It is widely accepted that to be scientifically literate one needs to have the ability to make thoughtful decisions about socioscientific issues (SSI). This includes critical assessment of scientific claims and arguments involved. In this study we asked 89 science education students with substantial academic qualifications in science, working in groups of two and three, to assess the reliability of scientific claims in an article of their own choice, but related to a socioscientific issue, and to present their evaluation in a short text. In analyzing the students' texts, we focused on the criteria they had explicitly and implicitly used in their evaluations. Through a qualitative analysis, we identified 13 different criteria focusing on empirical and theoretical adequacy, completeness of presented information, social aspects, and manipulative strategies. An inspection of the students' evaluations revealed that they drew upon knowledge of possible institutional interests, different signs of competence and an appreciation of concurrent expert views, but also methodological norms in science, specialized content knowledge, and an appreciation of evidence and disclosure of sources. The number of criteria used and the quality of their application varied, indicating that critical examination of texts with a science dimension needs to be emphasized in science teacher education. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 90:632–655, 2006

This article reports a study in which two researchers collaborated with five teachers to facilitate discourse activities aimed to enhance students’ learning from practical activities. The paper explores how certain teacher practices support or hinder students’ learning. Four cases from the study were analyzed in depth using Vygotsky's concept “the zone of proximal development” and Wallace's notion of language authenticity. The analyses indicated that although respected pedagogical principles underlie teaching, students’ use their own prior concepts to a limited degree to express their developing understanding of inquiry into scientific phenomena and ideas. The analyses showed how the teachers emphasized theoretical knowledge and hoped to enable the students to correctly interpret their observations and apply scientific theory. However, this emphasis hindered students’ articulations of their developing understanding. The results indicated that working within students’ zones of proximal development during practical activities requires a novel approach. Based on Wallace's notion of “third space,” we argue that it is important to encourage students to work with their own authentic language to develop a more scientific language when performing practical work.

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Målet med den reformerade lärarutbildningen i Norge är att utbilda forskningskunniga lärare som kan integrera forskningsbaserad kunskap med klassrumserfarenheter. Utgående från detta är syftet med denna studie att identifiera sätt att utforma Forsknings- och utvecklingsarbetet (FoU oppgave) på så att det upplevs som värdefullt av lärarstuderande och förbereder dem på att vara forskningskunniga deltagare i de lärandegemenskaper de möter som professionella lärare. Mer specifikt undersöks lärarstuderandes erfarenheter av Forsknings- och utvecklingsarbetet före, under och efter skrivprocessen utgående från deras skrivna essäer. Data insamlades från totalt 59 lärarstuderande från två olika lärarutbildningsinstitutioner och deras skrivna essäer (totalt 137 texter) analyserades med en tematiskt analys. Lärarstuderandes erfarenheter av Forsknings- och utvecklingsarbetet kunde beskrivas med två övergripande teman; en positiv och utmanande process, samt forsknings- och lärarrelevans. Studiens resultat visar betydelsen av att lärarutbildningen ger tillräckligt stöd till lärarstuderande under skrivandet av Forsknings- och utvecklingsarbetet samt användbara redskap för att klara av forskningsuppgiften. Vidare kan Forsknings- och utvecklingsarbetet inom lärarutbildningen ses som en möjlighet att koppla samman forskning och praktik i syfte att utbilda forskningskunniga lärare.