Stimulating constructivist teaching styles through use of an observation rubric

One of the difficult transitions for new secondary science teachers is that from novice teacher to master teacher. Often this process involves the nov ice in adopting survival strategies for teaching rather than those advocate d by the National science education standards or the Project 2061 benchmark s. This study reports on an instrument that has been shown td be useful in helping novice teachers reflect on and change their science teaching praxis . Based on the interpretation of this case study, it appears to have the po tential to significantly affect the development of secondary science teache rs by providing a readily accessible model of instruction that aligns with student-centered models of instruction advocated by the Standards and Proje ct 2061. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.