Developing students' critical thinking skills is often seen as an important educational goal for inquiry assignments. In this study, we investigated to what extent pre-laboratory activities of a chemical inquiry assignment influence students' independent critical thinking. We compared two forms of pre-laboratory activities that are frequently used…

The results of an earlier four-year longitudinal research study on the development of experimental design skills led to the conclusion that 12-13 year old students probably need more help to design experiments than had been offered to them in that project. This paper reports the findings of the first year of a further four-year empirical research…

In this study, the primary goal was to enhance the knowledge and awareness of 4th-grade primary school students regarding global pandemic diseases and methods of safeguarding against worldwide epidemic diseases which are socio-scientific issues. To achieve this goal, two activity modules tailored for 4th-grade students were created. These…

In this study, a new model termed as "Flexible Inquiry Based Science Teaching", which is developed using the framework of the inquiry approach is proposed. Science teachers (n=2) who participated in the study were instructed on the inquiry approach and their in-class activity applications were examined. The "electricity module"…

This study aims to examine the influence of inquiry-based instruction on eighth-grade male and female students' motivation and engagement in science learning in two public junior high schools in central Taiwan. Mixed-methods methodology was adopted with 60 students (32 males and 28 females) in the experimental group and 56 students (28 males and…

The use of science kits is a growing trend in India. The kits provide equipments, apparatus and chemicals in the form of a moving laboratory to use in science classes. This research paper highlights the issues and challenges faced by the Government school teachers of Delhi in India while using science kits during teaching-learning process at upper…

Indonesia and many other developing countries have a vast youth population, yet limited facilities for physics learning. The major purposes of this study are to develop low-cost, technology-enhanced physical and virtual laboratories and to investigate their effects on various learning objectives, including conceptual understanding, inquiry…

Laboratory courses are often designed using step-by-step protocols which encourage students to conduct experiments without thinking about what they are doing or why they are doing it. Such course design limits the growth of our students as scientists and can make it more difficult for a student to transition to the expectations of a research…

In recent years, the integration of science and mathematics has become popular among educators because of its potential benefits for student learning. The purpose of this study is to introduce a two-day interdisciplinary lesson that brings science and mathematics concepts together, actively engaging students in working with percentages of the…

Current atom concept teachings haven't reached required levels from the points of both teaching methods and learning attainments. With this purpose in this research atom concept is conveyed to the classroom milieu through observations and experiments related to the atom concept during historical development process starting with the masterpiece…

Experimental science activities in primary school enable important cross-curricular learning. In this study, experimental activities on microbiology were carried out by 16 pupils in a Portuguese grade-4 classroom (9-10?years old) and were focused on two problem-questions related to microbiology and health: (1) do your teeth carry microbes? (2) why…

Aim of this study is to investigate students' ideas on cooperative learning method. For that purpose students who are studying at elementary science education program are distributed into two groups through an experimental design. Factors threaten the internal validity are either eliminated or reduced to minimum value. Data analysis is done…

The observation of living animals in school laboratories provides authentic views of biological research. Various studies stress the importance of primary experiences in biology classes. However, educational films may serve as an alternative in some cases. The aim of this study was to investigate student motivation before and after treatments,…

In traditional teaching, the fundamental concepts of electromagnetic induction are usually quickly analyzed, spending most of the time solving problems in a more or less rote manner. However, physics education research has shown that the fundamental concepts of the electromagnetic induction theory are barely understood by students. This article…

Teachers' professional knowledge is assumed to be a key variable for effective teaching. As teacher education has the goal to enhance professional knowledge of current and future teachers, this knowledge should be described and assessed. Nevertheless, only a limited number of studies quantitatively measures physics teachers' professional…