Science teachers' conceptual growth within Vygotsky's zone of proximal development

Abstract

Within a sociocultural context, this study examined how science teachers' knowledge of science and science pedagogy changed as a result of participating in a constructivist-based graduate science methods course. Fourteen elementary and middle school science teachers worked with an assigned partner for the duration of the course. Teachers with more than 5 years' experience were paired with teachers who had 5 or fewer years' experience. Results from pre- and postinstruction concept maps, journals, portfolios, and transcripts of discourse revealed that within the zone of proximal development, peers, teachers' students, instructors, readings, and tools mediated the development of content and pedagogical knowledge. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 967–985, 1998