The intervention programmes have a direct influence on teachers' knowledge of teaching different topics. This paper focuses on how Grade 8 natural science teachers' knowledge developed during an intervention programme. Eight schools were selected to participate, and 25 Grade 8 Natural Sciences teachers from Gauteng province participated. Data were…

The most famous equation in physics, E = mc[superscript 2], is rarely introduced in middle school physics curricula. Recent research has shown that teaching Einsteinian concepts at the middle school level is feasible and beneficial. This paper analyses an Einsteinian energy teaching module for Year 8 students (13-14 years old), which encompasses…

Most primary school students, although they grasp the scientific concepts of heat convection at the macroscopic level, commonly fail to visualize those concepts. Therefore, our research aims to enact a constructivist teaching sequence (CTS) to restructure students' visualization changes, ultimately enabling them to synergize macroscopic and…

Teachers lack effective curriculum-based instruments to assess their students' scientific competence that would provide information for modifying their inquiry instruction. The main purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Curriculum-Based Scientific Competence (CBSC) test to assess students' scientific competence in a 1-semester Grade…

Reading comprehension is an essential skill for learning in general and in science classes. Problems with reading comprehension might hinder students' participation in learning science. Text in science includes specific language features that distinguishes it from narrative text, so should reading instruction be part of teaching science? The…

The history of science (HOS) has played an important role in science curricula for teaching about science. However, historical information in science textbooks is often de-contextualized, coupled with limited class time and teaching barriers, and thus fails to help students understand the dynamic process of scientific development. This research…

The teachers should support students in acquiring knowledge and developing skills thus preparing them to think and learn independently. Considering this, the significance of implementing the modified Know-Want-Learn (KWL) teaching strategy, which directs students to perform metacognitive activities, becomes more evident. Quasi-experimental…

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of the common knowledge construction model (CKCM)-based instruction on academic achievement and 7th grade students' views about the nature of science (NOS) presented in electrical energy unit at schools of different socio-economic levels. In accordance with this purpose, three secondary…

Positioned in the Hong Kong education context, this article evaluates the effects of teaching science through home and second languages (i.e. Chinese and English) in Secondary 2 (or eighth grade) science classrooms. A total of 479 students, divided into two language instruction groups, participated in a teaching intervention comprising 16 lessons…

This paper illustrates the role of metalanguage in an explicit literacy instruction to talk about the forms and functions of scientific genres, particularly the genre of explanation. In the context of science, metalanguage refers to the technical terms for talking "about" scientific language using words like law, hypothesis, and…

This multiple case study elicited the voices of four 8th grade students, from a rural, low-income school district, who participated in STEM career explorations during their science class. Based on students' written reflections during career explorations, interviews, and from field notes, we analyzed the ways students talked about their lives and…

A learning format gaining attention that encourages language acquisition in science is the use of dynamic models as instructional tools. This grounded theory investigates the impact of the dynamic food chain model as an alternative lesson for teaching food chains. The researchers examined the impact of a paper-based activity and a dynamic model…

This study investigates the effect of design-based science (DBS) instruction on students' learning of electrical energy and students' metacognitive strategy use in science. Two classes of seventh-grade students participated in the study. DBS instruction was used in the treatment group, while the comparison group was taught the unit with…

A coherent curriculum that clearly defines sets of ideas that build upon one another to meet desired learning goals can successfully support the development of meaningful understanding across time. This study explores the influence of a coherent curriculum as a systematic approach to aligning and sequencing specific ideas to support students in…

This study aimed to explore low and non-low achievers' motivation towards science learning among 8th graders in two public schools in central Taiwan under inquiry-based instruction. Mixed design research methods were adopted, and students were divided into experimental (n = 56) and control groups (n = 45). Six non-consecutive inquiry units…