Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Cognitive and Cultural Approach

′I believe the experiments in this text can be well integrated into any science education course and help create an environment of exploration." - Willis Walter, Jr., Florida AM University ′This textbook should be a companion of all elementary and middle school pre-service and in-service teachers who are interested in educating students of different abilities and backgrounds′ - Benjamin C. Ngwudike, Jackson State University ′Science is almost always thought of as a solitary content area practiced by lone practitioners in isolated laboratories. The reality is that science is highly dependent upon culture and history. This textbook meaningfully presents these relationships in a fashion accessible to college level teacher candidates′ - Claudia A. Balach, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Cognitive and Cultural Approach is an introductory science curriculum and methods textbook for pre-service teachers in primary and middle schools. The primary purpose of the book is to provide an introduction to the teaching of science with an emphasis on guiding the pre-service teacher toward: - conceptual understanding of core standards-based science content from the four major scientific disciplines - application of scientific methods and processes of inquiry to the learning of these science concepts - development of scientific language that is both expressive and constitutive in the formation of scientific reasoning - the ability to guide learners through numerous core scientific experiments that help to illuminate items 1-3 - evaluation of social and cultural factors that shape and influence both science and science education - analysis of the local context in which science must be understood (as well as the global context) - synthesis of science as interrelated with other aspects of the world and how this idea can be taught to students through integrated and thematic instruction. The approach throughout is clear and practical, and is designed to foster reflective teaching rooted in research and theory. Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Cognitive and Cultural Approach is a synthesis of current knowledge in science education, cognition and culture. The authors provide a text that fosters the development of teachers who feel prepared to engage their students in rich science learning experiences.

Table of Contents:
PREFACE PART I. CREATING THE CONTEXT FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION 1. The Nature of Science 2. Science Education in Social Context 3. Towards a Philosophy of Hands-on Science Education 4. Diverse Learners in the Science Classroom 5. Observing as a Scientist and as a Science Teacher PART II. TEACHING AND LEARNING THE SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES 6. Understanding and Teaching Earth and Space Science 7. Understanding and Teaching Biology 8. Understanding and Teaching Chemistry 9. Understanding and Teaching Physics PART III. MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM PRE-SERVICE TO IN-SERVICE TEACHER 10. Teacher Professional Development: Growing as a Teacher of Science APPENDIX: NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS GLOSSARY

About the Author :
Gene Provenzo is one of the nation’s leading scholars in the foundations of education. He holds the rank of full professor at the University of Miami. He has won numerous awards throughout his career in both teaching and research and sits on many editorial boards. He has authored over ten books and has contributed chapters to many more. He has authored scores of articles in a wide range of areas in education. His recent projects include Teaching, Learning, and Schooling (Allyn & Bacon, 2002), a critically-oriented introduction to the foundations of education textbook, and the forthcoming Readings in Educational Thought (SAGE, 2005).

Review :
Albuquerque Public Schools- Hoover Middle School  " I love this book! I am teaching 7th grade life science and 8th grade physical science and without this book this journey would have been much more difficult. The labs the book has provided are awesome. With many other science books the materials they suggest using are impossible for a public school to acquire. The household items needed to perform most of these experiments make them much easy to demonstrate in the class. I love how the book has provided scientific explanation at the beginning of each set of labs. At the beginning of every unit I look at the experiment section and plan which ones we will be doing. Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School is a must for every science teacher!"