Students struggle with observing scientifically and connecting observations to scientific theory. This study investigates how students actually use observation in rock classification -- a classical practical task in science education. To describe the level of students' use of observation, data was collected by videotaping 19 small student groups…

Quantum physics is challenging for young students, but also a source of fascination. "Observation" is a key concept in order to understand how principles and experimental results in quantum physics differ from what we are used to in classical physics and everyday experiences. In this study we investigate how pre-university physics…

Materials designed for self-guided experiences such as worksheets and digital applications are widely used as tools to enable interactive science exhibitions to support students' progress towards conceptual understanding. However, there is a need to find expedient ways to evaluate the quality of educational experiences resulting from the use of…

We report on research that explores students' literacy practices in six Norwegian primary school science classrooms during integrated science-literacy instruction. The study combines observational video data and interview data to examine students' encounters with and use of text, along with their views and experiences related to science and…

This article focuses on teacher professional development (TPD) in natural science through the 5E model as mediating artifact. The study was conducted in an upper secondary school, grounded in a school-based intervention research project. My contribution to the field of research on TPD is founded on the hypothesis that teachers would be best…

Our study explores how students apply geoscientific knowledge learned in the classroom to phenomena in a field setting. This was investigated by collecting video data from an ordinary high school context in Norway involving one teacher and a class of 17 high school students. We analyzed how the students learned rock identification and relative…

Formative assessment, and especially feedback, is considered essential to student learning. To provide effective feedback, however, teachers must act upon the information that students reveal during instruction. In this study, we apply a framework of formative assessment to explore how sensitive teachers are to students' thoughts and ideas when…

In the Budding Science and Literacy project, we explored how working with an integrated inquiry-based science and literacy approach may challenge and support the teaching and learning of science at the classroom level. By studying the inter-relationship between multiple learning modalities and phases of inquiry, we wished to illuminate possible…

In this article, I develop a perspective on learning as multilayered phenomena. I take a socio-genetic approach in order to understand human activity and to show how categories are a fundamental part of learning in a specific type of institutional practice. In the empirical section, student dialogue is analysed in relation to a set of categories…