The Art of the Science Teacher

The Art of the Science Teacher, from the Nuffield Fundation, was published by the Science Teacher Education Project to provide background reading suitable for both student-teachers and serving teachers. Each chapter was written by experienced classroom teachers who had also been involved in teacher education. The aim was that the book would help to bridge the language barrier between teachers and those involved in trying to back up practical experience with professional studies.

The editors of this book took the view that a study of how to teach should have a theoretical basis if it was to be of lasting value. A collection of tips on how to do the job would not suffice when it comes to coping with an unexpected situation, or when, as schools change, a teacher has to tackle a new problem. The aim was to help teachers to build some general framework of understanding about how children and adolescents learn, what the teacher's role in this process is, how good morale in a classroom develops or fails to develop, and so on. Teachers could then apply this to particular problems, whether or not they are similar to those they have met before.

[b]Contents[/b]
Introduction
PART I About purposes
1 Aims and objectives
2 The nature of science and scientific inquiry

PART II About relationships and communication between teachers and pupils
3 The pupil's thinking
4 Language and communication in science lessons
5 Teacher—pupil interaction

PART III About a range of teaching methods
6 Methods and techniques of teaching
7 Resources for learning
8 Teaching pupils of differing abilities and motivation

PART IV About the design and improvement of lessons and courses
9 Assessment as a source of feedback to teacher and pupil
10 Principles of curriculum design

PART V Management problems
11 Safety
12 Laboratory design and management

PART VI Pressures and constraints from outside
13 The social context of science teaching