Previous studies have documented the promising results from student-constructed representations, including stop-motion animation (SMA), in supporting mechanistic reasoning (MR), which is considered an essential thinking skill in science education. Our current study presents theoretically and empirically how student-constructed SMA contributes to…

The study investigated the influence of a connected learning approach for explicit nature of science (NOS) instruction and explicit argumentation instruction, in comparison with a non-connected approach, on students' NOS conceptions and argumentation skills. Participants comprised 42 students enrolled in two sections of grade 10 that were randomly…

In science education, epistemic vigilance plays a key role in the development of students' critical thinking by supporting students' abilities to evaluate the expertise level of the source and to evaluate the claim itself, using rigorous scientific standards and appropriate argumentation heuristics. Based on previous studies, which suggested two…

Recent instructional reforms in science education aim to change the way students engage in learning in the discipline, as they describe that students are to engage with disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and the practices of science to make sense of phenomena (NRC, 2012). For such sensemaking to become a reality, there is a need to…

Out-of-school-time programs for youth that are focused on STEM content are often seen as affording opportunities to increase youth engagement, interest, and knowledge in STEM domains, yet we know relatively little about how youth actually experience such programs. In this article, we explore how experiences and activities employed in the delivery…

Language and argument are epistemic tools that learners can use to help them generate and validate knowledge for themselves, as emphasized in NGSS and previous NRC reports. Not all learning environments elicit or support the use of these epistemic tools equally, thus affecting how students grow in competence in relation to their use. The present…

In order to deepen students' understanding of natural phenomenon and how scientific knowledge is constructed, it is critical that science teachers learn how to engage students in productive scientific argumentation. Simulations for teachers are one possible solution to providing practice-based spaces where novices can approximate the work of…

Science education frameworks in the United States have moved strongly in recent years to incorporate more dimensions of learning, including measuring student use of scientific practices employed during scientific inquiry. For instance, the Next Generation Science Standards and related multidimensional frameworks adopted or adapted recently by more…

Understanding how geologists conduct fieldwork through analysis of problem solving has significant potential impact on field instruction methods within geology and other science fields. Recent work has highlighted many aspects of fieldwork, but the problem solving behaviors displayed by geologists during fieldwork and the associated cognitive…

This longitudinal study explored the ways parents' and teachers' expectancy for success influences 3rd-5th children's expectancy for success and achievement in science. Guided by an open-systems perspective and functional (Ballantine & Roberts, 2007) and expectancy-value (Eccles, 2005, 2007) theories, we focused on school related socialization…

Three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of map structure, concept quantification, and focus question on dynamic thinking during a Concept Map (CMap) construction task. The first experiment compared cyclic and hierarchical structures. The second experiment examined the impact of the quantification of the header concept in the map.…