Rose M. Pringle

Integrating Reading into Middle School Science: What we did, found and learned

Recent calls for border crossing between reading and science have heightened the need to support science teachers in integrating reading into science and to verify the robustness of this approach in the context of inquiry‐based science. In this paper, we share what we did, found, and learned in a collaborative project in which a team of university‐based reading educators and school‐based science teachers worked together to infuse reading strategy instruction and quality science trade books into inquiry‐based sixth‐grade science classrooms. We suggest that infusing reading into middle school science enhances science teaching and learning, but is a complex, multifaceted undertaking.

Preservice Teachers' Exploration of Children's Alternative Conceptions: Cornerstone for Planning to Teach Science.

Investigation involving children’s understandings of scientific concepts have been a dominant area of research in science education over the last 2 1/2 decades. One fruitful outcome of these studies is to alert teachers to difficulties in learning science. Although this information is commendable in highlighting their existence, not much is presented on how to deal with the alternative conceptions. It is generally believed that teachers tend to teach the way they were taught, and breaking this cycle requires different emphasis on pedagogy in teacher education. The focus of this article is on preservice teachers’ experiences in a science education course as they explore the importance of children’s alternative conceptions and in using such knowledge to make decisions about teaching.

The impacts of professional learning communities on science teachers’ knowledge, practice and student learning: a review

The purpose of this article is to provide a review of empirical studies investigating the impact of professional learning communities (PLCs) on science teachers’ practices and knowledge. Across 14 articles that satisfied the definition we embraced, most were devoted to the change in science teaching practices, disciplinary content knowledge (DCK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of K–12 science teachers. Although a small number of studies have implicit focus on comparing measures of student learning, we set out to examine the studies in science education and present how teachers engaged in PLCs focusing on examining and exploring strategies to promote student learning. Analysis of the related studies resulted in the following: PLCs can help teachers increase their PCK and DCK; increases in PCK and DCK may facilitate the change in teacher practices from traditional into more inquiry-based approaches; science teachers collaboratively focusing on student learning in PLCs are more likely to change their practice; and studies do not embrace student learning as an essential feature of PLCs. Methodological flaws and future directions along with implications for science teachers’ professional development are discussed.

Evolution in the Caribbean Classroom: A critical analysis of the role of biology teachers and science standards in shaping evolution instruction in Belize

A survey of the literature on evolution instruction provides evidence that teachers’ personal views and understandings can shape instructional approaches and content delivered in science classrooms regardless of established science standards. This study is the first to quantify evolutionary worldviews of in-service teachers in the Caribbean, specifically in Belize, an English-speaking nation with a high school system guided by a regional biology syllabus and strict standardized tests. Using the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument and knowledge test, we investigated (1) the current level of acceptance and understanding of evolution as given by 97% of high school biology teachers in Belize; (2) the factors associated with acceptance and understanding of evolutionary theory. With an average MATE score of 64.4 and a mean knowledge score of 47.9%, Belizean teachers were classified as having both ‘Low Acceptance’ and ‘Low Understanding’ of evolutionary theory. A positive correlation was found between teacher acceptance and understanding of evolution. A review of the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate biology syllabus suggests that evolution plays a minimal role in the high school biology classroom. We believe that Belize presents a unique opening for future training on evolution instruction since 57% of the biology teachers self-proclaim to be unprepared to teach evolution. The results of this study have implications for policy, practice and research with teachers’ acceptance, understanding and confidence in teaching evolution serving as important predictors for instructional approaches used in the biology classroom.

Scholarship in Science Education

Science education reform efforts set expectations for K-12 education to produce scientifically literate individuals. Implicit in this reform is the need for preservice teachers to be engaged in learning that builds their knowledge, understanding, and ability toward good science teaching. In this paper, I describe some of the experiences in science education for preservice elementary teachers and their reactions to the activities as indicated by their responses on an exit survey. The preservice teachers assess the effectiveness of each activity based on their expectations of the course, and the extent to which the activities are reproducible in elementary classrooms.

