Higher Order Thinking in Science Teacher Education in Israel

This chapter describes a course called Thinking in Science that is part of a junior high school teacher preparation program in an Israeli college. The purpose of the course is to prepare prospective teachers to integrate instruction of higher order thinking skills into science topics. A qualitative evaluation study of the course examined processes that took place, documented in a portfolio. The findings show a developmental trend in four different aspects 1) students’ ideas about instruction of higher order thinking; 2) students’ opinions and attitudes regarding the course; 3) students’ experiences in developing higher order thinking as learners; and 4) experiences developing higher order thinking as teachers. Learning processes during the course took place on both a cognitive and an affective level. Students’ development went through a stage of cognitive imbalance, indicating meaningful learning. We also discuss the implications regarding the introduction of higher order thinking into science teacher preparation programs.