Describes the objectives and format of a course developed at the University of British Columbia (Canada) that was designed to introduce information technology to preservice science teachers. Sample student microcomputer-based laboratory projects are described that include computer simulations, multimedia presentations, and videodiscs; and…

The purpose of this study was to develop a picture of how preservice science teachers? instructional concerns changed during a yearlong science methods program spanning initial classroom observations through student teaching. Another goal of this study was to determine the teachers? ideas about inquiry teaching and the influence of their methods…

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…

Inquiry Into Life Science is a content biology course expressly for the fulfillment of the General Education life science laboratory course requirement of elementary education majors at this university. The course is modeled on the Teaching Standards and Content Standards of the National Science Education Standards [National Research Council.…

This survey paper uses a framework derived from Herman and Winters (1994) to analyze seven selected research studies for evidence of electronic portfolios' technical quality, implementation effects, fairness, feasibility, and tool effects. Analysis sought to determine what methodologies and instruments for data collection yielded useful…

The Eisenhower Pre-Service Teacher Education Project was developed by the University of Central Florida, the five community colleges in Region III of the Higher Education Consortium, and the private college and universities in the same region to design curriculum changes to improve the preparation of elementary and secondary math and science…

This report orients the reader to the Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation (MCTP) and gives an overview of the ongoing research activities being conducted within the project. The MCTP is a National Science Foundation funded statewide undergraduate program for students who plan to become specialist mathematics and science upper elementary…

This paper reports the results of a deliberate effort to help preservice science teachers improve their ability to learn from experience and take charge of their own professional development as teachers. The study was conducted by a teacher educator who simultaneously taught a physics methods course and a 12th-grade physics class and thereby…

This case study describes a preservice program for prospective high school science teachers at Monash University in Victoria, Australia. The program views student teaching as only the first stage of career-long professional development, promotes the notion of the reflective practitioner, maximizes student teachers' contacts with school pupils and…

This paper presents a formative evaluation report, representing the accumulation of evaluation reports and materials from the first year of the New York Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (NYCETP) cooperative workshop efforts. The goal of the collaborative is to produce well-qualified teachers of science and mathematics for New…

Within the past several years of education reform, portfolios and other types of performance-based assessment have come to be recognized as viable alternatives to standardized tests. This report discusses insights gained through the use of portfolios at the university level with preservice students and their field-based experiences. Although…

National science and mathematics standards stress the importance of integrating technology use into those fields of study at all levels of education. In order to fulfill these directives, it is necessary to introduce both in-service and preservice teachers to various forms of technology while modeling its appropriate use in investigating…

Many of the most exciting advances in science are taking place in biology, yet many students leave school without having learned biology's basic principles, and few are stimulated enough to continue in the sciences. This book presents information and expert views from teachers, curriculum developers, and others on why and where biology education…

Critiques of 10 articles reporting research studies focused on various aspects of attitude development in science education and of six research articles related to investigations of learning and cognitive development are contained in this issue. Seven of the attitude articles describe investigations designed to change the attitudes of both…

This report is part of a paper set which focuses on a project designated as "Applying Research to Teacher Education (ARTE)." It reviews application possibilities of teacher effectiveness research in elementary classrooms to science teaching at the secondary level. Mills College (Oakland, California) was one of the sites involved in the…