Constructing Science in Elementary Classrooms

The text is divided into three major sections or clusters of chapters: Goals of Science Instruction, Setting the Stage, and The Teaching Cycle. The first two sections provide the theoretical and practical foundations for instruction, while the third section comprises the most significant portion of the text. Solidly based on the National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks for Science Literacy, this new elementary science methods text immerses students into the context of classroom instruction through the authors' unique approach using “The Teaching Cycle”: Goal Setting; Materials Development and Selection; Pedagogy; Assessment; Reflection.

“Constructing Science in Elementary Classrooms is a user-friendly compendium of educational theory, teaching resources, and practical suggestions for elementary science instruction.”
Sandra K. Abell, University of Missouri, Columbia

“It is clear that the authors have taught school themselves and have extensive experience in teaching all aspects of elementary science to prospective and practicing elementary teachers. The examples have a vividness that only those who live in the world of schools understand.”
Angelo Collins, Executive Director, Knowles Science Teaching Foundation Haddonfield, NJ

Solidly based on the National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks for Science Literacy, this new elementary science methods text immerses students into the context of classroom instruction through the authors' unique approach using “The Teaching Cycle”: Goal Setting; Materials Development and Selection; Pedagogy; Assessment; Reflection.

Features offered in this text:

• Standards-based—All subject matter lessons are directly linked to national reform recommendations.
• Includes discussion of contemporary reform efforts in science education, including the National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks for Science Literacy.
• Includes a summary of the eight curriculum evaluation criteria for Project 2061.
• Classroom vignettes in each chapter give students a realistic glimpse of a teacher's planning and instructional implementation.
• Diversity, Technology, and Curriculum Integration are incorporated as feature boxes throughout each of the Teaching Cycle chapters.

Norman G. Lederman is Professor and Chair of Mathematics and Science Education at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is an internationally recognized scholar on scientific inquiry and nature of science. He has worked extensively with teachers' professional development throughout the world.

Judith Sweeney Lederman is the Director of Teacher Education in the Department of Mathematics and Science Education at Illinois Institute of Technology. She regularly presents nationally and internationally on the teaching and learning of science in both formal and informal settings but is most proud of the years she has spent teaching science in K-12 classrooms.

Randy Bell is Assistant Professor of Science Education in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. Prior to earning his doctorate in science education, Dr. Bell taught middle and high school science in Oregon, where he was recognized as the state's “New Science Teacher of the Year” in 1991.