Energy is one of the most complex yet central concepts taught in schools and is featured in the Australian Science Curriculum, as one of the six key organising ideas (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2015). The literature portrays a multitude of complications associated with teaching energy (see Millar, 2005 for a…

This study explored how four elementary teachers assessed the developmental appropriateness and importance of nine nature of science (NOS) aspects after participating in a yearlong professional development program. A multiple-embedded case study design was employed. The primary data sources included (a) Views of Nature of Science Elementary School…

This article presents rationale for an enhanced inquiry approach to science education that authentically integrates content knowledge and application skills in a middle school science curriculum. Such pedagogy ensures students' attainment of national and state standards for learning science and multiple literacies (e.g. language arts and…

This article describes some of the underlying conceptualizations that have gone into the work of the BEAR Center in the development of learning progressions. The core of all of these developments has been the construct map, which is the first building block in the BEAR Assessment System (BAS). After introducing the concept of a learning…