In the past decades wide-ranging research on effective integration of technology in instruction have been conducted by various educators and researchers with the hope that the affordances of technology might be leveraged to improve the teaching and learning process. However, in order to put the technology in optimum use, knowledge about how and in what way technology can enhance the instruction is also essential. A number of theories and models have been proposed in harnessing the technology in everyday lessons. Among these attempts Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework introduced by Mishra and Koehler has emerged as a representation of the complex relationships between technology, pedagogy and content knowledge. The TPACK framework extends the concept of Shulman's pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) which defines the need for knowledge about the content and pedagogical skills in teaching activities. Since then the framework has been embraced by the educational technology practitioners, instructional designers, and educators. TPACK research received increasing attention from education and training community covering diverse range of subjects and academic disciplines and significant progress has been made in recent years. This book attempts to bring the practitioners and researchers to present current directions, trends and approaches, convey experience and findings, and share reflection and vision to improve science teaching and learning with the use of TPACK framework. A wide array of topics will be covered in this book including applications in teacher training, designing courses, professional development and impact on learning, intervention strategies and other complex educational issues. Information contained in this book will provide knowledge growth and insights into effective educational strategies in integration of technology with the use of TPACK as a theoretical and developmental tool. The book will be of special interest to international readers including educators, teacher trainers, school administrators, curriculum designers, policy makers, and researchers and complement the existing literature and published works.

Co-Published with the Association For Science Teacher Education. Reflecting recent policy and standards initiatives, emerging research agendas, and key innovations, this volume provides a contemporary overview of important developments and issues that have that have in recent years shaped elementary science education pre-service courses and professional development, and practices that are shaping future directions in the field. Contributors from several countries who are actively engaged in research and design in elementary science education address: *Conceptual issues which impinge on contemporary science teacher education; *Intersections of content, pedagogy, and practice; and *Professional development as a contextualized practice. Elementary Science Teacher Education: International Perspectives on Contemporary Issues and Practice offers a clear picture of the current state of the field and directions for the future--to the benefit of elementary science teacher educators, aspiring teacher educators, school policy makers, other professionals involved in science education and, ultimately, the millions of elementary school children who will gain from improved practice.

This book is a resource for both prospective and practicing elementary teachers as they learn to teach science in ways which foster the development of a community of science learners with multiple perspectives and diverse approaches to problem solving. It includes cases that feature dilemmas embedded in rich narrative stories which characterize the lives of teachers of science, and by extension their students, and serve as tools for discussion, critique, and reflective practice. The introduction to the book explores changing contexts for elementary science teaching and learning, and describes how case-based pedagogy can be used as a tool for both instruction and research. Each subsequent section of the book includes cases that are organized around topics such as contemporary approaches to teaching elementary science, new roles for technology, and the creation of inclusive learning environments for all students in elementary science. Each case is followed by reflective commentaries and concludes with questions for reflection and discussion. Teachers will benefit from these cases as they explore the complexities and ambiguities of elementary science teaching and learning in today’s classrooms.

Addressing Social Issues in the Classroom and Beyond: The Pedagogical Efforts of Pioneers in the Field is comprised of essays that delineate the genesis and evolution of the thought and work of pioneers in the field of social issues and education. The authors (many of whom, themselves, are noted professors of education and who have done significant work in the field of social issues and education) delineate and analyze the efforts (e.g., theoretical work, research, curriculum development, and teaching) of such pioneers within the larger framework of their life-story. As a result, the reader is not only introduced to the significant work of each pioneer but valuable and often fascinating insights into how his/her life experiences informed his/her thinking, beliefs, goals and work. This book constitutes a rich and unusual record of the thinking and accomplishments of those luminaries who worked tirelessly in the belief that a well-educated and well-informed populace was absolutely imperative in a democracy if the latter were to remain healthy and vibrant. Beyond current scholars and students, we believe that this book will be of great interest to a wide spectrum of individuals: teacher educators who perceive the need to avail their students of the rich history, rationales and methods for incorporating the study of social issues across the curriculum; professors who teach history of curriculum courses and/or history of education courses are likely to be drawn to the book, both for the rich stories as well as the bounty of information found in each chapter; those who specialize in autobiographical studies in the field of education are likely to find the book to be remarkably rich and valuable both for their own research as well as in their teaching; secondary level teachers in science, social studies, and English who are interested in incorporating the study of social issues into the courses they teach will glean incredibly rich insights into why and how to go about such an endeavor; and future scholars and students who care deeply about how society impacts education, education impacts society, and how individuals and groups can have a positive impact on society through their collective efforts are bound to find the book both fascinating and instructive.

This book presents an international perspective of the influence of educational context on science education. The focus is on the interactions between curriculum development and implementation, particularly in non-Western and non-English-speaking contexts (i.e., outside the UK, USA, Australia, NZ, etc. ). An important and distinguishing feature of the book is that it draws upon the experiences and research from local experts from an extremely diverse cohort across the world (26 countries in total). The book addresses topics such as: curriculum development; research or evaluation of an implemented curriculum; discussion of pressures driving curriculum reform or implementation of new curricula (e. g., technology or environmental education); the influence of political, cultural, societal or religious mores on education; governmental or ministerial drives for curriculum reform; economic or other pressures driving curriculum reform; the influence of external assessment regimes on curriculum; and so on.

Building on the foundation set in Volume I—a landmark synthesis of research in the field—Volume II is a comprehensive, state-of-the-art new volume highlighting new and emerging research perspectives. The contributors, all experts in their research areas, represent the international and gender diversity in the science education research community. The volume is organized around six themes: theory and methods of science education research; science learning; culture, gender, and society and science learning; science teaching; curriculum and assessment in science; science teacher education. Each chapter presents an integrative review of the research on the topic it addresses—pulling together the existing research, working to understand the historical trends and patterns in that body of scholarship, describing how the issue is conceptualized within the literature, how methods and theories have shaped the outcomes of the research, and where the strengths, weaknesses, and gaps are in the literature. Providing guidance to science education faculty and graduate students and leading to new insights and directions for future research, the Handbook of Research on Science Education, Volume II is an essential resource for the entire science education community.

This book provides an international perspective of current work aimed at both clarifying the theoretical foundations for the use of multimodal representations as a part of effective science education pedagogy and the pragmatic application of research findings to actual classroom settings. Intended for a wide ranging audience from science education faculty members and researchers to classroom teachers, school administrators, and curriculum developers, the studies reported in this book can inform best practices in K – 12 classrooms of all science disciplines and provide models of how to improve science literacy for all students. Specific descriptions of classroom activities aimed at helping infuses the use of multimodal representations in classrooms are combined with discussion of the impact on student learning. Overarching findings from a synthesis of the various studies are presented to help assert appropriate pedagogical and instructional implications as well as to suggest further avenues of research.