Based on the legacy of the National Science Foundation Instructional Materials Development program, this text examines the opportunities and challenges of creating effective and equitable science education programs.

At the heart of education are two fundamental questions: What should we teach? and How should we teach it? Educators striving to design and deliver the best-possible learning experiences can feel overwhelmed by the possibilities. To help them make these critical decisions, Angela Di Michele Lalor identifies five key priorities of a curriculum that matters—practices, deep thinking, social and emotional learning, civic engagement and discourse, and equity. Emphasizing the importance of schools' determining their own path forward, Lalor provides a framework for action by * Describing how each element contributes to a rigorous, meaningful curriculum, * Providing strategies for incorporating each element into daily instruction and assessment, and * Offering reflection activities to identify strengths, needs, and possible next steps. With insightful observations, research-based background information, and real-world examples from a variety of schools and districts, Making Curriculum Matter presents teachers and administrators with a path for reaching their most important overall goal: to provide comprehensive, meaningful learning to all students.

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field. A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.

This is The most comprehensive science curriculum for beginning learners that you will find anywhere * Here are 41 lesson plans that cover all major areas of science. * Lessons are laid out as stepping stones that build knowledge and understanding logically and systematically. * Child-centered, hands-on activities at the core of all lessons bring children to observe, think, and reason. * Interest is maintained and learning is solidified by constantly connecting lessons with children's real-world experience * Skills of inquiry become habits of mind as they are used throughout. * Lessons integrate reading, writing, geography, and other subjects. * Standards, including developing a broader, supportive community of science learners come about as natural by-products of learning science in an organized way. Particular background or experience is not required. Instructions include guiding students to question, observe, think, interpret, and draw rational conclusions in addition to performing the activity. Teachers can learn along with their students and be exceptional role models in doing so. Need for special materials is minimized. Personal, on line, support is available free of charge (see front matter).

What is science for a child? How do children learn about science and how to do science? Drawing on a vast array of work from neuroscience to classroom observation, Taking Science to School provides a comprehensive picture of what we know about teaching and learning science from kindergarten through eighth grade. By looking at a broad range of questions, this book provides a basic foundation for guiding science teaching and supporting students in their learning. Taking Science to School answers such questions as: When do children begin to learn about science? Are there critical stages in a child's development of such scientific concepts as mass or animate objects? What role does nonschool learning play in children's knowledge of science? How can science education capitalize on children's natural curiosity? What are the best tasks for books, lectures, and hands-on learning? How can teachers be taught to teach science? The book also provides a detailed examination of how we know what we know about children's learning of scienceâ€"about the role of research and evidence. This book will be an essential resource for everyone involved in K-8 science educationâ€"teachers, principals, boards of education, teacher education providers and accreditors, education researchers, federal education agencies, and state and federal policy makers. It will also be a useful guide for parents and others interested in how children learn.

Bringing together a wide collection of ideas, reviews, analyses and new research on particulate and structural concepts of matter, Concepts of Matter in Science Education informs practice from pre-school through graduate school learning and teaching and aims to inspire progress in science education. The expert contributors offer a range of reviews and critical analyses of related literature and in-depth analysis of specific issues, as well as new research. Among the themes covered are learning progressions for teaching a particle model of matter, the mental models of both students and teachers of the particulate nature of matter, educational technology, chemical reactions and chemical phenomena, chemical structure and bonding, quantum chemistry and the history and philosophy of science relating to the particulate nature of matter. The book will benefit a wide audience including classroom practitioners and student teachers at every educational level, teacher educators and researchers in science education. "If gaining the precise meaning in particulate terms of what is solid, what is liquid, and that air is a gas, were that simple, we would not be confronted with another book which, while suggesting new approaches to teaching these topics, confirms they are still very difficult for students to learn". Peter Fensham, Emeritus Professor Monash University, Adjunct Professor QUT (from the foreword to this book)

The National Science Education Standards set broad content goals for teaching grades K-12. For science teaching programs to achieve these goalsâ€"indeed, for science teaching to be most effectiveâ€"teachers and students need textbooks, lab kits, videos, and other materials that are clear, accurate, and help students achieve the goals set by the standards. Selecting Instructional Materials provides a rigorously field-tested procedure to help education decisionmakers evaluate and choose materials for the science classroom. The recommended procedure is unique, adaptable to local needs, and realistic given the time and money limitations typical to school districts. This volume includes a guide outlining the entire process for school district facilitators, and provides review instruments for each step. It critically reviews the current selection process for science teaching materialsâ€"in the 20 states where the state board of education sets forth a recommended list and in the 30 states where materials are selected entirely by local decisionmakers. Selecting Instructional Materials explores how purchasing decisions are influenced by parent attitudes, political considerations, and the marketing skills of those who produce and sell science teaching materials. It will be indispensable to state and local education decisionmakers, science program administrators and teachers, and science education advocates.