ABSTRACT
Elementary teachers are usually generalists, without specialty or special preparation in either science content or pedagogy. It can reasonably be argued that their primary role is to prepare their students to be literate adults, and thus, many are literacy specialists. Oftentimes, elementary teachers lack confidence in teaching science (Cox & Carpenter, 1989; Perkes, 1975; Tilgner, 1990) and so avoid science because it is not their specialty (Atwater, Gardener, & Kight, 1991; Schoeneberger & Russell, 1986). Most elementary teachers have never been engaged in scientific inquiry, yet they are being asked to teach science as inquiry (Kielborn & Gilmer, 1999). Even elementary teachers who are confident in their science backgrounds and teaching approaches could benefit from conducting an inquiry project, and could improve their teaching practice with systematic study. Although a teacher research project is not the same as a scientific inquiry, it can still provide a way that helps teachers experience some aspects of inquiry. The purpose of a teacher research project, as defined in this chapter, is to conduct classroom-based inquiry on teaching practice. Thus, there are similarities in that teachers are using an inquiry in their teacher research projects (see also chap. 13). Teacher research allows elementary teachers to raise a researchable question, design a study, and analyze and interpret results. Whereas the context is different from scientific inquiry, the process gives them some experience with a social science inquiry. Therefore, an appropriate strategy for fulfilling both a need to engage in inquiry, and a need for professional development in science teaching, is to prepare teachers to use action, or teacher research, in their teaching practice.
