Chemical bonding is one of the key and basic concepts in chemistry. The learning of many of the concepts taught in chemistry, in both secondary schools as well as in the colleges, is dependent upon understanding fundamental ideas related to chemical bonding. Nevertheless, the concept is perceived by teachers, as well as by learners, as difficult,…

In this paper we suggest a practical, talk-based model for the successful pursuit of teaching science in primary classrooms (Loxley et al., 2010). This model is not only based on our own experience of teaching in primary schools, and of training teachers to do so, but is also based substantially on research on classroom talk, which has built upon…

Genetic concepts have significantly evolved over the last ten years, and are now less connected to innate ideas and reductionism. Unique reference to genetic determinism has been replaced by the interaction between the genes and their environment (epigenetics). Our analyses relate to how current school biology textbooks present this new paradigm…

As research faculty with expertise in the area of host-pathogen interactions (HPI), we used a research group model to effect our professional development as scientific educators. We have established a working hypothesis: The implementation of a curriculum that forms bridges between our seven HPI courses allows our students to achieve deep and…

The purpose of this paper was to investigate students' views on models and modelling in science as well as the role that models play in learning, using a theoretical framework of models in learning. Students' views on models in science were investigated using a pencil-and-paper questionnaire given to 275 students from Grade 8 (13 years old) to…