Ingrid S. Weiland’s research while affiliated with Metropolitan State University of Denver and other places

This chapter explores young children’s conceptions of life science topics that were identified in the research literature. Topics that were prevalent in the literature were the distinction between living and non-living entities, growth and development of organisms, germs and contagions, and differences between plants and animals. Research was identified through two fields: science education and developmental psychology. Developmental psychology studies identified conceptions and alternative conceptions of life science held by young children between ages 4 and 7. Intervention studies from the field of science education identified life science conceptions and also showed that young children could improve their conceptions of life science topics with appropriate instruction. Through a review of the existing research we make recommendations for future research that explores young children’s ideas about life science, as well as provide implications for classroom instruction. From the research reviewed it is clear that young children can improve their ideas about life science concepts through appropriate instruction. They are not developmentally constrained due to their young age, but everyday experience of life science topics may not lead to scientifically accurate conceptions. If they do receive appropriate instruction in life science concepts they would certainly obtain better understandings.

The purpose of this study was to understand what preservice teachers and knowledgeable others professionally notice as they engaged in repeated cycles of a modified version of lesson study, as a component of a field experience in a teacher education program. The study also centered on comparing the professional noticing practices of preservice teachers with other lesson study participants, including classroom teachers and university facilitators. Data analyzed included videos of weekly lesson study analysis meetings for seven weeks for each of four teams. Each team included six preservice teachers, a classroom teacher, and a university facilitator. Findings indicate that preservice teachers primarily noticed elements about the classroom environment and teacher pedagogy, but included instances of noticing centered on students’ mathematical thinking. In contrast, classroom teachers and university facilitators, as knowledgeable others, typically noticed general events and were less focused on students’ mathematical thinking. Analysis of noticing trends over the seven weeks indicated that noticing levels remained steady initially, dropped in the fourth and fifth week, and resumed original status in the final weeks. Results that the preservice teachers’ noticing comments were at higher levels than the knowledgeable others are contrary to other research studies and indicate that incorporating lesson study with appropriate scaffolds into a field experience for preservice teachers may be a viable option for encouraging noticing of students’ mathematical thinking.

Food constitutes an important pedagogical component of elementary science, yet research on how to approach this topic is scarce. The present study attends to this issue by exploring food appraisal (dialogic sense-making wherein elementary teachers and students orally evaluate particular types of foods and eating habits) during science read-alouds. Our discourse analysis revealed varied forms of food appraisal across different elementary grade levels. In two primary classrooms (grades K-1), discussions entailed qualitative forms of food appraisal, namely affective appreciation (evaluation of food in terms of gustatory pleasure) and cultural appreciation (evaluation of food in terms of American traditions such as making jack-o’-lanterns). In contrast, food discussion at a fourth-grade classroom involved nutritional appreciation (quantitative evaluation of food on nutritional grounds and calorimetric needs). Our findings underscore the many pedagogical benefits and potential challenges of engaging students in talk about food in the science classroom. Classroom discussion about food provides elementary teachers with a unique opportunity to engage children in science but can also disempower students and reinforce problematic cultural ideologies. Awareness of such potential complications can help elementary teachers more effectively promote student health and empowerment through science.

Science education reform focuses on learner-centered instruction within contexts that support learners' sociocultural experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore Hispanic mothers' experiences as accompanying adults at an informal science center within the context of culturally sustaining experiences, which include the fluidity and plurality of cultural and linguistic diversity, and support multilingualism and multiculturalism in practice and perspective for learners. Through a phenomenological approach, eight Hispanic mothers were observed with their children at a science center and then interviewed to elicit an understanding of their experiences. Results indicate that mothers were largely unfamiliar with museums in general, yet the science center supported their socio-cultural ways of learning and engaging with their children. Nevertheless, from the perspective of the mothers, opportunities exist for the science center to provide more cultural/linguistic access to the exhibits. While prior research has shown that informal science education can encompass culturally meaningful experiences by affirming cultural identities, results from this study suggest that this inclusive and affirming approach be extended to all informal science venues using a multi-modal approach to learning, and should include cultural sustainability to support negotiations between prior and current cultural contexts. This could include, but is not limited to, targeted outreach and programming that values parents as intellectual resources and involving diverse community members not only in the design process but also in the operations of the center. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 84–106, 2015

We explored adaptations to an elementary science methods course to determine how varied contexts could improve elementary preservice teachers' conceptions of NOS as well as their ideas for teaching NOS to elementary students. The contexts were (a) NOS Theme in which the course focused on the teaching of science through the consistent teaching and learning about NOS in all course activities, (b) Reflective NOS Teaching in which the course focused on developing explicit and reflective practice regarding NOS during portions of the semester, (c) Problem-Based Learning context in which local problem-based science scenarios were used to teach about NOS in an explicit and reflective manner, and (d) NOS embedded into Authentic Inquiry in which the learning and teaching of NOS occurred in conjunction with completing a long term science investigation suitable for use in elementary classrooms. We found that all preservice teachers improved in their conceptions of NOS in all four contexts, but to varying degrees. Preservice teachers described different strategies for teaching NOS by context. Our results show many contexts can be used to improve conceptions about NOS and the teaching of NOS, but certain contexts may support the learning of particular NOS ideas and the teaching of those ideas better than others.

In this article, we describe development of a clinical model of teacher education connected to a community engagement commitment of the university known as the Signature Partnership Initiative. The current clinical model builds upon previously established collaborations of the College of Education and Human Development with district and school partners to offer a more authentic, comprehensive, and systemic approach to preparing new teachers and supporting the continued learning of experienced teachers. The development and implementation of the clinical model in two elementary schools and one middle school have provided evidence of both benefits and challenges. The article provides three descriptive narratives that elaborate on these and offers insights about essential components and research possibilities needed for improving the quality and outcomes of university–school clinical partnerships for teacher education.

As a former elementary science teacher, Valarie wanted to return to a third grade classroom as a teacher to learn how to integrate nature of science (NOS) concepts into the science program for children at a “failing” school. With some success in her endeavor, she now is able to teach other teachers successful ways to integrate NOS into elementary classrooms. As a full-time teacher of third graders in the fall semester, and a returning science coteacher during the following spring semester, Dr. Akerson was able to evidence through pre/post interview data that instructional experiences improved her students’ conception of the tentative nature of science. More broadly, she gained insights about children and schools that she could not have fully understood as an outside researcher.

This study explores the development of professional identity as a teacher of nature of science (NOS). Our research question was ‘How can a teacher develop a professional identity as an elementary teacher of NOS?’ Through a researcher log, videotaped lessons, and collection of student work, we were able to track efforts in teaching NOS as part of regular classroom practice. A team of four researchers interpreted the data through the Beijaard et al. professional identity framework and found that it was not as simple and straightforward to teach NOS as we predicted. Development of professional identity as a teacher of NOS was influenced by contextual factors such as students, administration, and time, as well as personal struggles that were fraught with emotion. Development took place through an interpretation and reinterpretation of self through external factors and others’ perceptions, as well as the influence of sub-identities.