This study examines the impact of constructivist physics lessons and laboratory activities on middle and high school students' academic success. Utilizing the constructivist learning model, which emphasizes active student engagement, the research was conducted at Hyperion Theoretical High School in Chi?inau, Moldova, involving 195 students across…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study is to evaluate the overall effect of practical work on students' academic attainment in science. Participants were selected from tenth grade students (chemistry and biology) and eleventh grade students (chemistry), then divided into groups. The control groups were taught using traditional methods of…

Multitouch learning books (MLBs) are learning companions that support learning within a series, independent of the learning location. These MLBs can accompany an experiment itself or an entire learning process. In addition to providing interactive tasks, an all-in-one solution can provide pupils with additional information, supporting and…

Understanding chemistry requires the interplay of several modes of representations which can be observed in the translational skills of students. This paper investigated the extent of the translational skills of students exposed to conventional lecture method (CLM) and the integrated macro-micro-symbolic approach (IMMSA). Individual interviews…

This study reports the use of data mining tools in order to examine the influence of the methodology used in chemistry lab classes, on the weight attributed by the students to the lab work on learning and own motivation. The answer frequency analysis was unable to discriminate the opinions expressed by the respondents according to the type of the…

Thermal cameras offer real-time visual access to otherwise invisible thermal phenomena, which are conceptually demanding for learners during traditional teaching. We present three studies of students' conduction of laboratory activities that employ thermal cameras to teach challenging thermal concepts in grades 4, 7 and 10-12. Visualization of…

This article describes the use of project-based instruction in activities and labs intended to develop higher-order thinking skills with high school students and pre-service teachers through the use of soap making.

Nowadays, outreach labs are important informal learning environments in science education. After summarizing research to goals outreach labs focus on, we describe our evidence-based gene technology lab as a model of a research-driven outreach program. Evaluation-based optimizations of hands-on teaching based on cognitive load theory (additional…

This exploratory study examines how a series of laboratory activities designed using a new instructional model, called Argument-Driven Inquiry (ADI), influences the ways students participate in scientific argumentation and the quality of the scientific arguments they craft as part of this process. The two outcomes of interest were assessed with a…

This case study examines the performances of 18 10th-grade students (age 15-16 years) in the process of performing problem-solving tasks in the physics and chemistry laboratory. The study focuses on different types of problems arising in the process of transferring responsibility to students in a context of teacher assistance to autonomous…

The process of construction of meanings for the concepts of concentration and neutralization is explored in terms of "contextualizing practices" (Lemke, 1990, "Talking Science. Language, Learning and Values," Norwood, NJ: Ablex) creation of meanings through connections established among actions and their context. This notion is expanded to include…