This study tested a hypothesis that focused on whether or not teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is a necessary body of knowledge for reformed science teaching. This study utilized a quantitative research method to investigate the correlation between a teacher's PCK level as measured by the PCK rubric (Park et al. 2008) and the degree to which his/her classroom is reform-oriented as measured by RTOP (Sawada et al. 2002). Data included 33 instructional sessions of photosynthesis and heredity videotaped with 7 high school biology teachers. Each session was given a score on both the PCK rubric and RTOP by two independent raters. Results indicate that PCK score is significantly related to RTOP score in terms of both total score (r=.831, p<.01) and subcomponent scores (ranging from r=.616 to .805, p<.01). Implications for science teacher education and future research are discussed.

Background: It has been widely accepted that reflective teaching is a powerful component of effective teaching. Accordingly, educating reflective practitioners has been a major goal of teacher education. Reflective teaching refers to the act of thinking such as analyzing or assessing educational meanings, intentions, beliefs, decisions, actions, or products yielded through those thinking processes. Reflective practitioners are those who contemplate and negotiate the complexities of teaching to enhance their decision-making power and autonomy in classrooms. However, despite the enormous proliferation of literature on reflection, little is known about the nature of reflection which will provide significant insights into teacher education that aims to prepare reflective practitioners. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature of three exceptional physical education (PE) teachers' reflection in terms of its focus and roles. Research questions that guided this study were: a) what is the focus of reflection-in/on-action of exceptional PE teachers? and b) in what ways does the reflection influence the teachers' practice? Methods: This study was grounded in a social constructivist framework and employed a multiple case study design. Major data sources included semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations, teachers' written reflections, students' work samples, relevant archival data, and researcher's field notes. The data were analyzed through the constant comparative method using Atlas.ti as an aid. To enhance the trustworthiness of the study, triangulation of multiple data sources and member checking were conducted. Results: Data analysis indicated that the teachers' reflection focused on four main topics: (a) the students, (b) instruction, (c) context, and (d) critical incidents. Reflection impacted the teachers' practice playing four key roles such as (a) making sense of unforeseen events, (b) developing knowledge-in-action, (c) making on-the-spot decisions, and (d) reconstructing teachers' belief systems.

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We investigated the in situ applicability of the electrokinetic process with a hexagonal electrode configuration in order to remediate arsenic (As)-, copper (Cu)-, and lead (Pb)-contaminated paddy rice field soil at a field scale (width 17 m, length 12.2 m, and depth 1.6 m). An iron electrode was used in order to prevent the severe acidification of the soil near the anode. We selected ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a pursing electrolyte to enhance the extraction of Cu and Pb. The system removed 44.4% of the As, 40.3% of the Cu, and 46.6% of the Pb after 24 weeks of operation. Fractionation analysis showed that the As bound to amorphous ion (Fe) and aluminum (Al) oxyhydroxides was changed into a form of As specifically bound. In the case of Cu and Pb, the fraction bound to Fe-Mn oxyhydroxide primarily decreased. The EDTA formed negatively charged complexes with Cu and Pb, and those complexes were transported toward the anode. The energy consumption was very low compared to that on a small scale because there was less energy consumption due to Joule heating. These results show that the in situ electrokinetic process could be applied in order to remediate paddy rice fields contaminated with multiple metals.