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The current national priority for systemic approaches to the reform of science and mathematics education has led to unprecedented interest in research on the efficacy of science and mathematics teacher preparation programs. In response to this priority, a focus on collaborative approaches to educational reform and to research on educational reform resulted in a national collaborative research consortium of insitutions of higher education. The consortium was formed to investigate the following question about secondary science teacher education: What are the perceptions, beliefs, and classroom performances of beginning secondary teachers as related to their philosophies of teaching and their content pedagogical skills? The research design and instrumentation yielded detailed descriptions that elicited knowledge and beliefs held by beginning teachers about science, the nature of teaching and learning, and their philosophy of teaching. An analysis of video portfolios of beginning teachers provided classroom-based evidence of their performance in both subject matter and pedagogical dimensions of teaching. Among the findings from this 3-year exploratory study were that teachers graduated from their teacher preparation programs with a range of knowledge and beliefs about: how teachers should interact with subject content and processes, what teachers should be doing in the classroom, what students should be doing in the classroom, philosophies of teaching, and how they perceived themselves as classroom teachers. Beginning teachers described their practices as very student-centered. Observations of these teaching practices contrasted starkly with teacher beliefs: While teachers professed student-centered beliefs, they behaved in teacher-centered ways. Undertaking intensive, collaborative studies such as the one described in this article, is the beginning of efforts through which the science and mathematics education communities can strive to address the needs of students, teachers, teacher educators, and other stakeholders working to establish a common vision for excellent instruction and systemic, long-lasting reform. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 930 -954, 1999 Albert Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), testified ". . . In an enterprise such as education . . . research is the best hope we have of distinguishing between fads and facts, prejudices and informed judgment, habits and insights. Without systematic inquiry, development, and testing, we will continue to have the same babble of arguments and practices concerning what works or ought to work. Without good research, we will continue on an endless cycle of mistakes . . . an endless reinvention of mousetraps, the same rehashing of controversies, and in the end, the same faltering school system" (AFT conference, 1993). The current national priority for systemic approaches to the reform of science and mathematics education has led to unprecedented interest in research on the efficacy of science and m...

Several recent reports concerning the status of science education in K‐12 classrooms have emphasized the centrality of textbooks to instruction. Some initial investigations of the nature of textbooks have suggested that typically more new words and terms are introduced than one would expect to find in a similar time frame as foreign languages are studied. This is a review of these initial studies, a review of the studies of mastery of vocabulary in foreign languages, and a review of general research concerning the vocabulary development, especially as it pertains to reading. Twenty‐five of the most commonly used textbooks in K‐12 science classrooms are analyzed in terms of the occurrence of special/technical words. The number of words introduced at every level is considerable‐often more than would be required if a new language were being introduced. In addition, the number of new words in science often approaches the total number that could be expected in terms of total vocabulary increase at a given grade level for a given student. There is strong evidence that one major fact of the current crisis in science education is the considerable emphasis upon words/terms/definitions as the primary ingredient of science‐at least the science that a typical student encounters and that he/she is expected to master.

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Two sections of middle school science were taught by two longtime teachers where one used an STS approach and the other followed the more typical textbook approach closely. Pre-and post assessments were administered to one section of students for each teacher. The testing focused on student concept mastery, general science achievement, concept applications, use of concepts in new situations, and attitudes toward science. Videotapes of classroom actions were recorded and analyzed to determine the level of the use of STS teaching strategies in the two sections. Information was also be collected that gave evidence of and noted changes in student creativity and the continuation of student learning and the use of it beyond the classroom. Major findings indicate that students experiencing the STS format where constructivist teaching practices were used to (a) learn basic concepts as well as students who studied them directly from the textbook, (b) achieve as much in terms of general concept mastery as students who studied almost exclusively by using a textbook closely, (c) apply science concepts in new situations better than students who studied science in a more traditional way, (d) develop more positive attitudes about science, (e) exhibit creativity skills more often and more uniquely, and (f) learn and use science at home and in the community more than did students in the textbook dominated classroom.