Evolution is the integrative framework of the life sciences. Even though the topic is often not formally introduced before high school, young children already have various ideas about evolutionary principles (variation, inheritance, and selection) and their underlying key concepts (e.g., differential fitness, reproduction, and speciation).…

Unlike in other countries, heredity and genetics appear first in Spanish science standards in secondary levels. However, some researchers have suggested the need of progressively introducing some basic genetic ideas already from primary education levels. In this context of no formal instruction in early stages, the objectives of our work were to…

Generic descriptions (e.g., 'girls are emotional') are argued to play a major role in the development of essentialist reasoning about social categories. Although generics are prevalent across languages, studies exploring if and how generic language leads to essentialism have almost exclusively been conducted in English-speaking communities and…

Teachers are highly reliant on textbooks for teaching. In the Republic of Korea, science textbooks help students to understand scientific terms through inquiry activities. However, there is a lack of analysis on whether the inquiry activities suggested in these textbooks appropriately cover the terms included in the main text. Therefore, this…

Background and Aims: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with impairments in social interaction and stereotypic behaviors. About a third may exhibit delays in verbal expression beyond preschool age, potentially categorizing them as nonverbal/minimally verbal (NV/MV), a condition that can persist into adulthood and affect their…

A set of core ideas in the life sciences revolve around genetics, variation, and inheritance. While the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS; NGSS Lead States 2013) emphasize teaching and learning about these concepts across K-12 grades, it is critical for early learners to begin to develop understanding of them. By the end of fifth…

Genetics has become increasingly important in everyday life, a fact that is reflected in state and national science education standards. This study examines the relationship between 474 fifth graders' understandings of the core ideas of "inheritance of traits" and "variation of traits". A confirmatory factor analysis,…

The mechanics by which unique individuals are built from the instructions encoded in DNA is too advanced for elementary-age children. However, students can easily understand that organisms have observable traits and that each individual has a unique combination of traits, ideas that are included in the "Next Generation Science Standards"…

This article describes a self-guided, story-like game with creative drawing for grades 3-5 that teaches the evolution concepts of adaptation, natural selection, ecosystem dynamics, inheritance, and mutation following the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"). Drawing reinforces concepts through emphasis on students'…

This collective case study uses a design-based research approach to investigate the role of 3D pens, an emerging technology, in fostering creativity during a lesson on biomes, genetics, and heredity with learners in six classes of 4th and 5th grade students from rural Michigan and Idaho. Data analyzed included video of the classroom lessons,…

Are you interested in using argument-driven inquiry (ADI) for elementary instruction but just aren't sure how to do it? You aren't alone. "Argument-Driven Inquiry in Third-Grade Science" will provide you with both the information and instructional materials you need to start using this method right away. The book is a one-stop source of…

Purpose: Kindergarten children are more susceptible to diseases as they are still in the process of acquiring immunity. The purpose of this study was to assess kindergarten teachers' and parents' perception of the prevalence of health problems among children in Kuwait and the role of health education in promotion of healthy habits.…

Even in the foundation stage (ages 3-5), children reveal an awareness of and enthusiasm for dinosaurs and fossils, so this research includes the entire primary age range. The authors sought to discover what ideas prevail as children develop and how their understanding progresses. Reviewing relevant educational research led them to define five…

As reported in an earlier article (Russell and McGuigan, 2014), with Nuffield Foundation support, the authors of this article have been exploring with a group of primary teachers the teaching and learning of evolution and inheritance, focusing on conceptual progression. The new National Curriculum for England requires learners to access knowledge…

Publication of the "Next Generation Science Standards" will be just short of two decades since publication of the "National Science Education Standards" (NRC 1996). In that time, biology and science education communities have advanced, and the new standards will reflect that progress (NRC 1999, 2007, 2009; Kress and Barrett…