Analysing Exemplary Science Teaching

"I read lots of books in which science education researchers tell science teachers how to teach. This book, refreshingly, is written the other way round. We read a number of accounts by outstanding science and technology teachers of how they use new approaches to teaching to motivate their students and maximise their learning. These accounts are then followed by some excellent analyses from leading academics. I learnt a lot from reading this book."
Professor Michael Reiss, Institute of Education, University of London

"Provides an important new twist on one of the enduring problems of case-based learning... This is a book that deserves careful reading and re-reading, threading back and forwards from the immediate and practical images of excellence in the teachers’ cases to the comprehensive and scholarly analyses in the researchers’ thematic chapters."
Professor William Louden, Edith Cowan University, Australia

Through a celebration of teaching and research, this book explores exemplary practice in science education and fuses educational theory and classroom practice in unique ways.

Analysing Exemplary Science Teaching brings together twelve academics, ten innovative teachers and three exceptional students in a conversation about teaching and learning. Teachers and students describe some of their most noteworthy classroom practice, whilst scholars of international standing use educational theory to discuss, define and analyse the documented classroom practice.

Classroom experiences are directly linked with theory by a series of annotated comments. This distinctive web-like structure enables the reader to actively move between practice and theory, reading about classroom innovation and then theorizing about the basis and potential of this teaching approach.

Providing an international perspective, the special lessons described and analysed are drawn from middle and secondary schools in the UK, Canada and Australia. This book is an invaluable resource for preservice and inservice teacher education, as well as for graduate studies. It is of interest to a broad spectrum of individuals, including training teachers, teachers, researchers, administrators and curriculum coordinators in science and technology education.

Steve Alsop is an associate dean in the Faculty of Education, York University Canada, coordinating research and continuing professional development. Previously he directed the Centre for Learning and Research in Science Education [CLARISE] at the University of Surrey Roehampton, England; where he now holds the position of senior honorary research fellow. Steve has taught in primary and secondary schools in London, England. His research interests include affective, cognitive and epistemological issues in science education, science teacher education and internationalisation. Recent publications include; Alsop, S. and Hicks, K. (Eds.) (2002) Teaching Science. Kogan Page and Alsop, S. (Ed.) (in press) Beyond Cartesian Dualism: Encountering affect in the teaching and learning of science. Kluwer Academic Press.

Gabriel Ayyavoo (B.Sc., BEd., M.Ed.) is currently a science instructor at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. He has 18 years experience as a science teacher in Singapore and Canada. Much of his work involves promotion of student-driven science projects. Among his various activities along those lines, he is the Toronto regional coordinator for students' participation in the Canada Wide Science Fair and non-school settings.

Katherine Bellomo has been a science educator for 25 years. She has taught Science in a variety of high schools in Ontario, Canada and has been a department head and curriculum consultant for a large urban school board. Currently she teaches in the pre-service (Bachelor of Education) program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto where she is also a doctoral candidate. She has an interest is the challenges that teachers face as they construct biology curriculum, with a focus on social justice issues, for a diverse student population.

Larry Bencze (B.Sc., MSc., B.Ed., Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor in science education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Prior to this, he worked as a secondary school science teacher for eleven years and a science consultant for a school district. Larry's research programme involves development and studies of students' opportunities to be engaged in realistic contexts of knowledge building in science and technology, along with relevant pedagogical considerations.

Alex Corry (B.Sc., B.Ed., M.Ed.) is current a vice-principal in a secondary school in Markham, Ontario. Prior to that, he worked for several years as a teacher of science and has served as a science department head for two different school districts in Ontario. He has been, and continues to be, a major proponent of student-led science project work. As a school administrator, he current work is focused around instructional leadership, building community capacity, and assessment and evaluation practices.

Kim Edwards is Head of Lower School in Presbyterian Ladies' College [PLC]. Situated in Perth, Western Australia, PLC is a K-12 girls' school with an enrolment of approximately 1000 students. Kim has a wide range of pedagogical interests including the use of Technology Enhanced Learning.

Josie Ellis excelled at Advanced level Sciences and English at Elliott School in London. She is currently an undergraduate reading English at a University in the UK. She continues to bridge the “two cultures” with a particular interest in science and the media.

Sibel Erduran is a Lecturer in Science Education at the University of Bristol. She received her PhD in science education from Vanderbilt University, MS in Food Chemistry from Cornell University and BA in Chemistry from Northwestern University. She taught high school chemistry in Cyprus, and had research and teaching experience at University of Pittsburgh and King's College, University of London. Her research interests include cognitive and epistemological issues in science education.

Ann Marie Hill (Ph.D., Ohio State) is Professor of Education and Coordinator (Technological Education) at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She has been a Visiting Scholar at Melbourne (Australia), Waikato (New Zealand), Leeds (UK), and UBC (Canada). She presents at international conferences and is known internationally for publications on technological and technology education that deal with design, creativity, authentic leaning environments, project-based leaning, community-based projects, curriculum, and teacher education.

