The diversity of scientific methods has received widespread attention and recognition in recent years. Brandon's Matrix illustrated four categories of scientific methods, which was applied to establish the analytical framework of this study. This paper adopted content analysis to investigate how the diversity of scientific methods is represented…

The past century has seen a debate on what characterises a scientifically literate citizen. Originally, scientific literacy implied that a citizen should know the products of science but has grown to incorporate processes of science and aspects of the nature of science. Studies on students' epistemic knowledge are rarer than ones on students'…

We extended research on scaffolds for formulating scientific hypotheses, namely the Hypothesis Scratchpad (HS), in the domain of relative density. The sample comprised of secondary school students who used three different configurations of the HS: Fully structured, containing all words needed to formulate a hypothesis in the domain of the study;…

Bed bugs are on the rise and are increasingly perceived as harmful parasites. Because individuals affected by bed bugs often feel disgust and shame and are stigmatized, bed bugs are an important public health and environmental justice concern and therefore a health education issue as well. In this quasi-experimental study, we examine how different…

This article recounts the author's working experience of one method by which pupils' understanding of the epistemologies of science can be developed, specifically how scientists can develop hypothetical models and test them through simulations. She currently uses this approach for transition lessons with pupils in upper primary or lower secondary…

The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, this study examined the difference in the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness [STAAR's] academic achievement (Math, Science, Reading and Writing) scores of secondary students by instructional status (Single teaching and Co-teaching). Second, this study investigated the predictability of…

This study was carried out to determine the effect of guided inquiry teaching method (GITM) on secondary school students' achievement in light and sound waves in Abuja, Nigeria. A sample of 95 students drawn from a population of 1,832 was used for the study. Two research questions were raised and answered in the study using mean and standard…

Earth's easily seen surface features (mountains, volcanoes, and islands)--and the movement of the tectonic plates that lie below--offer hints about the processes that produced them. Inquiries in seismology, the study of earthquakes and other ground movements, can help students learn about Earth's geologic processes. This article describes an…

Avogadro's conception of the structure of gases was not widely accepted by his contemporaries--probably because the hypothesis was not supported by direct evidence. This problem is rarely addressed in schools. This article discusses the difficulties that accompany the acceptance of new ideas. Such difficulties may be associated with the ways in…

The goal of this study was to create an accessible, inexpensive, and engaging experiment to teach high school and undergraduate chemistry or biology students about intermolecular forces and how they contribute to the behavior of biomolecules. We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to probe specific structure-function…

Optimal foraging theory attempts to explain the foraging patterns observed in animals, including their choice of particular food items and foraging locations. We describe three experiments designed to test hypotheses about food choice and foraging habitat preference using bird feeders. These experiments can be used alone or in combination and can…

Collaborative learning is an approach employed by instructors to facilitate learning and improve learner's performance. Mobile learning can accommodate a variety of learning approaches. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of collaborative learning styles on performance of students in a mobile learning environment. The specific purposes…

The purpose of this study was to establish the extent to which biology scientific creativity skills are influenced by the students' culture and gender in Turkana County. A mixed method research design was used. This involved cross sectional survey and ethnographic study. The target population comprised all form three students in sub county schools…

The study investigated the impact of virtual laboratory on the achievements of secondary school chemistry students in homogeneous and heterogeneous collaborative settings in Minna, Niger state, Nigeria. Three hypotheses were formulated, analyzed and tested at 0.05 alpha level. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 60 Senior Secondary…

This study explored associations between students' perceptions of challenge, teacher-provided support and obstruction, and students' momentary academic engagement in high school science classrooms. Instrumental and emotional dimensions of support and obstruction were examined separately, and analyses tested whether the relationship between…