Purpose: An analysis of the relationship between discourse and cognition in the context of middle school science teaching is provided in this study. Teacher-led questions, cognitive demands and patterns of interaction were analysed for the discourse side of the study. The students' argumentation quality was explored for the cognition side of the…

Background: Gamification is the use of game design elements, such as rules of play, point scoring and competition, in a non-game context, in learning activities. We designed a game, based on the famous augmented reality game "Pokémon GO," called Insects GO in which players should capture images of real insects with their mobile phones.…

Background: Although sound is an everyday phenomenon that we hear about constantly, numerous studies have reported that students often exhibit learning difficulties in understanding this subject. Only a few studies have proposed programs involving practical learning experiments to provide students with solid conceptual knowledge. Moreover, little…

Background: In the previous decades many research papers and educational documents have emphasized the importance of the application of history of science in the science education of students. Consequently, chemistry teachers are expected to be familiar with the historical development of science and capable of incorporating historical contents in…

Background: An overarching goal of school science education is to prepare young people for a rapidly changing and complex world. Middle school science students need more than a basic understanding of science concepts in preparation for further study. Rather, they need the skills to question and evaluate evidence and make decisions about complex…

Background: An acronym for 'science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics,' STEAM education is an approach that supports the understanding of science content by understanding the skills stimulated by artistic experience. However, only a limited number of experimental studies have investigated the effects of STEAM education on concept…

Background: In many classrooms, science textbooks remain a significant tool, functioning in some instances as the de facto curriculum and influencing pedagogical practices. Such conventions are more noticeable in the science classrooms of developing countries, like Jamaica, because of a chronic shortage of specialist science teachers and the…

Background: Understanding students' preconceptions is an important initial step towards a successful and meaningful learning in physics. This is more relevant and important especially for concepts that are introduced formally as early as preschool including friction. Visual representation maybe often used as an aid to teaching, however,…

Background: STEM education has become a focus of research and teaching interest in recent years. However, not all scholars agree on the definition and purpose of STEM education. This paper summarizes related past research and suggests that, according to the requirements of Taiwan's educational environment, STEM education should focus on the…

Background: In recent years, science curricula (chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, life science, etc.) in many countries have been prepared and applied according to the inquiry-based learning approach. Although the acquisition and application of the inquiry skills are one of the important objectives of the science curriculum, the inquiry…

Background: Several different measures have been proposed to solve persistent validity problems, such as high task-sampling variability, in the assessment of students' expertise in 'doing science'. Such measures include working with a-priori progression models, using standardised item shells and rating manuals, augmenting the number of tasks per…

Background: Blending collaborative learning and project-based learning (PBL) based on Wolff (2003) design categories, students interacted in a learning environment where they developed their technology integration practices as well as their technological and collaborative skills. Purpose: The study aims to understand how seventh grade students…

Background: Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the factors related to science achievement. In these studies, the classroom goal structure perceptions, engagement, and self-efficacy of the students have emerged as important factors to be examined in relation to students' science achievement. Purpose: This study examines the…

Background: Density is difficult to learn and teach in middle schools. This study, hypothesizing that the density concept develops as part of a conceptual system, used a conceptual change approach to teaching density. The approach emphasized the use of multiple strategies to teach the density concept and the associated concepts in the conceptual…

Background: One of the most important goals of science education is to enable students to understand the nature of science (NOS). However, generally regular science teaching in classrooms does not help students improve informed NOS views. Purpose: This study investigated the influence of an explicit reflective conceptual change approach compared…