This research aimed to examine the effects of visiting exhibitions and participating in the activities offered by science centers on raising the interest of second level students of primary education in science and improving their academic achievements. Thirty one 8th grade students chosen randomly from primary schools participated in the research…

This article reports the relative effect of Smart and Mainstream schooling on students' attitudes towards science which was measured using ATSSA(M)--the Malay version of the Germann's (1988) Attitudes Towards Science in School Assessment (ATSSA) instrument. The participants comprised 775 Form 3 (15-year-old) students from two Smart Schools and two…

This article presents a model for the development of an environmentally oriented unit designed to be implemented as an integral part of the science core curriculum. The program's main goal is encouraging students at the junior high-school level to develop systems-thinking and environmental insight as a basis for environmental literacy. A…

The aim of this study was, first, to investigate any pattern between students' quantitative contribution to argumentation and their science understanding, and second, to analyze any relationship between students' qualitative contribution to argumentation and their scientific knowledge. Participants of the study were four tenth-grade students. The…

This paper discusses a teaching model called community of mathematical inquiry (CMI), characterized by dialogical and inquiry-driven communication and a dynamic structure of intertwined cognitive processes including distributed thinking, mathematical argumentation, integrated reasoning, conceptual transformation, internalization of critical…

This study was conducted to examine the effect of mathematics teaching given through the drama method on the mathematical ability of six-year-old children. The research was conducted in Ankara on 105 children from the kindergarten classes of two different primary schools of the Ministry of National Education, which are at middle socio-economic…

In the rapidly developing digital world, technology is and will be a force in workplaces, communities, and everyday lives in the 21st century. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) including computer hardware/software, networking and other technologies such as audio, video, and other multimedia tools became learning tools for students in…

This paper analyses the use of various communication channels in science teachers' professional development project aiming to develop versatile uses for ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in science teaching. A teacher network was created specifically for this project, and the researchers facilitated three forms of communication…

The purpose of this study is to develop a list of competencies for the undergraduate level new educational technology course considering material development dimension in Turkey. Also, it was investigated to what extent pre-service teachers in Turkey gained these competencies. A total of 2,460 usable surveys were analyzed. It was found that male…

A pupil's ability to identify common organisms is necessary for acquiring further knowledge of biology. We investigated how pupils were able to identify 25 bird species following their song, growth habits, or both features presented simultaneously. Just about 19% of birds were successfully identified by song, about 39% by growth habit, and 45% of…

Increasing the scientific literacy of Australians has become an educational priority in recent times. The "Science State--Smart State" initiative of the Queensland Government involves an action plan for improving science education that includes a Science for Life action. A desired outcome is for an increased understanding of the natural world so…

This paper discusses what chemistry students might see while working with animations found on the Internet and how these electronic illustrations can potentially interact to reinforce rather than resolve misconceptions about chemical principles that a student may possess. The Daniell voltaic cell serves as an example to illustrate the ways in…

This study aimed at investigating effects of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on pre-service teachers' performance on conceptual and quantitative problems about concepts of gases. The subjects of this study were 78 second year undergraduates from two different classes enrolled to General Chemistry course in the Department of Primary Mathematics…

Malaysia is currently reforming its education system in line with the government's Vision 2020. Key areas such as science and mathematics education are high on the agenda. However, as considerable world knowledge is written in English, Malaysian preservice teachers are being educated to teach these areas using English as the Medium of Instruction…

This biographical piece is based on a conversation involving Bob Yager, Geeta Verma, and Lisa Martin-Hansen which took place at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) conference in March, 2008. The unique aspect of this autobiographical piece is that it highlights Dr. Yager's account about the emergence of the science…