This study investigates if a force-based teaching approach, based on quantum mechanical principles and developed in a lesson study, would enhance the understanding of chemical bonding among upper secondary school students. The teaching approach was based on research on the teaching and learning of chemical bonding. The study included first-year…

Purpose: An analysis of the relationship between discourse and cognition in the context of middle school science teaching is provided in this study. Teacher-led questions, cognitive demands and patterns of interaction were analysed for the discourse side of the study. The students' argumentation quality was explored for the cognition side of the…

We present an empirically based model for modeling the quality of pre-service teacher reflection. Conversations from twelve groups of a total of 47 pre-service teachers were video recorded and transcribed verbatim. First, we analyzed their conversations through practical epistemology analysis and an operationalization of Dewey's definition of…

This paper reports the results of a quasi-experimental study that evaluated the effectiveness of collaborative mind mapping in three Hong Kong primary schools. More than 200 grade 4 students, divided into three pedagogical groups, participated in a variety of science learning activities with the aid of a mind map and/or collaborative group work.…

As global challenges increasingly require an interdisciplinary approach, this study highlights the urgency of taking stock of the forces that guide how teachers navigate complicated concepts in their classrooms such as climate change. This study takes up science education more specifically and emphasizes that not only is it important that students…

The way teachers support students' Knowledge Building discourse may influence their subsequent discourse moves and emotions. However, in previous research on Knowledge Building, teacher scaffolding was rarely scrutinized, especially in offline Knowledge Building discourse; neither was how the support is associated with students' discourse moves or…

The purpose of this study was to explore translanguaging space as a transformative third space, where alternative and competing discourses are celebrated and where science learning and the development of science's discourse and epistemic practices expand across overlapping boundaries (e.g., home, school, and community). The study focused on Syrian…

Although visual aids are widely considered a valuable source of scaffolding, the nature and active utilization of these aids in current science classrooms are not well understood. This qualitative study explores interaction in the teaching of concepts related to evolution, with a specific focus on a teacher's use of different visual support…

To strengthen the professional development of its science university professors with academic assignments in scientific careers, a Colombian higher education institution commissioned the design of a six-month training programme. The aim was to help professors change their teaching practices toward more student-centred models. The purpose of this…

Background: Discourse is the teacher's principal pedagogical tool in class. Studies stress the importance of research on discourse in science education and demonstrate its cruciality for understanding science. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of the classroom discourse in lessons on physics. Sample: Classroom…

Three new physics teachers graduating from a university provider of initial teacher education in England were paired with a recently retired physics subject specialist teacher in order to provide informal mentoring during their first year of teaching. The aim of this was to explore if a mentoring intervention of this kind could support teacher…

Debates on the philosophical interpretations of quantum physics have motivated a renewed interest in how secondary and lower undergraduate students interpret quantum phenomena. In an attempt to contribute to this effort, this paper examines the dynamics of perspective in quantum physics in the context of teacher education. The goal of the study is…

Teachers' responses to student contributions in science classroom influence the resulting classroom interaction. To establish a heightened interaction, teachers need to use specific discursive moves. Using the notion of noticing as a lens, in this qualitative case study, I report on how the notion of noticing and responding with a suitable…

This case study demonstrates teaching and learning activities in the school laboratory, and employs talk moves for the direct assessment of practical task effectiveness. By adopting a sociocultural linguistic approach (SCLA), learning chemistry is understood to be a discursive process in which knowledge is constructed through social interaction…

Background: Constructing knowledge through collaborative practical work is a complex process and involves the use of multiple modalities by group members. In practical work sessions, students often manipulate visual objects or textual materials but do not develop their scientific ideas. Purpose: This study illustrates (a) the challenges that…