We present an integrative mixed-methods systematic review of research on laboratory work in secondary-school science education from 1996 to 2019. The aim of the study is to identify important aspects of how to successfully make use of laboratory work as a science-teaching strategy in secondary schools. By engaging teachers, our study uses a…

Educational initiatives in multiple disciplinary areas call for student engagement in the practice of argumentation (CCSSI, 2010a, 2010b; Mullis & Martin, 2017; NGSS Lead States, 2013; OECD, 2018). In science education, immersive argument-based inquiry (ABI) is one category of approaches which integrates argumentation in all classroom activity…

Research on teaching and learning quantum physics (QP) frequently explores students' conceptual difficulties to identify common patterns in their reasoning. The abstractness of QP is often found to be at the origin of students' conceptual difficulties. Due to this abstract nature students resort to common sense reasoning or classical thinking when…

School instruction is critical for helping students use energy as a lens for making sense of phenomena, however, students often struggle to see the usefulness of energy analysis for interpreting the world around them. One reason for this may be an over-reliance on the idea of energy forms in introductory energy instruction, which may…

Generations of students are graduating from secondary school disinterested in post-secondary study of science or pursuing careers in science-related fields beyond formal education. We propose that destabilising such disinterest among future students requires science educators to begin listening to secondary school students regarding their views of…

Curriculum materials serve as a key conceptual tool for science teachers, and better understanding how science teachers use these tools could help to improve both curriculum design and theory related to teacher learning and decision-making. The authors review the literature on teachers and science curriculum materials. The review is organised…

In this review, we explore the notion of teaching science to English language learners (ELLs) as a balancing act between simultaneously focusing on language and content development, on the one hand, and between structuring instruction and focusing on student learning processes, on the other hand. This exploration is conducted through the lens of a…

This article reviews how practical work, including practical skills, is currently summatively assessed in school science in a number of countries and makes comparisons with how other subjects, such as music and modern foreign languages, summatively assess skills. Whilst practical skills in school science are clearly valued as being of importance,…

In this article, we critically examine skills that are necessary for the effective learning of science in adolescent populations. We argue that a focus on twenty-first-century skills among adolescents within the context of science instruction must be considered in light of research on cognitive and social development. We first review adolescents'…

Context-based chemistry education aims to improve student interest and motivation in chemistry by connecting canonical chemistry concepts with real-world contexts. Implementation of context-based chemistry programmes began 20 years ago in an attempt to make the learning of chemistry meaningful for students. This paper reviews such programmes…

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 literature review provides an overview of recent studies on the introduction of nanosciences and nanotechnologies in secondary education. Four salient research topics have emerged: questions and reflections preceding curriculum development on nanosciences and nanotechnologies lessons; research on students' conceptualisations of nano-related…

Chemical bonding is one of the key and basic concepts in chemistry. The learning of many of the concepts taught in chemistry, in both secondary schools as well as in the colleges, is dependent upon understanding fundamental ideas related to chemical bonding. Nevertheless, the concept is perceived by teachers, as well as by learners, as difficult,…