While learning a complex skill in science using a computer-based simulation, optimal timing of information presentation facilitates learning and enhances test performance. An optimal information presentation format is proposed: supportive information is presented before practising a skill, and procedural information is presented during practice.…

The purpose of this research project was to study how students in the first years of elementary school (children from 7 to 10 years of age) are initiated into the construction of explanations of physical phenomena in the teaching of science. With this purpose in mind, we organized classes based on the proposition of investigative problems, where…

The power and benefits of concept mapping rest in four arenas: enabling shared understanding, the inclusion of affect, the balance of power, and client involvement. Concept mapping theory and research indicate concept maps (1) are appropriate tools to assist with communication, (2) are easy to use, and (3) are seen as beneficial by their users. An…

This paper outlines the development of a framework--the Science in Schools (SiS) Components--that describes effective science teaching and learning and that has become a central focus for the Science in Schools Research project that is being implemented in 225 Australian schools. The description is in a form that provides a basis for monitoring…

Science laboratory activities within secondary science have traditionally followed prescriptive outlines both in the structure and reporting of the activity. Building on current understandings of writing to learn science strategies, a Science Writing Heuristic has been developed that encourages students to examine laboratory activities much more…

Findings from a study of 10 German students aged 15-19, using problem-centred interviews, suggest that many students hold an 'everyday' conception of genes as small, trait-bearing, particles. Analysis of this notion identified a number of ways in which such a view might restrict the ability of students to develop an understanding of the scientific…

This study investigates the various conceptions held by K-8th Korean grade students regarding the 'changes of state' and the 'conditions for changes of state'. The study used a sample of five kindergarteners, five secondgrade students, five fourth-grade students, five sixth-grade students, and five eighth-grade students. The 25 students attend…

The basis of this paper concerns a one-and-a-half year in-service training program ("In-service Training for Physics Teachers"; 40 ECTS credits) for physics teachers (Grades 7-12, n = 98) designed to enhance both their subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. The role of laboratory experiments in physics education in particular was…

This paper discusses the notion of metacognition, which is usually defined as 'cognitions about cognitions', or 'thinking about one's own thinking'. In so doing, it reviews the literature on metacognition over the past three decades, listing different definitions of the term and identifying diverse origins of processes metacognitive. Aspects of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the 'locality' of the relationship between attitudes towards science, self-beliefs and science achievement for senior high school students in Australia, Cyprus and the USA. These relationships were examined with the use of the structural equation modeling software, AMOS. The data for this study were…

One hundred and sixty-five Year 7 (11-12 years old) pupils in co-educational schools in England participated in a study investigating the effects of mixed gender working on attitudinal and social measures. Eighty-two children working in mixed-gender groups and 83 control children working mainly in single-gender groups were tested on a variety of…

The primary objective of this research was to establish a link between preservice, secondary chemistry teachers' knowledge base and beliefs about teaching. The case study followed two preservice chemistry teachers through their methods course, practicum experience, and student teaching internship. Pedagogical content knowledge vignettes, following…

Science has a role to play in the resolution of many of the issues deemed controversial in all societies. However, evidence of a lack of public confidence in science and scientists as effective problem-solvers continues to accumulate. This paper speculates that this lack of confidence might in part be due to the way in which science educators…

Biology education, like education in any other discipline, strives to make students familiar with the knowledge, activities, and ways of thinking of the community of biologists. We produced a curriculum in developmental biology based on learning through primary literature, in an attempt to develop biological literacy among highschool students.…

The aim of this study was to develop a new research-based learning unit for tides to be used in lower secondary schools. The learning unit was based on the scientific theory of tides, textbooks, and also an analysis of students' conceptions. Descriptions are included of the content and the teaching-learning activities of the unit. The teacher talk…