Science education reforms worldwide call on teachers to engage students in investigative approaches to instruction, like inquiry. Studies of teacher self-reported enactment indicate that inquiry is used frequently in the classroom, suggesting a high level of proficiency with inquiry that would be amenable to inquiry reform. However, it is unclear whether the high frequency of self-report is based on sound knowledge inquiry. In the absence of sound knowledge, high rates of self-reported enactment would be suspect. We conducted a study to measure teachers’ knowledge of inquiry as it related to the known, high frequency of reported enactment. We developed a multidimensional survey instrument using US reform documents and administered it to 149 K–12 teachers at a national science teachers’ conference. The majority of the teachers surveyed did not report inquiry enactment based on well-structured knowledge of inquiry. Interviews with participants showed how teachers could readily map non-inquiry activities onto inquiry statements taken directly from reform documents. From these results we argue that teachers often believed they were enacting inquiry, when likely they were not. We further reason that teachers may struggle to interpret and enact inquiry-related requirements of science education reform and will need support distinguishing inquiry from non-inquiry practices.

Teacher education programs are a critical site for preparing teachers’ self-regulated learning (SRL) knowledge and capacity to foster students’ SRL skills. The present study describes preservice science teachers’ (PSTs) perspectives and practices regarding SRL after a brief learning opportunity. The participants were 12 PSTs in a certification program for teaching secondary science. The data came from course assignments, lesson plans, and semi-structured interviews. The findings showed the PSTs appreciated the role of SRL and tried to integrate SRL processes into their science lessons. However, they needed further support to systematically implement SRL processes in classrooms. Findings from this study are relevant for science teacher educators who are interested in improving science teaching because the link between SRL and science teaching is discussed. They may also support teacher educators in making more informed decisions about course design and instruction regarding SRL. Finally, since suggestions for future studies are discussed, this research is relevant for science education researchers who study teachers’ perspectives on and practices related to SRL.

An important research objective in modelling instruction is defining what students should learn about the model-referent relationship, as when unguided, they tend to errantly think of models as literal interpretations of their referents. Restating this problem we say students should learn about structure-preserving transformations between models and referents; including: what gets transformed, how it is transformed, and directions of information flow in transformation. To define what students should learn of this triumvirate, we introduce two explanatory statements: models are abstractions and models have transferability. We then investigated how readily students could learn about abstraction and transferability, and how this learning related to literal interpretation, by comparing pre- and posttest scores of modelling knowledge for students (n = 175) who participated in a modelling activity that provided experiences with abstraction and transferability. A control group (n=49) took identical tests but received no relevant instruction. Results showed that modelling students: (1) improved their capability to generate abstract models; (2) gained in their understanding that models represented their referents under transformation; and (3) consequently, did not think of models as literal interpretations. Lack of gains in the control ruled out a testing effect. We concluded that knowledge of structure-preserving transformations is a viable and valuable object of instruction.