Incorporating an evidence-based approach in STEM education using data collection and analysis strategies when learning about science concepts enhances primary students' discipline knowledge and cognitive development. This paper reports on learning activities that use the nature of viscosity and the power of informal statistical inference to build…

The aim of this study is to conduct a meta-analysis study to examine the effectiveness of the argumentation-based teaching method in terms of sample, subject, years and some variables (academic success, attitude, interest, etc.). Meta-analysis method was used in this study. In order to gather the studies included in meta-analysis, various sources…

There is a long tradition of teaching science through inquiry, with broad agreement about the form it should take. Students should investigate researchable questions; gather and analyse data; and develop and represent evidence-based claims. Authoritative teacher or textbook representations are generally used to guide this learning (Buckley &…

Artificial photosynthesis is a promising approach to generate commodity chemicals using abundant chemical feedstocks and renewable energy sources. Despite its importance, affordable and effective hands-on classroom activities that demonstrate artificial photosynthesis and teach key concepts, especially for primary school students, are lacking.…

Science and engineering practices (SEPs) and crosscutting concepts (CCs) constitute a significant part of "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012). As teachers, the role of the authors is to highlight the pivotal role that both scientific knowledge and the practices used to generate knowledge play in learning. This article…

In a series of 12 project-based learning lessons, a group of seven fifth-grade students who live 200 miles from the coast explored their personal connections to the ocean. After completing a unit on the role of water in Earth's surface processes, the students investigated ocean acidification and how this pervasive ocean problem impacts their local…

There is an urgent need for more Latinx students to pursue careers in STEM related fields as this has historically been an unserved population in schools. This mixed methods study examined the impact of a summer STEM pipeline program focused on hands-on chemistry concepts for 28 Latinx students in the 5th grade. Findings include statistically…

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the Context-Based Approach (CBA) enriched by Prediction-Observation-Explanation (POE) on 5th grade students' conceptual understanding of the States of Matter, Heat and Temperature. In this study, quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were employed. The quantitative…

Martin Wagenschein's ideas of prioritising phenomena in making sense of science processes have influenced the German "Lehrkunstdidaktik" (art of teaching) approach. This article sketches a "Lehrkunstdidaktik" teaching unit inspired by Michael Faraday's "Chemical History of a Candle." It shows how primary and lower…

Engineering is an intriguing way for students to connect the design process with their knowledge of science (NRC 2012). This article describes the "Engineering a Pancake Recipe" design process which was created to make the structure and properties of matter more meaningful for fifth grade students. The whole pancake recipe engineering…

Given that students are constantly communicating and documenting special experiences in their social and private lives with digital devices, we suggest that this behavior could be used to record and deepen learning experiences-such as visualizing reactions at the molecular level-in a chemistry class. An example would be the creation of stop-motion…

The Australian Curriculum: Science for Year 5 includes "recognising that the colour of an object depends on the properties of the object and the color of the light source". This article shows how much more can be done with color in the science laboratory. Activities include using a prism to explore white light, using a hand lens to…

The increasing use of educational technologies in classrooms is producing vast amounts of process data that capture rich information about learning as it unfolds. The field of educational data mining has made great progress in using log data to build models that improve instruction and advance the science of learning. Thus far, however, the…

This article describes a chemistry/art activity that originated in an National Science Foundation--funded two-week STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) academy for grade 4-6 girls. The authors recommend using this investigation in conjunction with other activities focusing on chemical change as a step toward fulfilling the…

Discrepant events are often used by science educators to incite interest and excitement in learners, yet sometimes their results are farther-reaching. The following article describes how one such event--dissolving packing peanuts in acetone--led to a change in the course of a college-level elementary science teaching methods class and to the…