In addition to the continuing need for citizens who can address the challenges of "human" communities, growing concerns have arisen regarding "all" life on the planet. Indeed, one of our most urgent conditions is the decline of the environment upon which all life depends. Yet, despite our concerns, there remain vastly differing…

This article presents a conceptual understanding of how the powerful digital tool of augmented reality (AR) can be used for enhancing inquiry-based learning lessons (IBLLs). With an increased reliance on technology following the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced teacher preparation time, and a need to provide students with alternative student-centered…

In this article we illustrate how one teacher used PhET cannonball simulation as an instructional tool to improve students' algebraic reasoning in a fifth grade classroom. Three instructional phases effective to implementation of simulation included: Free play, Structured inquiry and, Synthesizing ideas.

Guided-inquiry experiments are an important tool for helping students develop scientific practices such as hypothesizing and problem solving. In organic chemistry, these types of experiments can help students learn how to connect the theory of the reaction to the observation and data to decide how the reaction is proceeding or if it needs…

This article presents the Blended Learning Virtual Reality Inquiry Framework, an original framework for creating virtual reality inquiry-based lessons for the modern technology-driven classroom. The framework shared in this article invokes research on blended learning , experiential learning, and inquiry-based learning to structure a virtual…

Digital games are responsible for turning my pedagogical practice on its head and landing me in New Zealand. My journey down the digital games "rabbit hole" started in 2007. Not having a map to follow ended up being revolutionary as I learnt to follow the learning. I describe four important lessons I have learnt through working with…

Health care professionals, be they researchers, clinicians or educators, routinely face the need to find and apply best evidence in the context of complex situations. In order to navigate an increasingly large body of evidence advanced information literacy skills are required. More than simply a set of skills, information literacy is an approach…

This article reflects on a school's approach to gamifying the Royal Society Te Aparangi's First CREST Award. The article explains how CREST was reconceived as a quest using elements of live action role playing (LARP) and gamification, and the tools that were used to do this. It describes how progress was measured using a points system and the…

The use of method of imitational modeling to study forming the empirical knowledge in pupil's consciousness is discussed. The offered model is based on division of the physical facts into three categories: 1) the facts established in everyday life; 2) the facts, which the pupil can experimentally establish at a physics lesson; 3) the facts which…

While learning can happen anywhere and everywhere, most educational practices in K-12 are confined within the walls of a classroom and the school; such practices narrowly define learning and exclude the opportunities that an expanded and digitally mediated definition of learning can offer. Augmented reality (AR) technologies offer exciting new…

Research in the field of technology-enhanced learning has argued for a broader scope of technology-supported learning environments to include the design of activity systems which position students as active thinkers by reorganizing learning with technology around the practices of scholarly communities. In the context of elementary ecosystems…

Topics on the molecular basis underlying cancer are quite popular among students. Also, excellent textbooks abound that provide interesting materials for discussion during lectures and tutorials about major events leading to cancer formation and progression. However, much less is available for students to conduct experiments for the analysis of…

As an instructional framework, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can guide science teachers to purposefully apply evidence-based instructional practices to increase engagement and learning of students with disabilities (Israel, Ribuffo, and Smith 2014; Marino et al. 2014; Ok et al. 2016). This article describes how to use the Universal Design…

The compound microscope is an important tool in biology, and mastering it requires repetition. Unfortunately, introductory activities for students can be formulaic, and consequently, students are often unengaged and fail to develop the required experience to become proficient in microscopy. To engage students, increase repetition, and develop…

In this article, we introduce a class of constructionist learning environments that we call "Emergent Systems Sandboxes" ("ESSs"), which have served as a centerpiece of our recent work in developing curriculum to support scalable model-based learning in classroom settings. ESSs are a carefully specified form of virtual…