This longitudinal study examined the role of metaconceptual awareness in the change and the durability of preservice teachers' conceptual understandings over the course of several months. Sixteen preservice early childhood teachers participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to reveal the participants' conceptual…

The purpose of this cross-cultural study was to describe and compare US and Turkish children's observational knowledge of the day and night cycle and to identify similarities predicted by framework theory. Fifty-six (27 US and 29 Turkish) young children (ages 48-60 months) participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were individually…

This study investigated the predictive ability of an intentional learning model in the change of preservice early childhood teachers' conceptual understanding of lunar phases. Fifty-two preservice early childhood teachers who were enrolled in an early childhood science methods course participated in the study. Results indicated that the use…

A bunny rabbit playfully hops across the wall. Then hands realign and fingers shift to make a hawk soar toward the ceiling. Most children have enjoyed the delightful experience of playing with shadow puppets. The authors build on this natural curiosity to help students link shadows to complex astronomical concepts such as seasons. The…

This study investigated the effect of non-traditional guided inquiry instruction on middle school students' conceptual understandings of lunar concepts. Multiple data sources were used to describe participants' conceptions of lunar phases and their cause, including drawings, interviews, and a lunar shapes card sort. The data were analyzed via a…

Introducing science inquiry early in young children's education is imperative, and providing opportunities for conducting investigations that develop process skills can lay a foundation for later learning. Combining inquiry-based instruction with appropriate technology allows the students to explore, reason, test, and revise their ideas about…

This study investigated inservice PreK to Grade two teachers' knowledge of some earth and space science concepts before and after a short-term teacher institute. A one-group pre-test-post-test design was used in the current study. Earth science concepts targeted during the professional development included properties of rocks and soils, and the…

This study explored young children's understandings of targeted lunar concepts, including when the moon can be observed, observable lunar phase shapes, predictable lunar patterns, and the cause of lunar phases. Twenty-one children (ages 7-9 years) from a multi-aged, self-contained classroom participated in this study. The instructional…

This mixed methods study described preservice teachers' conceptions of tides and explored the efficacy of integrating online data into inquiry-based instruction. Data sources included a multiple-choice assessment and in-depth interviews. A total of 79 participants in secondary, middle, and early childhood teacher education programs completed the…

This mixed-methods investigation compared the effectiveness of three instructional approaches in achieving desired conceptual change among early childhood preservice teachers (n = 157). Each of the three treatments employed inquiry-based instruction on moon phases using data collected from: (1) the planetarium software program, Starry Night[TM],…

This review focused on the written and visual representation of the moon in 80 children's books, including Caldecott Medal and Honor books over the past 20 years. Results revealed that many of these books misrepresent the moon and even reinforce misconceptions about lunar phases. Teachers who use children's literature that misrepresents the moon…

The "National Science Education Standards (NSES)" state that students in grades K-4 are expected to understand that astronomical objects in the sky, including the Sun, Moon, and stars--have properties, locations, and patterns of movement that can be observed and described. They further suggest using an inquiry-based approach to teach…

This study described the conceptual understandings of 50 early childhood (Pre-K-3) preservice teachers about standards-based lunar concepts before and after inquiry-based instruction utilizing educational technology. The instructional intervention integrated the planetarium software "Starry Night Backyard[TM]" with instruction on moon phases from…

Fourth-grade students' knowledge of observable moon phases and patterns of change, as well as conceptual understanding of the cause of moon phases, was investigated before and after special instruction. Pretest and post-test data for 48 students were used to address the research question related to observable moon phases and patterns of change.…

This research consists of a longitudinal study of 12 female elementary preservice teachers' conceptual understanding over the course of several months. The context in which the participants received instruction was in an inquiry-based physics course, and the targeted science content was the cause of moon phases. Qualitative research methods,…