A large number of students across the globe each year enroll in general chemistry courses as an academic requirement to obtain their degree. Although many take chemistry courses, it is not a subject sought out by many as a potential career. In some instances, chemistry hinders students from achieving their career goals. A plethora of chemical…

This study aimed to develop and evaluate a web-based TPACK scaffolding for online learning to enhance the TPACK skills of preservice chemistry teachers. The preliminary study identified the lack of a clear perception of TPACK among preservice chemistry teachers. Therefore, we developed a web-based TPACK scaffolding tool consisting of five menus:…

The activities presented in this paper, which are addressed to elementary school, are focused on the pioneering work of the Portuguese King Carlos I in oceanography and involve the exploration of the exhibits belonging to two different science museums, the Aquarium Vasco da Gama and the Maritime Museum. Students were asked to study fish…

In 2012, WestEd received a "Development" grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) competition to develop and implement Internet-based Reading Apprenticeship Improving Science Education ("iRAISE"). "iRAISE" was implemented in Michigan and Pennsylvania and was provided to over 100…

In the present study, we analyze activities on the topic of sound, which are performed in the science education laboratory lessons in the third-year students of the Department of Early Childhood Education at the University of Ioannina. The analysis of the activities is based on one of the most modern learning theories of CHAT (Cultural Historical…

The relationship between students' use of PeerWise, an online tool that facilitates peer learning through student-generated content in the form of multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and achievement, as measured by their performance in the end-of-module examinations, was investigated in 5 large early-years science modules (in physics, chemistry and…

The authors evaluated the effects of P-SELL, a science curricular and professional development intervention for fifth-grade students with a focus on English language learners (ELLs). Using a randomized controlled trial design with 33 treatment and 33 control schools across three school districts in one state, we found significant and meaningfully…

Given limited funding for school-based science education, non-school-based programs have been developed at colleges and universities to increase the number of students entering science- and health-related careers and address critical workforce needs. However, few evaluations of such programs have been conducted. We report the design and methods of…

Practical skills are important for the employability of biosciences graduates; however, first year science undergraduates often struggle to adapt to university practical classes, affecting skills development and decreasing their enthusiasm for laboratory work. This study describes the effects of introducing online multimedia practical support…

Evaluation of large-scale professional development programmes in a cost-effective but detailed manner presents challenges. Much of the research evidence on the effectiveness of professional development in science education has been the result of small-scale studies that use clustered or stratified sampling methods. Using the evidence collected…

Within the school library community, there have been persuasive calls for school librarians to contribute to science learning. We present a conceptual framework that links national standards of science education ("Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas," referred to as…

To address the need to better prepare teachers to enact science education reforms, the National Science Foundation has supported a Research Experience for Teachers (RET's) format for teacher professional development. In these experiences, teachers work closely with practicing scientists to engage in authentic scientific inquiry. Although…

As secondary students' interest in science is decreasing, schools are faced with the challenging task of providing adequate instruction to engage students--and more particularly the disadvantaged students--to learn science and improve their science inquiry skills. In this respect, the integration of Web-based collaborative inquiry can be seen as a…

Typically, teachers use tests to evaluate students' knowledge acquisition. In a novel experimental study, we examined whether low-stakes testing ("quizzing") can be used to foster students' learning of course content in 8th grade science classes. Students received multiple-choice quizzes (with feedback); in the quizzes, some target…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined Californians' views on science education. The findings are based on telephone interviews with 1,004 adults conducted April 7-22, 2010. Cell phone and Spanish language interviews were included to provide more complete coverage of California's population. In order to enhance understanding of the…