What professional judgements do teachers make in utilising resources on contemporary science?

There is continuing policy interest in engaging students with contemporary science and with scientists’ practices to enhance their learning and interest in science. Calls to action advocate for supporting teachers to establish new approaches to science teaching that widen the scope of science education. This research explores how we can support teachers to engage with specifically created curriculum resources to develop innovative science teaching approaches that forefront scientists’ research and practices. Implementing design-based research methodology, I collaborated with three teachers in a process of adapting these resources to provide students with contextual, contemporary science learning experiences. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with teachers describing their experiences in implementing these resources, classroom observations involving journal writing and digital video recording of classes during resource use. Findings show that teachers were agentic in exercising professional judgement to link the resource with their own personal practices for productive learning. The study demonstrates that, with appropriate support, resources that represent scientists’ contemporary research and practices can stimulate teachers’ innovative curriculum planning to align these with their professional beliefs and practices. Such resources can support teacher growth into new directions in science education.