"Science in the City examines the norms governing science knowledge formation and posits a vision of a more culturally relevant approach to science instruction"--

2021 Outstanding Book Award, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Science in the City examines how language and culture matter for effective science teaching. Author Bryan A. Brown argues that, given the realities of our multilingual and multicultural society, teachers must truly understand how issues of culture intersect with the fundamental principles of learning. This book links an exploration of contemporary research on urban science teaching to a more generative instructional approach in which students develop mastery by discussing science in culturally meaningful ways. The book starts with a trenchant analysis of the “black tax,” a double standard at work in science language and classrooms that forces students of color to appropriate and express their science knowledge solely in ways that accord with the dominant culture and knowledge regime. Because we are in an interactive, multimedia world, the author also posits the necessity of applying what is known about best practices in science teaching to best practices in technology. The book then turns to instruction, illustrating how science education can flourish if it is connected to students’ backgrounds, identities, language, and culture. In this empowered—and inclusive—form of science classroom, the role of narrative is key: educators use stories and anecdotes to induct students into the realm of scientific thinking; introduce big ideas in easy, familiar terms; and prioritize explanation over mastery of symbolic systems. The result is a classroom that showcases how the use of more familiar, culturally relevant modes of communication can pave the way for improved science learning.

How might science education reflect the values of a socially just and democratic society? How do urban youth living in poverty construct science in their lives in ways that are enriching, empowering, and transformative? Using a combination of in-depth case studies and rigorous theory, this volume: Offers a series of teaching stories that describes youth’s practices of science, providing valuable insight to help teachers work with inner-city youth.Explores the importance of inclusiveness, membership rules, and the purposes and goals of good science, including utility, pragmatism, and doing good for others.Shows how science connects to the lives of youth both in and out of school. Builds on and critiques current reform initiatives in science education.Features stories taken from six years of teaching and research in after-school science programs with children and youth in homeless shelters.Illustrates how the children’s unique situations framed their constructions of science in compelling and challenging ways.

A practical methods text that prepares teachers to engage their students in rich science learning experiences Featuring an increased emphasis on the way today′s changing science and technology is shaping our culture, this Second Edition of Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School provides pre- and in-service teachers with an introduction to basic science concepts and methods of science instruction, as well as practical strategies for the classroom. Throughout the book, the authors help readers learn to think like scientists and better understand the role of science in our day-to-day lives and in the history of Western culture. Part II features 100 key experiments that demonstrate the connection between content knowledge and effective inquiry-based pedagogy. The Second Edition is updated throughout and includes new coverage of applying multiple intelligences to the teaching and learning of science, creating safe spaces for scientific experimentation, using today′s rapidly changing online technologies, and more. Valuable Instructor and Student resources: The password-protected Instructor Teaching Site includes video clips that illustrate selected experiments, PowerPoint® lecture slides, Electronic Test Bank, Teaching guides, and Web resources. The open-access Student Study Site includes tools to help students prepare for exams and succeed in the course: video clips that illustrate selected experiments, chapter summaries, flash cards, quizzes, helpful student guides links to state standards, licensure exams and PRAXIS resources, and Learning from SAGE Journal Articles.

2018 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice Ambitious Science Teaching outlines a powerful framework for science teaching to ensure that instruction is rigorous and equitable for students from all backgrounds. The practices presented in the book are being used in schools and districts that seek to improve science teaching at scale, and a wide range of science subjects and grade levels are represented. The book is organized around four sets of core teaching practices: planning for engagement with big ideas; eliciting student thinking; supporting changes in students’ thinking; and drawing together evidence-based explanations. Discussion of each practice includes tools and routines that teachers can use to support students’ participation, transcripts of actual student-teacher dialogue and descriptions of teachers’ thinking as it unfolds, and examples of student work. The book also provides explicit guidance for “opportunity to learn” strategies that can help scaffold the participation of diverse students. Since the success of these practices depends so heavily on discourse among students, Ambitious Science Teaching includes chapters on productive classroom talk. Science-specific skills such as modeling and scientific argument are also covered. Drawing on the emerging research on core teaching practices and their extensive work with preservice and in-service teachers, Ambitious Science Teaching presents a coherent and aligned set of resources for educators striving to meet the considerable challenges that have been set for them.

