Becoming a Responsive Science Teacher: Focusing on Student Thinking in Secondary Science

This just may be the book that transforms your approach to classroom teaching. It shows how you can shift from the traditional method―presenting material that you hope students will hear and retain―to what the authors call “responsive listening”―atuning your teaching to the substance of students’ reactions to your lessons and helping them learn how to learn science. To help you make the shift, the book offers a philosophical framework illustrated by five real-life case studies (four of which are captured on videos available for free on the NSTA website). The case studies help you practice recognising, interpreting and responding to the vital nuances of your own students’ conceptions (regardless of how accurate they may be) in real time.

Ideal for teacher educators as well as current and pre-service teachers, this book holds out the promise that when you consciously strive to help students work through their ideas about science, the result can be more effective instruction from you―and much deeper understanding for your students.