In recent years, developing students' knowledge integration of specific topics through effective teaching methods has been a concern in science education. This study explored an alternative teaching method, which aims to help lower secondary school students develop their knowledge structure about buoyancy towards a logically integrated conceptual…

Nowadays, physics learning in the classroom should no longer only focus on achieving academics. It must prepare students to face challenges in the future. One of the abilities that are important for learners is problem solving, and the problem-solving ability that is becoming increasingly important in today's digital era is computational thinking…

Understanding the basics of d-electron configuration and the spin state of coordination complexes are essential elements of undergraduate inorganic chemistry. However, students in these courses find it difficult to conceptualize the ideas. Here, we have developed an undergraduate laboratory experiment that allows students to systematically…

This paper examines the praxeology of informal educational practices (i.e. how participants produce setting-specific practices to make a tour happen) in the Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra through close analysis of a video-recorded excerpt of a guided tour. Guided visits in informal science settings are…

This study revamps and optimizes the teaching and learning process and instrument for the classic binary vapor-liquid equilibrium experiment by combining activity coefficient model simulations and practical exercises. Our teaching process combines a software simulation and practical exercises. Utilizing Aspen software, students can predict phase…

Understanding scientific phenomena requires learners to construct mental models of causal systems. Simulation-based discovery learning offers learners the opportunity to construct mental models and test them against the behavior of a simulation. The purpose of this study was to investigate sequential patterns of learner actions and utterances…

Science education can be alienating for students, as it is apart from the mundane world with which they are familiar. Science education research has approached the gap between everyday understandings and science learning largely as a challenge arising while learning about science concepts and the kinds of instructional approaches that may support…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the nature of small group discussion tasks and learners' talk during Physical Science lessons. The study was conducted during Physical Science lessons with three self-selected groups of Grade 11 learners from one school. A total of three lessons were followed. During the…

The study aims to determine the status of organizing science activities for preschoolers aged 5-6 and teachers' views on improving science education quality for 5-6-year-olds in Vietnam. The research was undertaken on 150 preschool teachers working with 5-6 years old classes in 24 public preschools in 3 provinces, including Quang Binh, Quang Tri,…

Based on quantitative survey data collected from an inquiry-based general chemistry laboratory course, the current study used marginal models to evaluate changes in students' teamwork and problem-solving skills, attitudes to teamwork, and willingness to explore new issues before and after the course. The results suggest that introductory-level…

A central goal of science education reform is for students to participate in scientific sense making rather than to merely acquire science facts. However, even in classrooms utilizing reform-based pedagogies, students are typically allowed to construct knowledge only insofar as they construct expected knowledge. In this report and reflection, we…

The research aims to develop an instructional tool based on Discovery Learning (DL) combined with a Metacognitive Knowledge Strategy (MKS) to enhance students' Critical Thinking Skills (CTSs). In doing so, the study employed a Research and Development (R&D) method to develop such a tool. The developed instructional tool was tested for its…

In science education, there is a need to evaluate the behavior of dynamic systems. Representing and explaining processes through educational models or simulations enables students to perform activities where it is easier to understand these processes and discover the essential properties of a system. Performing modeling or simulation activities…

This paper builds on previous research which outlined the development of a framework of scientific enquiry within a play-based curriculum for early childhood. For this paper, in order to help to mediate children's observation and exploration as part of their play, we propose that practitioners need to have well-developed skills to ask open-ended…

The Periodic Table of Elements is a valuable resource for chemists and all kinds of STEM professionals. However, it can be initially overwhelming and intimidating to some students. This hands-on lesson introduces abstract concepts in the periodic table through a tangible experience with simple toys and household objects. Students collaborate and…