In this mixed method study, we analyse the effectiveness of two pedagogical approaches -- one model-based and another non-model-based -- for developing secondary students' understanding of the phenomenon of increase in Earth's average surface temperatures, a core dimension of global climate change (GCC). Building on past research on teaching and…

This article presents an empirical analysis of conceptual difficulties encountered and ways students made progress in learning at both individual and group levels in a classroom environment in which the students used an embodied modeling activity to make sense of a specific scientific scenario. The theoretical framework, coordination class theory,…

In this article, the author describes the "Be your own groundhog" project in her grades 9-12 Earth and environmental sciences courses, in which students use citizen science databases to research the physical changes that signal the arrival of spring. This project starts with a simple question, "When will spring spring?" This goes beyond the…

In recent years, science education has placed increasing importance on learners' mastery of scientific reasoning. This growing emphasis presents a challenge for both developers and users of assessments. We report on our effort around the conceptualization, development, and testing the validity of an assessment of students' ability to reason around…

Current high school Earth Science curricula and textbooks organize scientific content into isolated "units" of knowledge. Within this structure, content is taught, but in the absence of the context of fundamental understandings or the process of how the science was actually done to reach the conclusions. These are two key facets of scientific…