Science Learning and Instruction: Taking Advantage of Technology to Promote Knowledge Integration

Science Learning and Instruction describes advances in understanding the nature of science learning and their implications for the design of science instruction. The authors show how design patterns, design principles, and professional development opportunities coalesce to create and sustain effective instruction in each primary scientific domain: earth science, life science, and physical science. Calling for more in depth and less fleeting coverage of science topics in order to accomplish knowledge integration, the book highlights the importance of designing the instructional materials, the examples that are introduced in each scientific domain, and the professional development that accompanies these materials. It argues that unless all these efforts are made simultaneously, educators cannot hope to improve science learning outcomes. The book also addresses how many policies, including curriculum, standards, guidelines, and standardized tests, work against the goal of integrative understanding, and discusses opportunities to rethink science education policies based on research findings from instruction that emphasizes such understanding.

Marcia C. Linn is a professor of development and cognition specializing in education in mathematics, science, and technology in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley.

Bat-Sheva Eylon is a professor at the Science Teaching Department at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. She specializes in learning, instruction, and professional development of physics and science teachers. She holds the Chief Justice Bora Laskin Chair of Science Teaching.