The role of computation in science is ever-expanding and is enabling scientists to investigate complex phenomena in more powerful ways and tackle previously intractable problems. The growing role of computation has prompted calls to integrate computational thinking (CT) into science instruction in order to more authentically mirror contemporary…

This research aims to design a sample Arduino-assisted robotics and coding activity in accordance with the 5E instructional model. Also, it aims to set an example for how technology is integrated into science courses, especially in the structuring of abstract and hard-to-understand concepts in science teaching. The activity provides guidance to…

This article describes a project that integrates English Language Arts (ELA) and coding into environmental science. For this project, students researched science content about human impact on the environment, communicated their findings through a traditionally formatted narrative story, and then used a coding program called Scratch to create an…

The purpose of the current study is to design and develop an Arduino-assisted robotic and coding activity in compliance with the 5E learning model for middle school students to construct knowledge and realize learning in science teaching. The study was conducted on 6th grade students attending a private middle school in Turkey in the second term…

This paper explores Computational Thinking (CT) through the experiences and interactions of sixth-grade students as they were engaging in a science lesson utilizing robotics. This robotics unit institutes the shifting from traditional to engaging hands-on activities coupled with CT skills that are exciting, intriguing, and inviting to students.…

This research study explored robotics as the catalyst for computational thinking (CT) by sixth-grade students as they are engaged in a science lesson. The interactions, understandings, and applications are discussed, along with the participants' connections and implementations of CT concepts (decomposition, abstraction, pattern recognition, and…

This article is drawn from a study conducted to explore how assessment conversations, a type of informal formative assessment, can support science learning in a technology-aided seventh-grade classroom in Northern California. The classroom setting where the study took place used interactive whiteboards in conjunction with the inquiry-based…

This research examined how a teacher's discussion of the strands of scientific proficiencies changed over the course of an inquiry cycle as students engaged in a complex, technology-enhanced inquiry learning environment called "PlantingScience" (PS). Our research is descriptive in nature and attempts to deconstruct the complexity of…

Background: Complexity models have provided a suitable framework in various domains to assess students' educational achievement. Complexity is often used as the analytical focus when regarding learning outcomes, i.e. when analyzing written tests or problem-centered interviews. Numerous studies reveal negative correlations between the complexity of…

This cross-sectional study explored students' conceptions of science learning via drawing analysis. A total of 906 Taiwanese students in 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade were asked to use drawing to illustrate how they conceptualise science learning. Students' drawings were analysed using a coding checklist to determine the presence or absence…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the types, sources, and cognitive levels of tasks that included real-life situations used in science and mathematics lessons in the classrooms of two 5th-grade teachers at an urban elementary school in Turkey. A qualitative approach was used to analyze data that included classroom observations, teacher…

Background: Despite a growing body of research and curriculum reforms including socioscientific issues (SSI) across the world, how preservice science teachers (PST) or in-service science teachers can teach SSI in science classrooms needs further inquiry. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the abilities of PSTs to teach SSI in middle…

Children have served as research subjects in several surveys on attitudes to insects and invertebrates. Most of the studies have used quantitative scoring methods to draw conclusions. This paper takes a different approach as it analyzes children's free-text comments to gain an understanding of their viewpoints. A total of 246 children aged 9-13…

Besides viewing knowledge about the nature of science (NOS) as important for its own value with respect to scientific literacy, an adequate understanding of NOS is expected to improve science content learning by fostering the ability to interrelate scientific concepts and, thus, coherently acquire scientific content knowledge. However, there is a…

How does deep conceptual change occur when students play well-designed educational games? To answer this question, we present a case study in the form of a microgenetic analysis of a student's processes of knowledge construction as he played a conceptually-integrated digital game (SURGE Next) designed to support learning about Newtonian mechanics.…