This state-of-the art research Handbook provides a comprehensive, coherent, current synthesis of the empirical and theoretical research concerning teaching and learning in science and lays down a foundation upon which future research can be built.
The contributors, all leading experts in their research areas, represent the international and gender diversity that exists in the science education research community.
As a whole, the Handbook of Research on Science Education demonstrates that science education is alive and well and illustrates its vitality. It is an essential resource for the entire science education community, including veteran and emerging researchers, university faculty, graduate students, practitioners in the schools, and science education professionals outside of universities.
The National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) endorses the Handbook of Research on Science Education as an important and valuable synthesis of the current knowledge in the field of science education by leading individuals in the field. For more information on NARST, please visit: http://www.narst.org/.
Sandra K. Abell is Professor of Science Education and Director of the Science Education Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia. A former elementary school science teacher, Abell has conducted numerous teaching and research projects in elementary and middle level science classrooms in collaboration with classroom teachers. Her research, focused on science teacher learning, has been published in journals such as Science Education, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Journal of Science Teacher Education, and the International Journal of Science Education. She is a past president of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST).
Dr. Norman G. Lederman is Chair and Professor of Mathematics and Science Education at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Dr. Lederman received his Ph.D. in Science Education, and he possesses master's degrees in both Biology and Secondary Education. Prior to his 20 + years in science teacher education, Dr. Lederman was a high school teacher of biology and chemistry for 10 years.
He received the Illinois Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (1979), the Burlington Resources Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research (1992), and the AETS Outstanding Mentor Award (2000). Dr. Lederman is internationally known for his research and scholarship on the development of students' and teachers' conceptions of the nature of science and scientific inquiry. He has been author or editor of 10 books, written 15 book chapters, published over 170 articles in professional journals, and made over 500 presentations at professional conferences around the world.
Dr. Lederman is a former President of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) and the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS). He has also served as Director of Teacher Education for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and has served on the Board of Directors of NSTA, AETS, NARST, and the School Science and Mathematics Association.
