Abstract
The rapid growth in student diversity in US public schools has created challenges leading to questioning and improvement of science teaching and learning approaches used in the science classroom. The mixed ability classroom requires instructional approaches that provide a framework for engaging students in authentic problem solving. While participating in a 6-week summer academy, Neporcha implemented a problem-based science unit to meet the academic needs of gifted students from low-income backgrounds in grades five through eight. As a result of this experience, Dr. Cone and her coauthors learned new strategies for differentiating instruction that inform the way they prepare preservice elementary-grades teachers to meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds.
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Cone, N., Bantwini, B.D., King-McKenzie, E., Bogan, B. (2014). Differentiating Through Problem-Based Learning: Learning to ExploreMore! with Gifted Students. In: Dias, M., Eick, C., Brantley-Dias, L. (eds) Science Teacher Educators as K-12 Teachers. ASTE Series in Science Education, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6763-8_12
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