peer discussion. (LZ)

Reports a study that investigated how middle and high school content teachers shaped the interaction opportunities of their mainstreamed English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. Observations of three science teachers indicated that all three teachers unwittingly limited the ESL students' opportunities to interact verbally by increasing their…

Two job analyses were conducted to define knowledge domains for newly certified chemistry and physics teachers, respectively, to perform their jobs competently. The results of the job analyses will be used to develop test specifications for the Praxis II Series subject Assessments in Chemistry and Physics. Initial draft domains were prepared for…

Presented is a survey study funded by the Educational Research Institute of British Columbia (ERIBC), Canada. The purpose of this study was to compare current practices used in the teaching of science to limited success students in British Columbia junior secondary schools and those practices advocated in the literature from other countries. A…

The shortage of well-trained science and mathematics teachers, better textbooks, curricula, and instructional theories are discussed. Beginning in 1985, the National Science Foundation focused on projects that will strengthen science and mathematics education for students at the middle/junior high school and elementary levels. (MLW)

"Accelerate Online/OPTIONS" is a three component program for certifying secondary mathematics and science teachers in Texas. "Accelerate Online/OPTIONS" provides those possessing or pursuing science degrees with an online program of education that can be completed in 12-18 months. The On-line Curriculum consists of 35 online…

Science and social science teachers (N=198) were surveyed to determine interest in interdisciplinary instruction, perception of current interdisciplinary approaches, and preferred forms for learning more about interdisciplinary instruction. Results and implications are discussed with listings of process skills identified as important and…

Discusses teachers' responses to a survey on teacher competency testing. Describes Georgia's competency test and its results. Investigates the use of classroom performance as a test factor. Presents Georgia's test development process. (MLV)

This article reports the development and application of two instruments for assessing science teachers' pedagogical knowledge in the context of teaching higher-order thinking: a Likert-type research instrument, and an instrument that analyzes classroom observations. The rationale for developing these instruments and their main categories is…

This research reports on the efforts of six middle school and high school science teachers in a public school district in New York City to balance innovative teaching methods and strategies with the New York State Learning Standards and Regents requirements. More specifically, this research examines the factors that influenced the implementation…

The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of an existing instrument, the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES)(Taylor, Dawson & Fraser, 1995; Taylor, Fraser & Fisher, 1993, 1997), for providing insights into the classroom learning environments of beginning science teachers. In the first year of the study, the CLES was…

To explore issue-specific barriers to teaching environmental issues, the authors investigated secondary science teachers' perceived current and preferred teaching levels for 23 environmental issues and perceived barriers to teaching the selected issues. Subjects in this graduate project were 41 secondary science teachers self-selected to answer a…