The aim of this study was to design a novel and holistic way to teach chemical bonding at the middle school level according to research on the teaching and learning of bonding. A further aim was to investigate high achieving middle school students' conceptual structures concerning chemical bonding by using a systemic perspective. Students in one…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of scientific studies on students' scientific literacy and attitude towards science course. For the study, a middle school science study group was established by randomly selecting 30 students from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Participating students were given information about the…

The lack of exposure to practical work in primary schools leads to incompetency in manipulative skills and students may carry this problem with them to secondary school. To address this issues, an in-depth qualitative study was conducted during transition from primary to secondary school. The research involved 10 primary school students (grade 6)…

School-based curriculum innovations, including those in science education, are usually not adequately evaluated, if at all. Furthermore, current procedures and instruments for programme evaluations are often unable to support evidence-based decision-making. We suggest that adopting fidelity of implementation (FOI) criteria from healthcare research…

This paper examines the knowledge construction processes involved when grades 7 and 8 South African students learnt about the concept of gravity while visiting an astronomy-related science centre. The literature on students' understanding of gravity identifies a number of alternative conceptions prevalent, several of which are mirrored in this…

Science laboratory activities within secondary science have traditionally followed prescriptive outlines both in the structure and reporting of the activity. Building on current understandings of writing to learn science strategies, a Science Writing Heuristic has been developed that encourages students to examine laboratory activities much more…