Big ideas in science education are meant to be interpretive frameworks that empower student learning. Unfortunately, outside of the broad conception of scientific evaluation, there are few theoretical explanations of how this might happen. Therefore, we contribute one such explanation, an instructional concept called integrative analysis wherein…

The literature has documented a lack of daily instructional time dedicated to teaching science in comparison to mathematics and literacy in elementary education. Utilizing poetry has shown promise in increasing teachers' integration of science concepts, teaching literacy skills, improving student engagement, and fostering creativity. This study…

In this study, we compared students' learning from two conditions in a unit on inclined planes: Virtual-then-Physical (V-t-P) (n = 50), where students conducted a virtual lab followed by a physical lab, or vice versa in the Physical-then-Virtual condition (P-t-V) (n = 60). We analyzed students' written explanations after each lab focusing on…

In this study, we used a research tool for measuring students' conceptual understanding in optics, the Geometrical Optics Conceptual Understanding Test-2 (GOCUT-2), to evaluate the impact of supplementing classroom instruction with laboratory experiments, PhET simulations, or YouTube videos. This study involved students from public, urban…

Kinematics is an important but challenging area in physics. In previously published works of the current research project, it was revealed that there is a significant relationship between facial microexpression states (FMES) changes and conceptual conflict-induced conceptual change. Consequently, the current study integrated FMES into a kinematics…

The microscopic composition of substances is a piece of essential but abstract knowledge in chemistry. Junior high school students may experience difficulty in mental representation when learning micro concepts, which leads to problems such as unsatisfactory academic performance and low learning motivation. Augmented reality (AR) is an optimal…

Nature of science (NOS) has been a target of interest for decades. The main goal of this study is to explore the impact of the science, technology, society, environment (STSE) approach on students' understanding of NOS, taking "Galileo's study of free-fall motion" as an example. Participants in this study were 350 students of grade 10…

Involving students in laboratory and inquiry-based activities can help them understand the concepts of physics. However the learning process should not only focus on the concepts. Moreover, the advantages of using virtual or physical labs are still under examination. The purpose of this study is to analyse which of the two modes (virtual or…

This study compared the effectiveness of online skeuomorphic physics inquiry-based learning with and without simulation on 8th-grade students' performance of scientific inquiry involving the spring unit. Two classes (58 students) were assigned to the online skeuomorphic physics inquiry-based learning with simulation, and two classes (59 students)…

Numerous studies illustrate the value of simulations or project-based learning approaches to enhance the learning of science. Simulations can help students connect across macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic representations of scientific phenomena, while project-based learning can provide a meaningful narrative and activities for students to…

Utilizing an inquiry-learning space (ILS) via the Go-Lab platform, we investigated students' technology acceptance, knowledge integration [KI] process, and learning outcomes of both the high-achiever KI student and low-achiever KI student. This study aimed to understand how students engage in knowledge integration tasks using an inquiry-learning…

Recent science education reforms, as described in the "Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC, 2012), call for three-dimensional learning that engages students in scientific practices and the use of scientific lenses to learn science content. However, relatively little research at any grade level has focused on how students develop…

Since the 1980s, studies have increasingly shown that traditional teaching causes a deterioration in students' conceptions of physics and of learning physics. The present study examined the influence of an intervention on high school students' conceptions of physics and of learning physics. The intervention included two components: a unique design…

The current study investigates the differences in students' explanations of friction concepts after the use of the visuohaptic simulation with two different of sequenced approaches: enhanced visual first to enhanced visual and haptic feedback second (V [right arrow] V + H), and haptic enhanced first to enhanced visual and haptic feedback second (H…

Central to evolution is the concept of a common ancestry from which all life has emerged over immense time scales, but learning and teaching temporal aspects of evolution remain challenging. This study investigated students' interpretation of evolutionary time when engaging with a multi-touch tabletop application called DeepTree, a dynamic…