Science education reform efforts have emphasized the incorporation of more authentic and meaningful scientific practices into formal learning environments. With this focus on practices, such as scientific modeling, a powerful tool for sense-making and reasoning, comes a need to observe and understand if and how it is actually occurring,…

This study aimed to analyze the effects of authentic learning practices -applied in science course- on academic success. A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test control groups was used in the study. The data of the study were collected from 92 students (31 of those in the experimental group, 31 of those in the control-I group and…

One of the points of science learning is to extend students' competence, counting problem-solving and analytical thinking. Conditions within the field appear that most students encounter trouble in fathoming relevant issues including the application of science concepts in real-world circumstances. This condition appears the require for compelling…

Are you interested in helping your elementary students learn the practices of science, including constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence? "Argument-Driven Inquiry in Fifth-Grade Science" will provide you with both the information and instructional materials you need to get started right away. The book is a…

This study examines the development of the concept of the ecological niche among 10-11-year-old students and their ability to use this concept to give their opinions on the socially relevant and controversial possibility that wolf populations might be established in the mountains surrounding the school. A total of 21 elementary school students…

Over the past several decades, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners have placed an emphasis on inquiry-based science and mathematics instruction in elementary school. While inquiry-based science and mathematics instruction can support student learning and engagement, teacher preparation programmes have experienced challenges in preparing…

As we prepare teachers to provide students with opportunities within STEM education, authentic experiences should guide the instruction. Unfortunately, due to the novel integration of engineering into national reform documents, there is a dearth of documentation on elementary preservice teachers' engineering ideas as they align with student goals…

School science is often very different from "real world" science. One important difference, and possibly the main one, is that in school science the relationships between variables have often been sanitized -- essentially "cleaned up" -- so that there is very little (and often no) variation in the data from the relationship…

Science textbooks only present scientific facts that cause the textbooks to seem not to promote scientific reasoning. Science learning also becomes not in line with the nature of Science. Then, Science learning requires applying authentic Science as an approach. Adapted Primary Literature (APL) is assumed to be able to achieve this objective.…

Setting primary science in an everyday context supports learning in a number of ways. Exploring the science associated with everyday people, places and materials helps to access pupils' prior knowledge and experience and thus facilitates a more constructivist and pupil-centred form of pedagogy. This account looks at various examples from the…

Most students have never had the opportunity to interact with amphibians. Field trips students list as most memorable are usually their outdoor experiences and interactions with living creatures. Apart from being memorable, field trips need to be meaningful and provide students with authentic learning experiences. Field trips allow students to…

This research was conducted on two groups of pre-service elementary teachers (PSETs) (N = 38) in a pre/post within-subjects design. Participants were asked to critique, create, and evaluate the use of virtual reality (VR) classroom applications during a three-stage intervention. Pre/post questionnaires assessed the change in attitudes toward using…

This study examines the effects of a place-based intervention program on the sense of place of Bedouin elementary school students. These students live on the banks of the polluted Hebron Stream in Israel, where a three-pronged restoration program has recently been established, including the stream's rehabilitation, the establishment of local waste…

Formulating questions is an integral part of pupils' learning process and scientific inquiry. Investigating pupil-generated questions in a collaborative science learning setting, combining self-regulation theory and phases of inquiry, can extend the previous research into pupils' questions.This study considered questions from pupils (n = 24, aged…

This study aimed to explore the relationships between students' perceived learning practices and associated self-efficacies regarding mobile-assisted seamless science learning. The learning practices for mobile-assisted seamless science learning questionnaire was developed with three scales that denote learning supported by mobile technology.…