Wynne Harlen has spent a lifetime as a teacher, researcher, and author in science education. Until recently,
she was Director of the Scottish Council for Research in Education and before that was Professor of Science Education
and Head of the Education Department at the University of Liverpool. In 1991, she was honored by the Queen for
her services to education. Harlen is now Visiting Professor at the University of Bristol, editor of Primary Science
Review, and a consultant to various science projects in the United States and United Kingdom.
Summary
When Primary Science was first published, it provided such valuable insight into the teacher�s role in the science
classroom that it quickly became the standard against which all other methods texts were measured. Now, sixteen
years later, Wynne Harlen has revised her classic text, updating it with the most recent and pertinent research,
while preserving the parts that have endured and need no change.
Primary Science is written for preservice and inservice classroom teachers in primary, elementary, and middle schools.
It is particularly aimed at generalist teachers, who may not see themselves as "science teachers," yet
have to teach science. But is also for science specialists and curriculum directors or leaders who are attempting
to ensure that students� science activities offer genuine learning experiences. To that end, the book provides
direct and detailed advice on what kinds of questions teachers should ask, how teachers can respond to children�s
"difficult" questions, how to develop and assess children�s process skills, and how to support children�s
understandings through inquiry.
No other text is quite so accessible. The ideas Harlen presents are firmly grounded in classroom practice and illustrated
by numerous classroom examples. Each chapter ends with a summary of main points that will enable readers to locate
advice quickly and refer back to detailed discussions.
Table of Contents
1. Why Science? What Science?
2. Bringing Children and Science Together
3. The Right Question at the Right Time
4. Helping Children Raise Questions--and Answering Them
5. Taking Children's Own Ideas Seriously
6. Helping Children to Plan and Interpret Investigations
7. Helping Children to Observe
8. Helping Children to Communicate
9. Assessing for Learning
