Masterclass in Science Education ― Transforming Teaching and Learning

MasterClass in Science Education shows how the science teacher becomes a master teacher by developing and adopting the habits and mind-set of a teacher-as-scientist. In Part I, the three pillars of the teacher-as-scientist approach are introduced: subject knowledge, pedagogic knowledge, and classroom research. The rationale for these pillars is that the body of subject knowledge in the sciences is both vast and constantly evolving as it is challenged, updated and developed. The science teacher needs to be aware of the dynamic nature of knowledge and the implications for their teaching. Second, to be effective, pedagogic knowledge needs to be 'knowledge-in-action': knowledge that is enacted in the in the complex and dynamic classroom environment. Knowledge-in-action can be developed by critically examining classroom experience from a wide range of research-informed perspectives that can offer insights into facilitating student learning. Lastly, aspiring master teachers learn to use recommendations from published research studies as components of a toolkit for improving teaching and learning.

Part II focuses on a range of issues faced in teaching science. Three notoriously difficult topics in the science curriculum for secondary schools are explored: natural selection, submicroscopic particle models, and circuits. This is followed by discussion of strategies for teaching the nature of scientific knowledge, making practical work effective and challenging gifted young scientists.