Preparing Science Teachers for Diversity: Integrating the Contributions of Scientists from Underrepresented Groups in the Middle School Science Curriculum

Preservice teachers often create profiles of scientists based on stereotypes that have become embedded in their consciousness. Given the inextricable link between teachers’ belief and instructional practices, as science teacher educators, we believed it was important to tease out the stereotypes that preservice teachers have about scientists. In this chapter, we describe our efforts to provide pedagogical opportunities for preservice teachers to broaden their concept of multicultural science education and ways to engage the personal and cultural identities of their learners into their science lessons. Some of these strategies specifically involve the infusion of the contributions to science made by scientists from underrepresented groups in the sciences. Activities conducted in our science education course reveal that the image of the White male overwhelmingly persists as the classical representation of a scientist. Some of our preservice teachers argued that ethnic groups do not readily come to mind when they think about scientists. Scholars and researchers involved with the development of curriculum that embraces multicultural education cannot assume that the perceptions of scientists have transcended the White male stereotype. We contend that preservice teachers should be given opportunities to develop images of scientists beyond the monoculture of White male dominance in order to effectively implement science curriculum that acknowledges the contributions made to science by scientists from underrepresented groups. This however is a first step, as science teacher educators must enact practices that shift preservice teachers toward transformative practices and a recognition of their roles as effective agents for social change.

Making It Visual: Creating a Model of the Atom

This article describes a lesson in which students construct Bohrs planetary model of the atom. Niels Bohrs atomic model provides a framework for discussing with middle and high school students the historical development of our understanding of the structure of the atom. The model constructed in this activity will enable students to visualize the components of the atom and to understand that the atom is mostly empty space with its mass concentrated in the nucleus.

AEEC Resource Reviews

Wildlife for Sale is the second module in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) environmental education program Windows on the Wild (WOW). The WOW program is targeted to middle school students and uses the topic of biodiversity as a “window” to help learners explore social, political, scientific, economic, and ethical issues associated with biodiversity. The module was developed by a team of more than 30 people at WWF, reviewed by 38 expert reviewers, and pilot tested by 36 educators. The Wildlife for Sale module examines people’s relationship with wildlife and how this can affect biodiversity. For example, many people do not realize how purchasing something like an exotic orchid, coral jewelry, a snakeskin belt or a colorful parrot can affect biodiversity thousands of miles away. Through a series of 15 interdisciplinary activities students learn about international trade in wildlife and wildlife products. The activities highlight many aspects of wildlife trade ranging from problems associated with illegal trade to how people are working to address the challenges of wildlife trade. The curriculum module is nicely laid out and lavishly illustrated with numerous graphics, photos, sidebar quotes and biofacts. One interesting biofact describes how five smugglers attempting to get a gorilla out of Miami in 1993 had the shock of their lives when the gorilla told them they were under arrest. The ape was actually a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent dressed in a gorilla suit. These novel tidbits of information and conservation-related quotes are just a few of the many tools available to help make this topic fun for students. The module begins by introducing the WOW program and describing Wildlife for Sale as an important aspect of both WOW and the Suitcase for Survival program.∗ The next section provides valuable background information for educators, including an overview of wildlife trade, its affect on biodiversity, and what we can do to control wildlife trade. The bulk of the module is devoted to 15 well-written and student-educator tested activities covering several subject areas and catering to a variety of learning styles and multiple intelligences. Each activity contains a sidebar that describes applicable subject areas, skills taught, biodiversity framework links, key vocabulary words, time needed, materials required, and connections with other activities. The activities contain numerous reproducible pages and use materials that are inexpensive and easily available to educators. Educators will find the activities easy to follow with clearly defined objectives, and sections that include “Before You Begin,” “What to Do,” and “Wrapping It Up” with assessment ideas, extensions, and references. Students are introduced to the topic of wildlife trade through four activities. Methods

Such Low Temperatures in the Arctic Region: How Can the Polar Bears Call It Home?

cience requires active learning-it is something that children do, rather than something that is done to S them. The learning process involves students’ thinking and doing to develop higher-order thinking skills, strengthen their reading and mathematical skills, and attain scientific knowledge. In the elementary grades, children learn biological concepts through direct experiences with living organisms and those organisms’ life cycles and habitats. Students come to understand that the survival of organisms depends on their physical environment and how well they adapt to living in it. Direct experiences are easy if habitats are within children’s immediate environment. However, some habitats are not easily accessible for such hands-on, minds-on explorations; hence simulations and models are important teaching strategies. The lesson topic “How do polar bears keep warm in their homes?’ is part of a teaching unit that explores animals and their adaptations to habitat. The unit features a variety of animals and the structural adaptations that they have that allow them to live in their habitats. For example, a streamlined body and the presence of scales and gills allow a fish to breathe in water. In the following polar bear adaptation activity, students learn what physical features of polar bears allow them to call the arctic regions home. I have done the activity successfully with second through fourth graders. You can usually conduct the hands-on portion of this activity in one class period (45 minutes).