This study aimed to facilitate grade 8 students' conceptual understanding of 'sustainable development (SD)' via Common Knowledge Construction Model (CKCM)-oriented instruction. Through a pre-experimental research approach, the study was conducted with 31 grade 8 students drawn from a secondary school in the city of Trabzon, Turkey. A word…

The aim of this study was to compare the 5E learning model with traditional learning methods in terms of their effect on students' conceptual understanding of water subtopics. The participants of the study were grade 8 students of 2021 academic year. While 27 of them were randomly assigned to the experimental group, the other 27 were assigned to…

In rural, geographically dispersed school districts, access to high-quality face-to-face professional development (PD) is challenging. Our study developed and compared the effectiveness of an online PD for middle-school science teachers working in remote, rural areas of Kansas with an evidence-based traditional face-to-face PD with the goal of…

Understanding the cognitive processes central to mathematical development is crucial to addressing systemic inequities in math achievement. We investigate the "Groupitizing" ability in 1209 third to eighth graders (mean age at first timepoint = 10.48, 586 girls, 39.16% Asian, 28.88% Hispanic/Latino, 18.51% White), a process that captures…

Cognitive development of eighth-grade students, as identified by Jean Piaget, occurs during a time when many of them are transitioning between concrete operations and formal operations where the ability to think in abstract concepts becomes possible. Because of this period of transition, many eighth-grade students find difficulty in demonstrating…

Spatial ability was defined by Lohman (1996) as the ability to create, maintain, retrieve, and change visual pictures. Linn and Peterson (1985) distinguished among spatial perception, mental rotation, and spatial visualization. Spatial perception is the determination of spatial connections with respect to the orientation of the learners' body;…

Teaching mathematics in general and instructing mathematics at junior schools in particular not only create favorable conditions for students to develop essential and core competencies but also help students enhance mathematical competencies as a foundation for a good study of the subject and promote essential skills for society, in which…

This paper explores the knowledge conceptions in teachers' curriculum making within a classroom perspective through a lens of social realist theory. Curriculum making is conceptualised as a process that occurs between students, teachers, knowledge content and contextual factors, in which teachers must balance various priorities and knowledge…

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…

In the context of the sociocultural approach, the authors studied the problem of the development of the students' conceptual mental structures in the process of geometry teaching. An educational activity for the development of a generalized ability to solve geometry construction problems in electronic educational environment served as a…

Energy is considered both as a disciplinary core idea and as a concept cutting across science disciplines. Most previous approaches studied progressing energy understanding in specific disciplinary contexts, while disregarding the relation of understanding across them. Hence, this study provides a systematic analysis of cross-disciplinary energy…

This study treats students by role-play simulation for learning the human circulatory system. Creative skill and concept mastery to be assessed aspects at the end of learning. The method used in this research is the quasi-experimental method. The sample was taken by cluster random sampling technique with the population of students in 8th grade at…

This is a companion piece to "Professional Learning Community: Improving Mathematical Problem Solving for Students in Grades 4 through 8. Facilitator's Guide. REL 2019-002" (ED595201). It contains handouts to accompany each of the sessions included in the facilitator's guide.

REL Southeast developed this facilitator's guide on the topic of mathematical problem solving for use in professional learning community (PLC) settings. The facilitator's guide is a set of professional development materials designed to supplement the What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4…

Contemporary research has suggested that for students to compete globally, pedagogy must shift to emphasize the infusion of mathematics into science instruction to strengthen understanding. Innovative professional development programs are necessary to achieve this goal, particularly with respect to teaching graphing skills in the context of…