Development of professional knowledge in learning to teach elementary science

Preservice Elementary Teachers and Explanation Construction: Knowledge‐for‐Practice and Knowledge‐in‐Practice

“…Prior research has found that students, particularly at the elementary level, require ongoing guidance and support for constructing explanations to make the connection between evidence and explanation (Hapgood et al, ; Hardy et al, ; McNeill, ; Metz, ). However, findings here reinforce previous studies describing the difficulties preservice teachers often have assessing and adjusting their science instruction based on their students’ elicited explanations (Bryan & Abell, ; Buck et al, ; Maclellan, ; Otero & Nathan, ). Even though the preservice teachers articulated rich and varied ideas about ways to elicit student knowledge, a critical step missing in their discussions and observed instructional practice was that they often did not use the information they gained from their students to revise their lessons to address current student knowledge and/or misconceptions that emerged in the classroom.…”

Inquiry into the Singapore Science Classroom

“…This resonates with the findings of studies that underscore the importance of subject matter knowledge and pedagogical skills for teaching science as inquiry (Bryan & Abell, 1999;Laplante, 1997;Shulman, 1987;Smith & Neale, 1989). This resonates with the findings of studies that underscore the importance of subject matter knowledge and pedagogical skills for teaching science as inquiry (Bryan & Abell, 1999;Laplante, 1997;Shulman, 1987;Smith & Neale, 1989).…”

One foot on the dock and one foot on the boat: Differences among preservice science teachers' interpretations of field‐based science methods in culturally diverse contexts

“…Through their new frames, teachers engaged in reflection are more adept at thinking critically about their own teaching as well as the teaching of others. Bryan and Abell (1999) demonstrated that teachers can develop a disposition of inquiry about their teaching and shift their teaching to one more consistent with their professed beliefs, though they agreed with Munby and Russell (1992b) that it was an arduous process.…”