The demand for improving student interest in science has increased efforts toward teaching Einstein's theory of general relativity in schools. Research has already shown that teaching Einsteinian gravity at the secondary level is feasible, however, appropriate resources must be readily available for science teachers to make Einsteinian gravity…

Urban school districts have seen low scores on NWEA Map math scores (Education Recovery Scoreboard, 2024). To foster and promote urban youths' capabilities to learn mathematics, a new method to teach, enhance, and remediate understanding of fractions was developed, Fractions and Signed Numbers Workshop (FracSi). It utilizes the approach of an…

Background: The question of the efficiency of withholding answers and the physical manipulation of material in science education has become the target of a large number of researchers (proponents of the Cognitive Load Theory) in recent years. However, no research has been found examining the contribution of these elements of teaching to the…

As science becomes increasingly computationally intensive, the need for computational thinking (CT) and computer science (CS) practices in K-12 science education is becoming paramount. Incorporation of CT/CS practices in K-12 education can be seen in national standards and a variety of allied initiatives. One way to build capacity around an…

It is a controversial issue that magnetism is an interesting topic for children but also the concept is too abstract for the preschoolers. In this study, an action research is conducted that examines whether the designed intervention program based on STEM can be beneficial for 5-6 years old children to learn more about the specific features of the…

The research investigated the effect of a science diagram on primary students' conceptual understanding about magnets. Lack of research involving students of primary age means that little is known about the potential of science diagrams to help them understand abstract concepts such as magnetism. Task-based interviews were conducted individually…

Student construction of models is a strong focus of current research and practice in science education. In order to study in detail the interactions between students' model generation and evaluation and their development of explanatory ideas to account for magnetic phenomena, a multi-session teaching experiment was conducted with a small number of…

During a final seminar with BA year 4 science specialist trainee teachers, the authors posed a question about the difficulties associated with understanding magnetism. The ensuing discussion focused on a number of concerns commonly identified by students, which may also be of interest to classroom teachers teaching magnetism. Issues raised…

In the course of inquiry activities similar to those of real scientists, learners are supposed to develop knowledge both on the level of observable phenomena and on the level of explanatory theories. However, some theories involve theoretical entities (e.g., "Weiss domains") that cannot be observed directly and therefore may be hard to…

Engaging children in authentic investigation opens the doors for them to gain deep conceptual understanding in science. As students engage in investigation, they experience the practices employed by scientists and engineers, as highlighted in the Next Generation Science Standards (Achieve Inc. 2013). They also begin to understand the nature of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate in detail the processes involved when the promotion of metaconceptual evaluation facilitates fifth grade students' construction, evaluation, and revision of their explanations for magnetic phenomena. Although much recent research emphasized the importance of student modeling and model construction,…

Magnetism is a topic frequently studied in elementary schools. Since magnetism is a popular topic and is included in national science education standards, it might be assumed that elementary teachers have a good understanding of this topic and that elementary students develop a good understanding of fundamental magnetism concepts. Unfortunately,…

The present study examined the cognitive factors that influence children's physical science learning from a multimedia instruction. Using a causally coherent text and visual models, we taught 4th- and 7th-grade children about the observable and molecular properties of the three states of water. We manipulated whether the text was read by a tutor…