In this article the authors share how social media, paired with gaming and in-class supports, can facilitate the practice of scientific argumentation and report data that show how students can learn and practice argumentation through these highly interactive and engaging mediums. Social media will continue to evolve and fluctuate in popularity,…

The present article analyses the changes in practices, ideas, and attitudes proposed by a group of novice science teachers during a further education teacher training program. The research on which it is based is focused on monitoring the training program and its impact on the participating teachers. The training program has as its starting point…

This dissertation evaluated the implementation of professional learning communities in a large suburban school district in North Carolina. The presence of shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collective learning and application, shared personal practice, supportive conditions for relationships, and supportive conditions for…

Science educators often suggest that students should learn science in ways and settings that bear family resemblance with "the real thing." Internship in science laboratories constitutes one such way in which students may learn science and learn about science. However, very little is known about "how" participants experience a…

We describe a longitudinal study of a secondary education biology teacher at two moments in her career (1993-2002), determining the changes in her conceptions of the nature of science and its teaching and learning, and the factors that favored or hindered such changes. The changes were analyzed using cognitive maps, constructed on the basis of the…

Whether poor knowledge of evolution among Singapore students might be linked to low levels of content knowledge about evolution among junior high school and senior high school teachers was studied. A teacher questionnaire on biological evolution was developed. Twelve teachers from Singapore junior college (JC) schools and 42 from the lower…

Presented are the results documenting the proof-of-concept effectiveness of an 8-day afterschool professional development program through which secondary science teachers learned to implement an instructional method using historical cases in biology to teach nature of science concepts. Results of the study using a variety of quantitative and…

Examination of the content knowledge of six experienced secondary school physics and biology teachers through observation of instructional planning indicated that the influence of the teachers' subject matter knowledge was evident in their modifications of textbook subject matter content and through their use of explanatory representations.…

Lists biology teachers' top 11 inservice needs, as revealed from a survey of Illinois science teachers (N=403). Compares needs of biology teachers (N=93) with those of science teachers in general. (CS)

Describes a study on establishing the current status of and exploring the relationships among the variables of high school biology teachers' acceptance of evolutionary theory and teacher understanding of the nature of science. (Contains 23 references.) (ASK)

Presented is a paper on many developments in the training and retraining of school biology teachers. The author analyzes teacher education in the biological sciences on an international basis to find similarities in approaches. The need to develop in teachers an awareness of the importance of retraining, and the problem of evaluation of retraining…

This Issue Brief introduces a measure of teacher qualifications that includes additional detail on the educational backgrounds and certifications of out-of-field teachers. The focal subject for the Issue Brief is biology/life science (called biology in this Issue Brief) at the secondary level. Biology was selected because of its high enrollment…

Reported is a study which investigated reasons responsible for the lack of enthusiasm among junior high teachers in implementing a new biology curriculum in Israel. Identified variables related to high expectations set at the ideal level, the greater role given to verbalization, and mechanical or routine implementation approaches. (ML)

Examines problems with current science education reform, which seems to ignore needs of the majority of students, and presents basic premises and models of science reform, and proposes an informal network of teachers of average students to structure an interactive curriculum. (SM)

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)