Science in the most curious places : an analysis of an in-service science education program for elementary school teachers

According to recent reports, few elementary school students receive an adequate education in science, particularly in physical science.These reports go on to suggest that sustained and structured in-service programs can assist teachers who want to teach more science in their classrooms.This thesis is an exploratory, qualitative analysis of the effectiveness of an in-service science program for elementary teachers, specifically focussing on the experiences of some of the participants.The program consisted of a one week institute, conducted at Science World, British Columbia in August, 1991, and a subsequent field-based implementation course offered by Simon Fraser University, during the Fall term of 1991.Was this combination of summer institute and implementation course an effective and appropriate way to assist teachers who want to do more and better science with their students?How well did it address the "problem of elementary science education"?My relationship with the teachers evolved over two years from "participant" in the summer institute to "facilitator" during the implementation course and to "researcher" in the follow-up study.This multi-role perspective enabled me to develop a substantial and unique database for the study.Three aspects of the participating teachers'