This study focuses on two main issues concerning changes in student attitudes toward science study and their perceptions of its usefulness in their lives. Information has been gathered concerning how student attitudes toward science have changed for teachers and schools not involved with any funded professional development project. Pretesting and posttesting were administered with such “control” groups at the same intervals corresponding with the data collected from students with teachers enrolled in five funded Professional Development projects over the 1981–2008 interim. The grade levels used by the National Assessment of Education Progress in their 1977 assessment of science were used; it focused on students in grades 3, 7, and 11. The results indicate a steady decline in student positive attitudes concerning their science study as grade levels increase. Conversely, the student perceptions of the usefulness of their science study as related to daily living, further science study, and for potential careers remained much the same over the 30‐year interim is a second focus. Generally, results indicate that traditional teaching and major use of textbooks cause increasingly negative student attitudes about science while not producing major changes in their perceptions of its usefulness in their lives.

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The aim of this study was to identify the needs of third grade classroom teaching students about science teaching course in terms of Parlett's Illuminative program evaluation model. Phenomographic research design was used in this study. Illuminative program evaluation model was chosen for this study in terms of its eclectic and process-based characteristics. 61 third grade classroom teachers, three instructors of science teaching methodology courses and one curriculum specialist were the participants of this study. Open-ended questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and diaries of pre-service teachers were used as data of the study. Data were analyzed in terms of phenomographic research design principles. Descriptive and content analyses were used as data analysis techniques. Needs assessment results showed that pre-service teachers found science teaching courses dominantly theoretical and they underlined that there was a big gap about the association between theory and practice in science teaching methodology course. Longitudinal needs assessment efforts, preparation of detailed course implementation plans, giving periodical feedback about the assessment process, using multi-media environments and constructivist learning principles, considering classroom management issues in the learning and teaching processes were the suggestions expressed in terms of the results.

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The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of pre-service science teachers about using vee diagrams and preparing electronic portfolios in physics laboratuary course. 103 first grade preservice science teachers who took general physics laboratuary course were the participants of the study. Pre-service teachers constructed vee diagrams for presenting their experiment reports and prepared electronic portfolios about whole laboratuary process. This research was based on case study design. Electronic portfolio composed of foreword, diaries and epilogue parts, open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews composed of open-ended questions and holistic rubric prepared for grading vee diagrams of pre-service teachers were used as data sources. 12 pre-service teachers were selected purposefully by considering academic success and voluntariness for semistructured interviews and document analyses of e-portfolios. Both descriptive and content analyses were used for analyzing data. The results show that pre-service teachers perceived that electronic portfolios and vee diagrams developed science process, metacognitive and social skills and identfying and preventing misconceptions.