Teaching Science in Diverse Classrooms

As a distinctive voice in science education writing, Douglas B. Larkin provides a fresh perspective for science teachers working to make real science accessible to all K-12 students. Through compelling anecdotes and vignettes, this book draws on research to present a vision of successful and inspiring science teaching that builds upon the prior knowledge, experiences, and interests of students. With empathy for the challenges faced by contemporary science teachers, Teaching Science in Diverse Classrooms encourages teachers to embrace the intellectual task of engaging their students in learning science and offers an abundance of examples of what high-quality science teaching for all students can look like. This updated and expanded second edition includes more attention to teaching and learning science in a world changed by the pandemic and reaffirms the importance of attending to equity and justice in science classrooms.

Divided into four sections, this book centers around the idea that the decisions made by good science teachers help light the way for their students along both familiar and unfamiliar pathways to understanding. The book addresses topics and issues that occur in the daily lives and career arcs of science teachers, such as:

• Aiming for culturally relevant science teaching


• Eliciting and working with students? ideas


• Reshaping school science with scientific practices


• Viewing science teachers as science learners


• Teaching science in turbulent times

Grounded in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), this is a perfect resource for both pre-service and in-service teachers and teacher educators that addresses the intellectual challenges of teaching science in contemporary classrooms and models how to enact effective, reform-based science teaching practices for all students.

"As a teacher educator, Larkin?s book has become a regular part of my preparation for science methods. His clear articulation of ambitious, critical, and culturally relevant science teaching helps me facilitate meaningful connections between theory and practice for my teacher candidates as they learn how to enact this vision in real classrooms. The authentic examples and accessible language help my teacher candidates think more expansively about the possibilities of phenomenon-anchored science instruction."

Heather Johnson, Professor of the Practice of Science Education, Peabody College at Vanderbilt University, USA.

"Vibrant passages throughout this book put the reader 'in the room' with those learning to do the work of compassionate, effective, and equitable science teaching. Each chapter reveals new insights about how one learns to teach in diverse settings and how those who prepare these educators help them recognize the brilliance and humanity of the children they work with. As portrayed by one of science education?s most honest and deeply knowledgeable scholars, these narratives are informed by a career of research and first-person experiences in our public schools." 

Mark Windschitl, Professor of Science Education, University of Washington, USA.