THE BIG IDEA

Great science teachers do more than explain scientific facts. They cultivate curiosity, encourage investigation, challenge assumptions, and help students understand how scientists develop knowledge about the natural world.

Decades of educational research suggest that effective science instruction combines inquiry, hands-on learning, explicit teaching, meaningful discussion, and opportunities to apply scientific concepts.

Research by Wise (1996), Bredderman (1983), Anderman and Young (1994), and Wideen and colleagues (1997), reinforced by more recent investigations, identifies seven practices that distinguish effective science instruction.

SEVEN PRACTICES OF GREAT SCIENCE TEACHERS

1. They Make Students Active Investigators

Great science teachers recognize that students learn science by engaging with scientific ideas and evidence, not simply memorizing information.

Bredderman's (1983) research synthesis examined the effects of activity-based elementary science instruction. His findings support the educational value of involving students directly in scientific investigations.

Rather than merely describing evaporation, effective teachers might have students investigate how temperature, airflow, and surface area influence evaporation rates.

The principle: Students learn more deeply when they actively investigate phenomena and connect their observations to scientific explanations.

2. They Teach Students to Think Like Scientists

Effective science instruction emphasizes asking questions, developing hypotheses, gathering evidence, analyzing results, and constructing explanations.

Wise (1996) reviewed research on science teaching strategies, highlighting the importance of approaches that engage students in inquiry.

The National Research Council's (2012) Framework for K–12 Science Education similarly emphasizes scientific practices, including developing models, analyzing data, and defending explanations with evidence.

Great teachers repeatedly ask: What evidence supports your conclusion? How might we test your explanation?

3. They Build Motivation and Scientific Confidence

Students' beliefs about their abilities influence their willingness to tackle challenging scientific problems.

Anderman and Young (1994) examined motivation and learning strategies among middle school science students, documenting important differences in students' confidence, goals, and approaches to learning.

Effective teachers encourage curiosity, communicate high expectations, recognize improvement, and normalize mistakes as part of scientific discovery.

They create classrooms where students feel comfortable questioning established explanations and revising their thinking.

4. They Balance Explicit Instruction With Discovery

Great science teaching does not mean abandoning direct instruction.

Students need accurate background knowledge, clear explanations, vocabulary development, and guidance in using scientific equipment.

Effective teachers combine these supports with carefully structured investigations.

For example, students studying electricity might receive explicit instruction about circuits before designing experiments to determine which materials conduct electricity.

The goal is guided inquiry—not unguided discovery.

5. They Encourage Collaboration and Scientific Discussion

Science is a collaborative enterprise, and effective classrooms reflect that reality.

Students work together to investigate problems, compare observations, challenge interpretations, and communicate findings.

Freeman and colleagues (2014), analyzing 225 studies of undergraduate STEM instruction, found that active-learning approaches improved student achievement compared with traditional lectures.

Although the research involved college students, its findings strengthen the broader case for meaningful student participation.

6. They Assess Understanding, Not Just Memorization

Great science teachers regularly assess whether students can explain scientific phenomena, interpret evidence, and apply concepts.

Wideen and colleagues (1997) found that high-stakes examinations could narrow science instruction and discourage inquiry-oriented learning.

Effective teachers therefore complement traditional tests with investigations, scientific explanations, models, laboratory reports, and performance assessments.

Assessment becomes a tool for improving learning rather than simply assigning grades.

7. They Connect Science to Real-World Problems

Outstanding teachers help students recognize science as a powerful tool for understanding everyday experiences.

Students might investigate local water quality, analyze weather patterns, examine school energy consumption, or explore environmental changes.

The Next Generation Science Standards (2013) emphasize integrating scientific knowledge with authentic scientific and engineering practices.

Real-world applications make science relevant while helping students transfer their understanding to unfamiliar problems.

WHY IT MATTERS FOR SCHOOL LEADERS

Principals can strengthen science instruction by protecting laboratory time, providing appropriate equipment, supporting professional learning, and encouraging collaborative lesson planning.

Classroom observations should examine what students are thinking, investigating, explaining, and questioning—not merely what teachers are presenting.

The ultimate measure of excellent science teaching is not how many facts students remember, but how effectively they can use scientific knowledge and evidence to understand the world.

LEADER REFLECTION

If you visited every science classroom tomorrow, would you see students primarily receiving scientific information—or actively developing and defending scientific explanations?

REFERENCES

Original Sources

1. Wideen, Marvin F., Thomas O'Shea, Ivy Pye, and George Ivany. (1997). "High-Stakes Testing and the Teaching of Science." Canadian Journal of Education, 22(4), 428–444.

Read the research

2. Wise, Kevin C. (1996). "Strategies for Teaching Science: What Works?" The Clearing House, 69(6), 337–338.

Read the research

3. Anderman, Eric M., and Allison J. Young. (1994). "Motivation and Strategy Use in Science: Individual Differences and Classroom Effects." Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31(8), 811–831.

Read the research

4. Bredderman, Ted. (1983). "Effects of Activity-Based Elementary Science on Student Outcomes: A Quantitative Synthesis." Review of Educational Research, 53(4), 499–518.

Read the research

Three Additional Sources

5. National Research Council. (2012). A Framework for K–12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Read the report

6. Freeman, Scott, et al. (2014). "Active Learning Increases Student Performance in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410–8415.

Read the research

7. NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Read the standards

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Prepared with the assistance of AI software OpenAI. (2026). ChatGPT (5.2) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com