Understanding experimental design (e.g. control of variable strategy or CVS) is foundational for scientific reasoning. Previous research has demonstrated that demonstrations with cognitive conflict (e.g. asking students to evaluate and explain different experimental designs) are effective in promoting children's scientific reasoning, however, the…

As more concerns have been raised about withholding answers during science teaching, this article argues for a need to detach 'withholding answers' from 'hands-on' investigation tasks. The present study examined students' learning of light-related content through three conditions: 'hands-on' + no 'withholding' (hands-on only: HO), 'hands-on' +…

This study of three science teachers' lessons on heat and temperature seeks to characterise classroom talk that highlighted the ways language is used and to examine the nature of the language demands revealed in constructing, negotiating, arguing and communicating science ideas. The transcripts from the entire instructional units for these…

We present results of an experimental study of an urban, museum-based science teacher PD programme. A total of 125 teachers and 1676 of their students in grades 4-8 were tested at the beginning and end of the school year in which the PD programme took place. Teachers and students were assessed on subject content knowledge and attitudes towards…

This paper concerns the identification of teaching strategies that enhance the development of 4th grade students' experimental design skills at a public primary school in Argentina. Students' performance in the design of relevant experiments was evaluated before and after an eight-week intervention compared to a control group, as well as the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of mobile learning among young learners. Specifically, we investigated whether the use of mobile devices for data collection during field trips outside the classroom could enhance fourth graders' learning about the parts of the flower and their functions, flower pollinators and the process of…

Pupils' interest has been one of the major concerns in science education research because it can be seen as a gateway to more personalised forms of interest and motivation. However, methods to investigate situational interest in science teaching and learning are not broadly examined. This study compares the pupils' observed situational interest…

This study explored the effects of a modified argument-driven inquiry approach on Grade 4 students' engagement in learning science and argumentation in Taiwan. The students were recruited as an experimental group (EG, n?=?36) to join a 12-week study, while another 36 Grade 4 students from the same schools were randomly selected to be the…

To help explain the differences in students' performance on internationally administered science assessments, cross-national, video-based observational studies have been advocated, but none have yet been conducted at the elementary level for science. The USA and Germany are two countries with large formal education systems whose students…

This study used a Chinese-language version of the Index of Science Reading Awareness to explore the science reading metacognition and comprehension of Taiwanese students. Structural equation modelling results confirmed the underlying model comprised three clusters of metacognitive knowledge: beliefs and confidence in science reading, knowledge of…

This study aimed to examine whether the relationships among family resources, school climate, learning participation, science attitude, and science achievement are different between primary school students and junior high school students within one educational system. The subjects included 4,181 Grade 4 students and 5,074 Grade 8 students who…