This research aimed to determine the effectiveness of applying instructive simulation experiments (SE) to the development of deeper conceptual understanding, retention of static electricity contents, and engagement of 4th-grade students. The correlation between student achievements and engagement was examined. 76 4th graders (10-11 years) were…

Science is one of the most important subjects for students at all educational levels. To promote engagement, hands-on experiments can provide a 'realistic and exciting experience of the content' (Holstermann, Grube and Bögeholz, 2010: 744) and hopefully facilitate motivation. In this article, George Stylos and Konstantinos T. Kotsis present four…

When the thermal expansion of water is discussed in school or university lessons, functional relationships are often inferred without considering measurement uncertainties. Moreover, in some learning materials, the goal of experimentation and the experimental setup do not match. This creates the wrong picture of scientific practice. In this…

The present investigation aims to analyze the knowledge levels and chemical representation levels of pre-service primary school teachers (PPSTs) on the experiment of distillation. For this purpose, the cross-sectional survey technique, one of the quantitative research designs was employed. The study was carried out at a Faculty of Education in the…

Research has shown that visual literacy is an important element to use within a classroom (Tillmann 2012). One way to incorporate visual literacy into the science classroom is with the use of advertisements. In this article, Tiffany Pace describes how she and her students began their visual literacy quest while studying mixtures and solutions,…

The aims of teaching have evolved along with the society in which we live, from a teaching based in memory to a one that teaches to reason, in order to adapt to the accelerated rate of change imposed by the application of scientific discoveries in our society. We have a society in continuous learning, which requires the ability to reason in order…

We report a case study of model-based reasoning in which a small group of fourth-grade students analyzes the energy flow when a solar panel is used to power an electric motor that spins a propeller. In developing their explanation of energy flow, the students draw on a general model of energy developed collectively by their class in the course of…

The author believes that science within a primary school is there to enable children to be interested in the world around them and to help them start to understand it, getting them interested in the very basics, and pointing out things around them that they had not considered, so that they can start asking the questions 'why' and 'how' and 'what'…

In light of extensive research demonstrating widespread misconceptions about electricity, this paper describes a learning study that targeted the most likely source of difficulty--failure of middle school pupils to develop a mental model that serves as a bridge between static and current electricity. During the intervention, pupils first envision…

The concept of the centre of mass of a rigid body as a virtual point where the weight force acts is not easy to understand without a number of supporting school experiments. In school practice, however, experiments on this topic are often limited to a few of the simplest cases in which a simple flat body, such as a triangle or rectangle, is hung…

In the present paper, we have examined the impact of explicit linkage between simulated (i.e., virtual) and real (i.e., physical) experimental settings in order to scaffold conceptual understanding, in the case of floating and sinking (F/S) phenomena explanations. This research is part of a research-based curriculum project and has been…

Thorntree Primary is a small school in Greenwich, London, with strong links to the local community and an appealing village feel that is unusual in its inner London setting. The children come from a mix of cultural and economic backgrounds, with those entitled to free school meals being higher than average. The school has a strong inclusive and…

Teaching children about circuits and the way electricity works is a "tricky business" because it is invisible. Just imagine all eyes are on the teacher as he or she produces for the class what looks like a ping-pong ball and then, with a wave of their hand, the incredible happens! This wonderful white sphere begins to glow red and a…

The present paper advocates the use of History of Science into the teaching of science in primary education through a case study in the field of electricity. In this study, which provides both historical and experimental evidence, a number of conceptual difficulties faced by early nineteenth century physicists are shown to be a useful tool to…

The Environmental Studies curricular area, taught at primary school level in Portugal, is a challenging context for curricular interdisciplinarity and the achievement of small-scale research and creative and innovative experiences, inside and outside the classroom. From that assumption, we present, under the master course of primary teacher…