Jim Hewitt is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. His research focuses on the educational applications of computer-based technologies, with a particular emphasis on discursive processes in collaborative learning environments. Dr. Hewitt's recent publications include studies of telementoring, thread development in asynchronous distance education courses, sociocultural supports for knowledge building in elementary science classrooms, and applications of multimedia case studies in teacher education programs.

Derek Hodson has more than 30 years experience in science education in schools and universities in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada. He is currently Professor of Science Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, Director of the Imperial Oil Centre for Studies in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, and Managing Editor of the Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. His research interests include the history, philosophy and sociology of science, multicultural and antiracist science education, science curriculum history and action research.

Keith Hicks is head of science at Elliott School which is a large comprehensive school in London, England. He has worked in the field of Initial Teacher Education for many years and has an interest in assessment and constructivist learning in science. Keith has been involved in a series of research projects and coedited the text Teaching Science (Kogan Page).

James Johnston (Diploma in Technical Education, B.A.; B.Ed.; M.Ed.) is a Technological Education teacher at Frontenac Secondary School in Kingston, Ontario, and an Adjunct lecturer at the Faculty of Education, Queen's University, Ontario. James is a strong advocate of subject integration and the application of learning using a student-centred, project-based learning model. His personal philosophy could be summarized as a 'Practice drives Theory' approach to education.

Karen Kettle has been an educator in Durham Region, Ontario for 21 years. She has served as a high school science & geography teacher as well as a program consultant. She has recently completed a three year secondment to York University Faculty of Education and is looking forward to teaching at Port Perry High School. Her area of passion is student leadership.

Desmond Ngai is currently studying for a science degree at the University of Toronto. When he was in high school, he won the prestigious gold medal at a major biotechnology fair. He also was a medalist at the Canada-wide Science Fair and was ranked third at the International Science and Engineering Fair.

Jonathan Osborne is a professor of science education at King's College London where he has been since 1985. Prior to that he worked as an advisory teacher and a teacher of physics in Inner London. He has an extensive record of publications and research in science education in the field of primary science, science education policy, the teaching of the history of science, argumentation and informal science education. He was a co-editor of Beyond 2000: Science Education for the Future, an ESRC fellow on their Public Understanding of Science Programme, an adviser to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee on their report on science education produced in 2002, and has been a member of the Board of the North American Association for Research in Science Teaching. His first degree is in physics, he has a master’s degree in astrophysics and a Ph.D from King’s in Education.

Dr. Erminia Pedretti is Associate Professor of Science Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. She is also Associate Director of the Imperial Oil Centre for Studies in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. Her research interests include: Science, techology, society and environment education, action research, teacher professional development, and learning science in school.

George Przywolnik has over twenty years’ experience in science education and is a Leading Teacher at a private school in Western Australia. His interests include peer instruction techniques such as the Modeling Method and whiteboarding, and computer-based teaching and learning.

Dr Léonie Rennie is Professor of Science and Technology Education in the Science and Mathematics Education Centre at Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia. She is also Dean, Graduate Studies at the University. Léonie's research interests relate to gender, learning and assessment in science and technology, in both in-school and out-of-school settings.

Richard Rennie was a science teacher in secondary schools for 37 years; the last nineteen at an independent girls school in Perth Australia where the described S.C.O.T. Project was carried out. Richard is now setting up a science discovery centre that uses historic light and sound technology in educational and entertaining programs. Howard A. Smith (Ph.D., Toronto) is Professor of Education at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He has held university appointments at Stanford, Bologna (Italy), Indiana, Deakin (Australia), and Paraná (Brazil). He is known internationally for publications on nonverbal communication in teaching, human learning, and the semiotics of education. His most recent book, Psychosemiotics, was published in 2001 by Peter Lang.

Dr. Keith S. Taber is a lecturer in science education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge (U.K.) He is the Physics Education Tutor, and works with trainee teachers and research students. Dr. Taber is an Associate Editor of the journal Chemistry Education: Research and Practice, and Chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Chemical Education Research Group. His main research interests are in various aspects of learning in science. He moderates an email discussion list (http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/learning-science-concepts), and writes a column of 'Reflections on Teaching and Learning Physics' for the journal Physics Education.

Vivien Tzau (B.Sc.) is currently a law student at Queen's University, Canada. When she was in high school, she gained extensive experience in science fairs and biotechnology fairs. One of her projects involved studies of effects of organic sulphur compounds on breast cancer cells.

John Wallace is Professor of Science Education at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia. His research interests include science teacher learning, case methods in science teacher education and school reform. His most recent (coedited) books are Dilemmas of Science Teaching: Perspectives on Problems of Practice (RoutledgeFalmer, 2002) and Leadership and Professional Development in Science Education: NewPossibilities for Enhancing Teacher Learning (RoutledgeFalmer, 2003).

Susan Yoon has worked as a science educator in several capacities including public school science teacher and pre-service instructor over the last 11 years. Her doctoral work at the University of Toronto primarily focused on understanding cognitive and social processes involved in the study and application of complex systems in educational settings. She is currently completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she uses complex systems science as a framework for investigating knowledge development both with students in classrooms and teachers in professional development networks.