This paper provides an introduction to the concept of pedagogical link-making in the context of teaching and learning scientific conceptual knowledge. Pedagogical link-making is concerned with the ways in which teachers and students make connections between ideas in the ongoing meaning-making interactions of classroom teaching and learning. First…

This paper describes the current state of science education in Arab states and anticipates some of the challenges faced by those states as they reform their science education. After discussing problems of illiteracy, access and quality we provide contextual information about the structure of the educational systems and describe recent efforts to…

With the growing emphasis on the development of scientific inquiry skills, the display and interpretation of data are becoming increasingly important. Graph interpretation competence is, in fact, essential to understanding today's world and to be scientifically literate. However, graph interpretation is a complex and challenging activity. Graph…

Advances in neuroscience have brought new insights to the development of cognitive functions. These data are of considerable interest to educators concerned with how students learn. This review documents some of the recent findings in neuroscience, which is richer in describing cognitive functions than affective aspects of learning. A brief…

Contemporary policy statements from government and reforms to science curricula in schools emphasise the importance of educating a scientifically literate public for democratic participation in science and technology. While such an aspiration is seemingly uncontentious and appears consistent with progressive educational thinking, the reality of…

For many years, formal school science education has been criticised by students, teachers, parents and employers throughout the world. This article presents an argument that a greater collaboration between the formal and the informal sector could address some of these criticisms. The causes for concern about formal science education are summarised…

In this paper I consider a role for risk understanding in school science education. Grounds for this role are described in terms of current sociological analyses of the contemporary world as a "risk society" and recent public understanding of science studies where science and risk are concerns commonly linked within the wider community. These…

Geoscience educational publications are reviewed in seven areas to identify future directions for curriculum development, professional development and research. The review shows that: effective teaching methods encompassing broad geoscience study still need extensive research; whilst some valuable materials have been developed for the teaching of…

Students' questions play an important role in meaningful learning and scientific inquiry. They are a potential resource for both teaching and learning science. Despite the capacity of students' questions for enhancing learning, much of this potential still remains untapped. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine and review the…

This article summarises the main uses and affordances (the perceived qualities of systems that can support or hinder interactions: Greeno & MMAP, 1998) of interactive technologies commonly used in school science. Its main emphasis, however, is on eliciting and documenting the emerging strategies that teachers are developing for exploiting the new…

The three major educational sectors in which learning occurs are often taken to be the formal education sector (schools, colleges, universities and so on), the workplace, and the free-choice learning sector (Falk, 2002). This review is concerned with science on television, understood as a significant component of the free-choice learning sector.…

An enhanced greenhouse effect, leading to global warming and associated changes in the climate system, is arguably one of the greatest environmental challenges facing humankind in the 21st century. The challenge extends to the scientific, political, economic and ethical domains of the human enterprise. The science of climate change involves…

The starting point for this article is the lack of a clear or emerging consensus of what is generally understood by the term "health education", or its role as a component of the school science curriculum which requires a particular research focus. One of the purposes of this article is to explore the concept of health education as one in which a…

Identifies what "urban science education studies" means and reviews 46 articles representing the nature of urban science education based on the questions asked, research frameworks, guiding assumptions, and findings. Discusses educational equity and challenges regarding policy and enactments, goals of school science, and what to teach in science.…

Explores the research on argumentation in science education by focusing on two questions: (1) what should constitute argumentation?; and (2) what does research say about classroom conditions that promote, nurture, and sustain argumentation practices among students? Discusses possible barriers to argumentation and foundational frameworks and…