Teaching science concepts for conceptual understanding has its challenges. Bringing about conceptual change in the science classroom can be difficult because most concepts are complicated and often counter-intuitive in the teaching and learning of science concepts. A review of the literature indicates that the conceptual change model, CCM can be…

Most physics educators would agree that energy is a very useful, albeit abstract topic. It is therefore important to use various methods to help the student internalize the concept of energy itself and its related ideas. These methods include using representations such as energy bar graphs, energy pie charts, or energy tracking diagrams.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a brief exposure to the development of the threshold concepts framework (TCF), the intention being to illuminate for interested readers a broader landscape of research activity than that perhaps conveyed by the individual contributions to this special edition. Design/Methodology/Approach: There is…

This paper reports the first results of an experimental research, carried out in a private school with 9th grade students, where the 4C/ID-model was used for teaching and learning electric circuits. The authors describe the principles and features of the instructional model, that is suitability for the teaching and learning of complex knowledge…

Rapid growth in nanoscience and nanotechnology in recent years has been accompanied by studies of the toxicity and potential impacts of nanomaterials on human health and the environment, but less has been done concerning education in this area. There is therefore a need for courses that address this theme at universities worldwide, in order to…

Guiding students to generate testable scientific questions is essential in the inquiry classroom, but it is not easy. The purpose of the BDC ("Big Idea, Divergent Thinking, and Convergent Thinking") instructional model is to to scaffold students' inquiry learning. We illustrate the use of this model with an example lesson, designed…

At the beginning of the 1980s, one of the most striking explanations of conceptual change was made by Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog (1982) with a Conceptual Change Theory based on a Scientific Revolution Theory of Kuhn (1970). In Conceptual Change Theory, learning was explained with the Piaget (1970)'s concepts such as assimilation and…

This article's purpose is to examine, on the basis of Bernstein's theory of classification and framing, how teachers express the concept and content of entrepreneurship in classroom practices in two Swedish lower secondary schools. The study is part of a national school improvement program aiming to better understand, develop and encourage…

This study aimed to determine whether taking a chronological approach (CA) or topical approach (TA) to teaching developmental psychology resulted in different learning outcomes. Across two semesters, in four classes, 354 students participated (M[subscript age] = 19.76, SD[subscript age] = 2.93 years), 66% identifying as female. One instructor…

This study investigates three models of content-based instruction in teaching concepts and terms of natural sciences in order to increase the efficiency of teaching these kinds of concepts in realization and to prove that the content-based instruction is a teaching strategy that helps students understand concepts of natural sciences. Content-based…

Most undergraduate business students simply do not appreciate the elegant mathematical beauty of inventory models. So how does an instructor capture students' interest and keep them engaged in the learning process when teaching inventory management concepts? This paper describes a competitive and energizing in-class simulation game that introduces…

The objective of this paper is to discuss how blind students learn basic concepts of probability using the tactile model proposed by Vita (2012). Among the activities were part of the teaching sequence "Jefferson's Random Walk", in which students built a tree diagram (using plastic trays, foam cards, and toys), and pictograms in 3D…

The present study should be thought as a socioconstructivist teaching approach (a teaching model) for the concept of energy in primary education. It contains important and crucial aspects of the History and Philosophy of Natural Sciences, introduces the concept of energy using the macroscopic framework of thermodynamics, takes into consideration…

Literature suggests using multimedia learning principles in the design of instructional material. However, these principles may not be sufficient for the design of learning objects for concept learning in mathematics. This paper reports on an experimental study that investigated the effects of an instructional approach, which includes two teaching…

This article describes a lesson taught in a designated English Language Learner (ELL) classroom in an elementary school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, using a sheltered instruction approach. Eighty one percent of the students at this school are from diverse ethnic backgrounds where 25 per cent of them receive ELL services. A variety of languages are…