Three cohorts of six pre-service Earth Science teachers (undergraduate majors in Earth Science Education) participated in summer research experiences focused on developing dynamic physical models of Earth processes to help middle and high school students understand complex concepts and confront misconceptions. The pre-service teachers used…

An international survey of geoscience education has been carried out jointly by UNESCO and the International Geoscience Education Organisation (IGEO) to address the question of 'How does school-level Earth science education compare across the globe? The survey gathered data from experts in 51 countries, comprising more than half the global…

Rarely are scientific phenomena isolated to a single discipline such as biology, chemistry, physics, Earth science, or others. Rather, these phenomena span multiple disciplines and often require bringing together content and understandings from multiple disciplines to engage with or explain the target phenomena. This study uses a model-based…

Inquiry-based science instruction has been advocated for decades. However, the implementation of inquiry teaching and learning in everyday classrooms is rather limited due to various factors. Previous research investigated implementations of inquiry-based teaching at the activity level with self-reported methods. However, little is known about how…

The teaching of Earth Sciences (ES) is particularly delicate and seems to be problematic for both learners and Moroccan teachers for multiple reasons. Based on this observation, this study aims at identifying the difficulties related to the teaching of ES by exploring the points of view of the Moroccan teachers toward this field. As an…

Students often need to obtain, organize, clean, and analyze data in order to draw conclusions about a particular phenomenon (e.g., why tidal heights change). When conducting a science investigation in biology, chemistry, physics, or Earth science, data can be collected by the student or can be provided to them via secondary data sets. This article…

This study on the Estonian lower secondary (7-9th grade) science curricula, is seen as an important framework for educators preparing students as tomorrow's citizens able to reflect on sustainable energy development. As the curriculum is taken to be the major document allowing insights into Estonian educational standards, this study identifies…

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has prompted the shift from traditional face-to-face instruction to new methods in online platforms. As national governments enforce public health measures to minimize the risk of the virus' transmission, learning institutions grapple with the new norms in education. Teachers are finding ways to address the…

This article describes how one teacher introduced Earth science topics to a 10th-grade biology class using a 3D printer. The activities described give students opportunities to visit Earth's geologic landmarks through kinesthetic modeling. 3D-printed topographical maps function as a supplement to, or replacement of, two-dimensional drawings,…

Integrated science is a ubiquitous school subject that is found in primary and middle-school levels around the world. Being a hybrid subject comprising several science disciplines, it poses many challenges to teachers as they are obliged to teach beyond their disciplinary comfort zones. In addition, this subject is prone to a lack of coherence,…

With the widespread adoption of the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013), science teachers now aspire to integrate engineering into science instruction, as the standards suggest, yet many do not know how. The first steps are to define engineering and identify tasks that incorporate engineering, which can be…

Although the existence of and access to clean water are essential for sustaining life on Earth, multiple studies have demonstrated students' nascent understanding of basic water principles. Students have misconceptions related to the water cycle (Ben-zvi-Assarf and Orion 2005), groundwater (Dickerson and Dawkins 2004; Covitt et al. 2009), and the…

Using three constructs taken from Latour's 2005 book, "Reassembling the Social," we consider our work in 2 contexts that were part of a project to support science teachers working with English learners: an 8th-grade physical science class in a summer science enrichment academy, and a 6th-grade Earth science class in a public middle…

December 26, 2004 was one of the deadliest days in modern history, when a 9.3 magnitude earthquake--the third largest ever recorded--struck off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia (National Centers for Environmental Information 2014). The massive quake lasted at least 10 minutes and devastated the Indian Ocean. The quake displaced an estimated…

Mineralogy is an essential component of Earth Science education, yet many students struggle to obtain adequate comprehension and knowledge of mineralogy during tertiary (postsecondary) degree programs. The use of educational games can be an effective strategy for science teaching as games provide an active learning environment that enhances…