The purpose of this article is to introduce a methodology for analyzing the complex configurations emerging in students' speech and drawing activities, having consequences for how and what students learn and make meaning of in science. Accordingly, we launch a methodology to unfold the multidimensional communication as to deepen the analysis of…

"Complex systems" is a general-purpose reasoning scheme, used in a wide range of disciplines to make sense of systems with many similar entities. In this paper, we examine the generality of this approach in learning chemistry. Students' reasoning in chemistry in terms of emergent complex systems is explored for two curricula: a normative…

Present and future social and ecological challenges are complex both to understand and to attempt to solve. To comprehend the complex systems underlying these issues, students need systems thinking skills. However, in science education, a uniform delineation of systems thinking across contexts has yet to be established. While there seems to be…

Recent education reforms including the "Next Generation Science Standards" emphasize integrating engineering into K-12 science instruction. Although prior studies have characterized engineering design (ED) in K-12 settings, no validated protocols attempt to characterize ED integration in secondary science classrooms. The present study…

This paper builds on the current literature base about learning progressions in science to address the question, "What is the nature of the learning progression in the content domain of the structure of matter?" We introduce a learning progression in response to that question and illustrate a methodology, the Construct Modeling (Wilson,…

The use of external representations has a potential to facilitate inquiry learning, especially in hypothesis generation and scientific reasoning, which are typical difficulties encountered by students. This study proposes and investigates the effects of a three-dimensional thinking graph (3DTG) that allows learners to combine in a single image,…

Understanding how geologists conduct fieldwork through analysis of problem solving has significant potential impact on field instruction methods within geology and other science fields. Recent work has highlighted many aspects of fieldwork, but the problem solving behaviors displayed by geologists during fieldwork and the associated cognitive…

Orchestrating inquiry-based science learning in the classroom is a complex undertaking. It requires fitting the culture of the classroom with the teacher's teaching and inquiry practices. To understand the interactions between these variables in relation to student learning, we conducted an investigation in two different classroom settings to…

Focusing on a group of African American third graders who attend a high-poverty urban school, I explore the structure-agency dialectic within contested spaces situated in a dialogically oriented science classroom. Contested spaces entail the moments in which the students challenge each other's and their teacher's science ideas and, in the process,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate Ethiopian physics undergraduate students' conceptual change in the concepts of electric potential and energy (EPE) and electromagnetic induction (EMI). A quasi-experimental design was used to study the effect of cognitive perturbation using physics interactive simulations (CPS) in relation to cognitive…

The study investigated the relationship of high school students' understandings about nature of science (NOS) aspects and their argumentation skills in relation to two controversial socioscientific issues. The study was conducted in five schools selected from different geographical areas in Beirut, Lebanon. Participants were 219 grade 11 students.…

The paper divides achievement in chemistry into five independent factors: cognitive, affective, problem solving, routine manipulative skills, and observational modes. The study explores the relationship between student performance in these areas and their responses to a Cognitive Preference Test in chemistry. (RE)

This study aims at giving a systematic description of the cognitive activities involved in teaching physics. The most important conclusion from the results is that teaching by experienced university teachers can be described in terms of instruction processes belonging to the two-dimensional model described in this study. (PR)

Explores the differences between deep and surface approaches to learning science. Findings indicate that the deep-surface learning differences fall into five categories: (1) generative thinking; (2) nature of explanations; (3) asking questions; (4) metacognitive activity; and (5) approach to tasks. Suggests that teachers can encourage a deep…

Compares two grade 12 science classes, one receiving instruction using the Laboratory-Investigative Approach, and the other using the Lecture-Laboratory Approach, in terms of certain cognitive factors and associated attitudes. (GA)