High quality science teaching builds pupils' curiosity and critical thinking, helping them to develop a coherent understanding of the world around them. Primary science teaching plays a crucial role in shaping pupils' attitudes toward the subject, nurturing participation that can support future pathways into science, technology, engineering, and…

Unconscious biases can be thought of as the shortcuts the brain takes to make life easier. Psychologists Daniel Kahneman (2011) and Amos Tversky explain that unconscious biases arise because humans have two thinking systems: a fast, automatic (unconscious) system and a slower more deliberative (conscious) system. The first system can be thought of…

A constructivist philosophy underpinning science teaching and learning for over 100 years in United Kingdom (UK) classrooms places "conceptual change" at the heart of classroom work in which children's scientific ideas form, strengthen and change. In this article, the author explains how the simple, effective method of "eyes…

Engineering Habits of Mind (EHoMs) were first introduced to a target group of Year 9 (age 14) students who the authors felt were disengaged with science, technology, and computing. These students were invited to take part in an engineering challenge with a school in Qatar. This involved making a bridge and rolling a marble over the bridge. The…

This article provides an introduction for the special issue of the "Journal of Science Education and Technology" focused on science teaching and learning with models. The article provides initial framing for questions that guided the special issue. Additionally, based on our careful review of each of these articles, some discussion of…

Thinking and other non-cognitive skills are becoming more important because the information explosion means less reliance on memorising facts and more on the ability to understand, analyse, apply, evaluate and create. In addition, many learners entering schools today will work in job categories not yet imagined; therefore a teaching focus on fact…

In the lesson on which this practical article is based, third grade students constructed a "lift-the-flap" page to explore food webs on the prairie. The moveable papercraft focused student attention on prairie animals' external structures and how the inferred functions of those structures could support further inferences about the…

Many scientists have been fascinated by how the brain works, but much of what is known about the brain has been discovered within the last twenty years. In this article, the author explores how thinking and using one's mind are essential to understanding. She contends that children need to be in control of their learning; the adult's role is to…

Science is a complex process, and we must not teach our students overly simplified versions of "the" scientific method. We propose that students can uncover the complex realities of scientific thinking by exploring the similarities and differences between solving the familiar crossword puzzles and scientific "puzzles."…

Since many people tend to use photographs as memory anchors, this author decided she wanted to know whether the process of capturing and manipulating an image taken during a learning activity would act as a memory anchor for children's visual, auditory and kinaesthetic memories linked to their cognitive learning at the time. In plain English,…

Carefully selected trade books can introduce science concepts, develop background knowledge, reinforce hands-on lessons, support science-process skills, and at the same time enhance related literacy-process skills. They can also provide inspiration and structure for integrated science and literacy lessons. Based on these ideas, the authors…

This article presents a lesson plan in which students learn about water in solid, liquid, and gaseous phases through trade books, demonstrations, and artwork. The author illustrates the stages of the lesson plan in the sequence they were conducted in the classroom with a group of students in grades one and two. Each stage targets specific learning…

The revamped New Zealand curriculum emphasises "scientific literacy for all students" and provides teachers with an opportunity to promote science as an integral element of the primary school curriculum. Exploring and explaining the natural world in primary science can provide authentic contexts for the development of knowledge, skills,…

Several categories of misconceptions which appear to be emerging across studies are discussed. They include: mis-perceptions; stunted conceptions; mis-translations; confused conceptions; lost conceptions; and true misconceptions. True misconceptions are metaphors and analogies which represent truly complete systems of explanation but are…

Offers perspectives on research related to students' ideas about science prior to instruction. Discusses possible origins of prior knowledge, the requirements for conceptual change, and reviews instructional implications. (ML)