This paper presents an integrative framework for analyzing science meaning-making with representations. It integrates the research on multiple representations and multimodal representations by identifying and leveraging the differences in their units of analysis in two dimensions: timescale and compositional grain size. Timescale considers the…

It is arguable whether Singapore's mainstream schools are moving towards "inclusion" by providing support for students with mild to moderate disabilities through the provision of a newly created para-professional called the Allied Educators (Learning and Behavioural) [AED(LBS)]. Since 2005, the government has provided an incremental…

The last two decades have witnessed the gradual implementation of integrated science curriculum at the junior secondary level in China. However, in most provinces of China, the implementation is not as successful as expected. Challenges were reported, yet without fine-grained investigation, with respect to science teachers' instruction on…

Inquiry experiences in secondary science classrooms are heavily weighted toward experimentation. We know, however, that many fields of science (e.g., evolutionary biology, cosmology, and paleontology), while they may utilize experiments, are not justified by experimental methodologies. With the focus on experimentation in schools, these fields of…

This paper explores the relationship between epistemology, sociology, and learning and teaching in physics based on an examination of literature from research in science studies, history and philosophy of science, and physics pedagogic research. It reveals a mismatch between the positivist epistemological foundation which seems to underpin the…

This article reports on how one teacher education program utilized a Learn and Serve America grant to embed service-learning experiences into its practices. Included are narrative reflections on how the program faculty developed a community-based, participatory approach to service-learning in order to act as a responsive partner to the needs of…

Contemporary research into science education has generally been conducted from the perspective of "conceptual change" in learning. This study sought to extend previous work by recognizing that human rationality can be influenced by the emotions generated by the learning environment and specific actions related to learning. Methods used…

In this study, the Science Student Skills Inventory was used to gain understanding of student perceptions about their science skills set developed throughout their programme (scientific content knowledge, communication, scientific writing, teamwork, quantitative skills, and ethical thinking). The study involved 400 responses from undergraduate…

This case study of a science lesson, on the topic thermal expansion, examines the language demands on students from an integrated science and language perspective. The data were generated during a sequence of 9 lessons on the topic of "States of Matter" in a Grade 7 classroom (12-13 years old students). We identify the language demands…

Across several countries, science is often regarded as unpopular and a male-dominated domain. Furthermore, the number of students who are interested in science education or intend to work in the field of science is relatively low. This might be due to expectations adolescents hold towards science and successful scientists. The current…

Since the late 1990s, there has been consensus among educational researchers that argumentation should play a central role in science education. Although there has been extensive relevant research, it is not clear enough how oral argumentation spontaneously occurs in science teaching. This is particularly important with regard to the empirical…

This paper describes the 5E+I/A inquiry model and reports a case study of one curricular enactment by a US fifth-grade classroom. A literature review establishes the model's conceptual adequacy with respect to longstanding research related to both the 5E inquiry model and multiple, incremental innovations of it. As a collective line of…

Current reforms in elementary and secondary science education call for students and teachers to develop more informed views of the nature of science (NOS)--a process in which science textbooks play a significant role. This paper reports on a case study of the development of representations of the NOS in a senior high school chemistry textbook by…

The purpose of the study was two-fold: to (a) investigate the influence of explicit nature of science (NOS) and explicit argumentation instruction in the context of a socioscientific issue on the argumentation skills and NOS understandings of students, and (b) explore the transfer of students' NOS understandings and argumentation skills…

In this paper, we report a case study of a 16-year-old Swedish upper secondary student's developing understanding of key concept areas studied in his upper secondary school chemistry course. This study illustrates how the thinking of an individual learner, Jesper, evolves over a school year in response to formal instruction in a particular…