ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author presents the argument that a core intellectual task for science teachers is making subject matter accessible to their students. He addresses how such an idea applies to the practices of science as a part of that subject matter. Students should investigate authentic questions, use the real tools of scientists, and engage in specific situated practices of knowledge generation as much as possible. Teachers who begin from phenomena, elicit their students’ ideas, use those ideas as the basis for instruction, include the collection and analysis of evidence, and afford students the opportunity to craft, present, and defend knowledge claims, will be effective teachers of science. Engaging in science practices like developing and revising models, planning and carrying out investigations, developing explanations and arguments from evidence, and engaging in communication about scientific ideas are also quite effective in teaching the science content.
