Transforming Undergraduate Science Teaching: Social Constructivist Perspectives

This book comes at a time when epistemological reform is sweeping through the global community of science education. Since the 1970s, the theories of knowing embodied in the teaching activities of school science teachers have been undergoing a major transformation toward more learner-sensitive standpoints. But undergraduate science teaching, the breeding ground of teachers of school science, has remained largely teacher-centered in many lecture theaters and laboratories. Little wonder that newly graduated science teachers arrive in school science classrooms ill prepared to practice learner-sensitive teaching. Thus, the motivating force behind this book is to expedite the process of epistemological reform of undergraduate science teaching, to align it with the reform goals of the science education community. The knowledge gained from this unique collection of studies can be extended to science courses for all students, those going on directly into science, those planning to become K-12 teachers of science, and those in allied fields as well.