This comprehensive volume advances a vision of teacher preparation programs focused on core practices supporting ambitious science instruction. The book advocates for collaborative learning and building a community of teacher educators that can collectively share and refine strategies, tools, and practices. A renewed interest in practice-based teacher education paired with increasingly rigorous requirements, notably the Next Generation Science Standards, has highlighted the importance of teachers' deep disciplinary knowledge. This volume examines the compelling ways teacher educators across the country are using core practices to prepare preservice teachers for ambitious and equitable science teaching. With contributions from a wide network of teacher educators focusing on science education in various geographical and institutional contexts, Preparing Science Teachers Through Practice-Based Teacher Education serves as a valuable resource both for teacher educators and for administrators.

"This book comes at just the right time, as teachers are being encouraged to re-examine current approaches to science instruction." -Lynn Rankin, Director, Institute for Inquiry, Exploratorium "Easy to read and comprehend with very explicit examples, it will be foundational for classroom teachers as they journey from novice teacher of science to expert." -Jo Anne Vasquez, Ph.D., Past President of the National Science Teachers Association "Teaching Science for Understanding is a comprehensive, exquisitely written guide and well-illustrated resource for high quality teaching and learning of inquiry-based science." -Hubert M. Dyasi, Ph.D., Professor of Science, City College and City University of New York Even though there is an unending supply of science textbooks, kits, and other resources, the practice of teaching science is more challenging than simply setting up an experiment. In Teaching Science for Understanding in Elementary and Middle Schools, Wynne Harlen focuses on why developing understanding is essential in science education and how best to engage students in activities that deepen their curiosity about the world and promote enjoyment of science. Teaching Science for Understanding in Elementary and Middle Schools centers on how to build on the ideas your students already have to cultivate the thinking and skills necessary for developing an understanding of the scientific aspects of the world, including: helping students develop and use the skills of investigation drawing conclusions from data through analyzing, interpreting, and explaining creating classrooms that encourage students to explain and justify their thinking asking productive questions to support students' understanding. Through classroom vignettes, examples, and practical suggestions at the end of each chapter, Wynne provides a compelling vision of what can be achieved through science education...and strategies that you can implement in your classroom right now.

The future of American STEM education is here...in every state, there are thousands students that would benefit from science education, if only they had the resources, support systems and psychological ownership. There are brilliant young minds that could be called on to solve a myriad of world problems, earning money and respect in the process. But these students don’t see science as a viable option for a life. Or they do but there are no textbooks in the classroom, or the teacher is the fifth one this semester...and he is on the verge of leaving too. If STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers are the future driving force of the American economy; and if only an anointed few American students choose STEM as a career path, where will that leave us as a nation as we strive to compete on the global stage? Will America maintain its position as leader of the free world? Can a country that shuns the word “elite” ever maintain its elite status? Everything we value depends on this; our national security, reputation, and quality of life all depend on our ability to meet the needs of future generations of American workers as they compete for jobs. Jobs that will require problem solving skills, innovation, creativity, scientific literacy, and mathematical knowledge. Jobs that will require Americans who are tops in their fields with expertise, intellectual curiosity, ambition and vision. This book seeks to address these problems, as well as providing an historical backdrop for the discussion of STEM in American schools, race and gender issues, the effects of the standards movement on STEM, and what good teaching looks like in urban public schools. The future is here. Will we rise to the occasion?

Ambitious and encouraging, this text for prospective and practicing elementary and middle school science teachers, grounded in contemporary science education reform, is a valuable resource that supplies concrete approaches to support the science and science-integrated engineering learning of each and every student. At its core, it is based in the view that science is its own culture, consisting of unique thought processes, specialized communication traditions, and distinctive methods and tools. Using culture as a starting point and connecting it to effective instructional approaches, the authors describe how a teacher can make science accessible to students who are typically pushed to the fringe—especially students of color and English language learners. Written in a conversational style, the authors capture the tone they use when they teach their own students. The readers are recognized as professional partners in the shared efforts to increase access, reduce inequities, and give all students the opportunities to participate in science. Changes in the Third Edition: Features an entirely new chapter on engineering and its integration with science in K-8 settings. Provides fresh attention to the Framework and Next Generation Science Standards while distancing previous attention to process skills and inquiry teaching. Incorporates the latest research about science practices, classroom discussions, and culturally responsive strategies. Retains an accessible writing style that encourages teachers to engage in the challenges of providing equitable and excellent science experiences to all children. Updated companion website: online resources provide links to web materials, slideshows specific to each chapter for course instructors’ use, and supplement handouts for in-class activities: www.routledge.com/cw/Settlage