Novice teachers' encounter with national science education reform: Entanglements or intelligent interconnections?

This study centers on developing a structure and forum for novice teachers to explore science education reform documents and to link them to practice. To date, science education reform efforts have focused mainly on intended curricula (goals, standards, frameworks, etc.) and outcome-based measures (assessments). The implemented curriculum—the way teachers plan to teach—has received less attention. Moreover, the literature indicates that the gap between reform goals and practice can be attributed to the lack of attention to the implemented curriculum. In this project, 25 preservice and recently inducted science teachers analyzed the materials of Project 2061 or the National Research Council standards. A series of structured and interconnected activities allowed them to create summaries and an evaluation instrument, teachers' criteria, parallel to reform goals. Teams developed 10-day teaching units based on reform principles, then analyzed the products using the criteria they had developed. The study suggests some methods to help new teachers understand science education reform and create products that can be used for planning, teaching, and evaluation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 3–17, 1997.