Three teaching methods were compared in this study, namely a Cognitive Conflict Management Module (CCM) that is infused into Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE), (Module A) CASE without CCM (Module B) and a conventional teaching method. This study employed a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design using non-equivalent…

In line with a current global trend, junior secondary science education in Bangladesh aims to provide science education for all students to enable them to use their science learning in everyday life. This aim is consistent with the call for scientific literacy, which argues for engaging students with science in everyday life. This paper…

A scientifically literate person should be able to engage and critique science news reports about socioscientific issues from a variety of information sources. Such engagement involves critical thinking and argumentation skills to determine if claims made are justified by evidence and explained by reasonable explanations. This study explored…

This study explored environmental worldviews of selected undergraduate students in Taiwan and located the associations of these worldviews with science. The "environment" is represented as nature or the natural world, as opposed to the social and spiritual world. The participants were undergraduate students (14 science and 15 nonscience…

In-depth interviews guided by video elicitations examined 30 high school science teachers' conceptions of technology and by extension how these conceptions reflected dimensions of nature of technology. Altogether, 64% of the teachers characterized their schools and departments as aggressive-moderate adopters with generous access and support…

The purpose of this study was to explore 15 graduate research assistants' understanding of the nature of science. Data were collected through administration of a modified version of the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS-C). The findings suggest that graduate research assistants held underdeveloped views related to several nature…

Scientific models and modeling play an important role in science, and students' understanding of scientific models is essential for their understanding of scientific concepts. The measurement instrument of "Students' Understanding of Models in Science" (SUMS), developed by Treagust, Chittleborough & Mamiala…

In this mixed-methods study, the effect of training teacher-researchers in a collaborative research environment is examined for a cohort of teachers enrolled in a Math and Science Partnership (MSP) master's degree program. The teachers describe changes in their research views and in their application of research in practice, and detail the…

The lack of females entering STEM careers is well documented. Reasons for the gender gaps at all stages of the educational pipeline include both internal factors such as self-concept and external factors such as the influence of parents, media, and educators. Using latent growth curve analysis and nationally representative longitudinal survey…

What does it take to change a school's mathematics achievement profile from low to one that is proficient and advanced? Is this transformed achievement profile sustainable? Such is the story presented here, in this three-phase case study of a K-8 urban charter school's mathematics program. The first phase discusses the school's…

The present study investigated the role of disciplinary climate in the classroom and student math self-efficacy on math achievement. The student part of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 survey containing 4,199 U.S. observations was employed in a weighted least squares nested multiple regression framework to predict math…

The science vocabulary from a science curriculum standards document (Ministry of Education Ontario, 2007) was classified by morphological developmental level and compared to the grade level topics of the curriculum (grades 1 to 8). Descriptive statistical analyses highlight the complex nature of science vocabulary and the incompatibilities between…

In this paper we explore some of factors that affect bilingual students' comprehension of story problems: vocabulary, syntax, cultural relevance and understanding of the word problem genre. In an effort to determine how these factors interact, we asked 18 Spanish/English bilingual children to retell and solve arithmetic story problems in…

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of activity-based mathematics instruction on mathematics performance and investigate those factors, which contribute to the mathematics performance of a sample of children aged between 10 and 12 years. The study was designed to consider the impact of prior knowledge, self-regulation, prior attitude,…

The classroom practices of science teachers are indicative of their beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). PCK is an amalgam of knowledge about subject matter, pedagogy, and contextual issues. This article identifies areas where physics teachers in Lesotho may need professional development support by addressing the research question: How…