Science process skills are the skills that scientists use to study and investigate the world. They are the vehicle for generating content and a means by which concepts are formed. This book is presented in three parts. Part 1 attends to the kinds of science skills appropriate for preschool and the lower elementary grades including observation, classification, communication, measurement, prediction and influence. Part 2 includes the more complex, integrated skills that are needed to plan and conduct controlled scientific investigations. Part 3 provides a guide to teaching scientific facts and concepts through process skills. Each chapter contains objectives, lists of materials, suggested directions and blanks for responses, self-check questions, and extension activities. The activities are designed to allow students to work at their own pace. At the end of each chapter, a mastery test is provided. An appendix lists simple, inexpensive materials that are needed to do the exercises in this book. (CW)

`Professor Harlen has, once again, provided the leading text on primary science. This eminently readable book sets out a clear account of our understanding of learning, teaching and assessment and, through the skilful use of examples, explores the implications of this for science teachers of pupils aged five to 12. By emphasizing the importance of research evidence and the way in which it should underpin practice, this new edition challenges everyone involved in science education to reflect again on whether we are providing the most appropriate learning opportunities for our pupils. It is certainly a book which will be highly recommended, referred to on many occasions and used extensively′ - Dr Derek Bell, Chief Executive, The Association for Science Education This thoroughly revised and completely up-to-date new edition provides an excellent theoretical framework for teaching science that is firmly grounded in classroom practice and covers all stages of education for students aged five to 12 years. The author details a constructivist view of learning, which recognizes that children already have ideas about the world in which they live, and gives advice on how teachers can help children to develop their understanding and change their perception to a more scientific view. A particular feature is the focus on formative assessment as a framework for discussion on how to help students develop their understanding, enquiry skills and positive attitudes to scientific investigation. The wide range of topics covered include: The nature of students′ learning in science The goals of science education Gathering and interpreting information about students′ ′s ideas Helping development of scientific ideas Gathering and interpreting evidence of students′ enquiry skills and attitudes Strategies for helping development of students′ qnquiry skills and attitudes The learner′s role in learning Summarising and reporting learning Motivating learning Teachers and children′s questions Resources for learning science Managing science in the school Each chapter features useful summaries, points for reflection and further reading, making this acclaimed book indispensable reading for all primary and practitioners and students who want a book that will authoritatively inform, inspire and instruct their science teaching.

`Professor Harlen has, once again, provided the leading text on primary science. This eminently readable book sets out a clear account of our understanding of learning, teaching and assessment and, through the skilful use of examples, explores the implications of this for science teachers of pupils aged five to 12. By emphasizing the importance of research evidence and the way in which it should underpin practice, this new edition challenges everyone involved in science education to reflect again on whether we are providing the most appropriate learning opportunities for our pupils. It is certainly a book which will be highly recommended, referred to on many occasions and used extensively′ - Dr Derek Bell, Chief Executive, The Association for Science Education This thoroughly revised and completely up-to-date new edition provides an excellent theoretical framework for teaching science that is firmly grounded in classroom practice and covers all stages of education for students aged five to 12 years. The author details a constructivist view of learning, which recognizes that children already have ideas about the world in which they live, and gives advice on how teachers can help children to develop their understanding and change their perception to a more scientific view. A particular feature is the focus on formative assessment as a framework for discussion on how to help students develop their understanding, enquiry skills and positive attitudes to scientific investigation. The wide range of topics covered include: The nature of students′ learning in science The goals of science education Gathering and interpreting information about students′ ′s ideas Helping development of scientific ideas Gathering and interpreting evidence of students′ enquiry skills and attitudes Strategies for helping development of students′ qnquiry skills and attitudes The learner′s role in learning Summarising and reporting learning Motivating learning Teachers and children′s questions Resources for learning science Managing science in the school Each chapter features useful summaries, points for reflection and further reading, making this acclaimed book indispensable reading for all primary and practitioners and students who want a book that will authoritatively inform, inspire and instruct their science teaching.

Seasoned classroom veterans, pre-tenured faculty, and neophyte teaching assistants alike will find this book invaluable. HHMI Professor Jo Handelsman and her colleagues at the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching (WPST) have distilled key findings from education, learning, and cognitive psychology and translated them into six chapters of digestible research points and practical classroom examples. The recommendations have been tried and tested in the National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology and through the WPST. Scientific Teaching is not a prescription for better teaching. Rather, it encourages the reader to approach teaching in a way that captures the spirit and rigor of scientific research and to contribute to transforming how students learn science.

Presenting an up-to-date discussion of the many aspects of teaching primary science, this best-selling book contains a strong focus on constructivist learning and the role of social interaction in learning.