Kindergarten through twelfth grade teacher competence, in both subject matter and pedagogy, is critical for advancing student achievement in science. The National Science Foundation (NSF 1996), however, has found that only about two-thirds of first- through eighth-grade teachers completed at least one college course in science and fewer than 30 percent said they feel well qualified to teach science. Additionally, Lowery (1998) points out that many educators see no need to change from a show-and-tell type of instruction to methods that help students understand science by constructing meaning for themselves through exploration and using prior knowledge. To help teachers raise student achievement levels, Schmoker (2002) proposes that schools design professional development that, by focusing on assessed standards and reviewing student achievement data, directly impacts student learning.