This article presents an axiomatic expression of science education: [SCIENCE EDUCATION] is a system of teaching [SCIENCE]. The axiom includes two indefinable terms, [SCIENCE EDUCATION] and [SCIENCE]. In the same way that axiomatics of geometry distinguishes among axioms, postulates and theorems, the axiom presupposes a distinction among the three…

Mathematics pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) of teachers cannot be easily defined but is a complex concept integrating generic pedagogical knowledge, mathematics teaching methodology as well as knowledge of the discipline of mathematics. It is the objective of mathematics methodology courses in teacher preparation programmes to begin the…

This opening article of the Special Issue makes an argument for parallel definitions of scientific literacy and mathematical literacy that have shared features: importance of general cognitive and metacognitive abilities and reasoning/thinking and discipline-specific language, habits-of-mind/emotional dispositions, and information communication…

Using cognitive ethnography as a guiding framework, we investigated US and Japanese fourth-grade teachers' domain knowledge of key fraction representations in individual interviews. The framework focused on revealing cultural trends in participants' organization of knowledge and their interpretations of that organization. Our analyses of the…

Multilingual classrooms are the normal learning contexts for most children throughout the world. However not all such contexts are identical. This distinction is not always made in the literature. In this paper the multilingual context for classrooms in many urban classrooms in Australia is described before exploring a possible model that might be…

This study investigated the journey of four Thai pre-service chemistry teachers as they sought to develop their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) throughout a PCK-based chemistry methods course and field experience. In an interpretive case study approach we drew upon classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, chemistry content knowledge…

The newly revised mathematics curriculum in Singapore has recently factored Applications and Modelling to be part of the teaching and learning of mathematics. Its implication is that even children should now be involved in works of mathematical modelling. However, to be able to implement modelling activities in the primary mathematics classroom,…

Demonstrations are a core part of science teaching. In 1980 a three-part assessment method using demonstrating was proposed. Known as DOE this consisted of demonstration, observation and explanation. DOE quickly evolved into POE: predict, observe, explain. In the light of experiences with POE and insights from constructivist theory we set out in…

Conceptual change views of teaching and learning processes in science, and also in various other content domains, have played a significant role in research on teaching and learning as well as in instructional design since the late 1970s. Conceptual change can be interpreted from different individual perspectives or from multiple perspectives. In…

The teaching of science has long been viewed as problematic within primary classrooms across Australia. This study explores the teaching of primary science in an area of rural and regional Australia (the New England Region of New South Wales) where small populations, remote settings and isolation can make the teaching of science and other Key…

Young Filipino children are expected to solve mathematical word problems in English, a task which they typically encounter only in schools. In this exploratory study, task-based interviews were conducted with seven Filipino children from a public school. The children were asked to read and solve addition and subtraction word problems in English or…

The science curriculum in Malaysia emphasizes the acquisition of scientific skills, thinking skills, and the inculcation of scientific attitudes and noble values. Besides that, the acquisition of scientific and technological knowledge and its application to the natural phenomena and students' daily experiences are also equally emphasized. The…

Understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) serves as one of the desirable characteristics of science teachers. The current study attempted to explore 101 Thai in-service science teachers' conceptions of the NOS, particularly scientific knowledge, the scientific method, scientists' work, and scientific enterprise, by using the Myths of Science…

Reviews the educational reform and philosophy of Confucianism, the communist ideology, the psychological characteristics of the Chinese, and the Chinese language as the cultural context of school science teaching and learning in the People's Republic of China. Focuses on the effects of cultural influences. Contains 28 references. (DDR)

Illustrates the construction of conceptual models on pressure and flotation using high school students' previous ideas on these concepts. Identifies three models and uses them to analyze students' ideas about physical phenomena and to recognize the inferential structure they use. Contains 28 references. (DDR)