Effectiveness of Educative Features in Teachers' Guides for Nature of Science Read-Alouds

• In Event: Research in Science Learning and Teaching

Abstract

Preparing teachers to teach nature of science (NOS) is difficult, although it is a central goal of science education. Educative curriculum materials, which address teachers’ understandings of NOS and pedagogical decisions for teaching, may be one way in which NOS teaching can be improved. However, to effectively design these materials, it is important to know which educative features teachers find most valuable, and impact their teaching practice. In this study, we investigated how eight teachers used different educative features to support their instruction during read-alouds of science trade books that focused on NOS concepts. All teachers relied on multiple educative features to support changes in instruction. We report on which features were more influential in impacting teachers’ instruction.

Author

• Jeanne L. Brunner, University of Massachusetts - Amherst