Improving the education quality, its compliance with modern requirements is closely related to the assimilation of scientific concepts by schoolchildren, which is one of the most important components of the scientific knowledge element. The article aims to present a methodology for the students' formation of physical concepts. The stages of…

Research-based pedagogy was implemented to enhance high school students' learning outcomes in basic organic chemistry. Flipped learning and structured peer work have been offered to grade 10 students(N = 12) during the course with appropriate classroom facilities, supervised by two facilitators. The preclass and in-class activities were designed…

This study examines the epistemic disciplinary knowledge that students consider when addressing a real food emergency that requires their engagement in inquiry and argumentation practices. The study comprised two phases: (1) designing an experiment to study the emergency and (2) evaluating the real outcome of the emergency. The participants were…

Multitouch learning books (MLBs) are learning companions that support learning within a series, independent of the learning location. These MLBs can accompany an experiment itself or an entire learning process. In addition to providing interactive tasks, an all-in-one solution can provide pupils with additional information, supporting and…

There has been an ongoing debate of which physical labs or virtual labs are better. To resolve this issue, a remote lab provides an online lab that can do real experiments to obtain real data from a distant physical lab. Instead of relying on a remote lab, this article suggests that students collect experimental data locally with low-cost data…

Understanding chemistry requires the interplay of several modes of representations which can be observed in the translational skills of students. This paper investigated the extent of the translational skills of students exposed to conventional lecture method (CLM) and the integrated macro-micro-symbolic approach (IMMSA). Individual interviews…

This study examines how two kinds of authentic research experiences related to smoking behavior--genotyping human DNA (wet lab) and using a database to test hypotheses about factors that affect smoking behavior (dry lab)--influence students' perceptions and understanding of scientific research and related science concepts. The study used pre and…

This paper examines the process of high school students' planning investigations in the chemistry laboratory across two consecutive academic years in terms of their actions and their progress. The context is a set of five inquiry-based laboratory tasks in which participants (9th and 10th graders, 14-15 and 15-16 years of age) are required to plan…

Students have access to the Internet at their fingertips via e-tablets and smart phones. However, the STEM fields are struggling to remain relevant in students' lives outside the classroom. In an effort to improve high school science curricula and to keep students engaged in the classroom, we developed a technology-rich bioengineering summer…

Technology is changing the way students interact with knowledge, and open-ended activities are one of the main types of tasks that students engage with in technology-rich environments. However, the amount of guidance needed to promote learning in these environments remains unknown. We explore this issue by focusing on the effects of step-by-step…

This paper describes a mini-project developed with 10th grade Portuguese students where, by using an experimental activity involving the use of natural dyes to colour wool, students acquired a better understanding of the concepts and relationship between the colour, the electromagnetic spectrum, and chemical bonding. As demonstrated by the results…

This article identifies aspects of argumentation in scientific practice that are key for scientific sense-making and articulates how engagement in these aspects happens both inter-mentally (between people) and intra-mentally (an individual's reasoning). Institutionally, peer review exerts critique on new knowledge claims in science and is…

This research investigates the influence of computer simulations (virtual experiments) on one hand and real experiments on the other hand on the conceptual understanding of electrical charging. The investigated sample consists of students in the second year (10th grade) of three gymnasiums in Macedonia. There were two experimental groups and one…

These 2 studies investigate the extent to which an Embodied Mixed Reality Learning Environment (EMRELE) can enhance science learning compared to regular classroom instruction. Mixed reality means that physical tangible and digital components were present. The content for the EMRELE required that students map abstract concepts and relations onto…

Nowadays, outreach labs are important informal learning environments in science education. After summarizing research to goals outreach labs focus on, we describe our evidence-based gene technology lab as a model of a research-driven outreach program. Evaluation-based optimizations of hands-on teaching based on cognitive load theory (additional…