This study adopted a quasi-experimental design with follow-up interview to develop a computer-based two-tier assessment (CBA) regarding the science topic of electric circuits and to evaluate the diagnostic power of the assessment. Three assessment formats (i.e., paper-and-pencil, static computer-based, and dynamic computer-based tests) using…

Based on a study with six elementary school teachers and 115 students in grades 3, 4, and 5, this article discusses ways that teachers might support an understanding of variable as students explore pattern-finding activities. The practices emerged from interviews with teachers and a yearlong observation of teaching algebraic thinking during an…

The present research tested the hypothesis that the reading of science text can create new misconceptions in students with incongruent prior knowledge, and that these new misconceptions will be similar to the fragmented and synthetic conceptions obtained in prior developmental research. Ninety-nine third- and fifth-grade children read and recalled…

This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which 57 Grade 6 students at a particular school have misconceptions regarding equality, with the equal sign as focus. It also investigated this school's three Grade 5 and 6 teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching regarding equality, again focusing on the equal sign. The…

In this paper the experience of learners during the first phase of the PIPLEP project is explored. PIPLEP is aimed at promoting digital literacy and independent learning with the creation of personal learning environments (PLEs) as the final product. The participants were a group of 17 students enrolled in year 5 of primary school, and the main…

The purpose of study is to investigate the fifth graders' understandings of the basic astronomy concept and, if they have, to define their misconceptions and then to determine what reason/s behind them. For this purpose, two hundred seventy fifth grade students from 6 different schools participated. Randomly selected 45 students performing under…

In this study we explored to what extent middle school teachers were able to appropriately identify proportional situations when presented with various mathematical structures and if there were relationships between attributes of the teachers and their ability to identify proportional situations. Interestingly, there were no strong relationships…

This research was a cross-age study that sought to determine and compare students' ideas about the causes of the seasons. Toward this aim, the research was carried out with 974 students at different educational levels and across the various age groups. First, the data obtained from the responses to the open-ended question was categorized according…

Studies reveal that students as well as teachers have difficulties in understanding and learning of decimals. The purpose of this study is to investigate students' as well as pre-service teachers' solution strategies when solving a question that involves an estimation task for the value of a decimal number on the number line. We also examined the…

In this article, Kathryn Roberts & Kristy Brugar discuss their assessment of third-, fourth- and fifth-grade children's understandings of the types of maps commonly found in their social studies text and trade books, and the knowledge and misconceptions it revealed. They then discuss how teachers might begin to address those issues with…

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of Argumentation Based Science Teaching on 5th grade students' conceptual understanding of the subjects related to "Matter and Change". This research is a qualitative research and its design is a multiple (compare) case study. In this study, semi-structured interviews related to the…

This study was conducted to determine whether a lesson, in which context-based learning approach and scientific stories were used, changed students' (aged 11-12) stereotypical images of science and scientists. Data was collected from two separate sources: Interviews conducted with six students and Draw a Scientist Test (DAST) document that was…

The roles of conceptual change and model building in science education are very important and have a profound and wide effect on teaching science. This study examines the change in children's position concepts after instruction, based on different conceptual change theories. Three classes were chosen and divided into three groups, including a…

In the present study, primary school students' ideas concerning the apparent movement of the Moon are investigated. The research was carried out in five primary schools of Athens (Greece) with a sample of forty (40), fifth and sixth grade students. Semistructured interviews were used to gather scientific data and students had the opportunity to…

This study sought to determine what elementary teachers know about student science misconceptions and how teachers address student misconceptions in instruction. The sample included 30 teachers from California with at least 1-year of experience teaching grades 3, 4, and 5. A semistructured interview was used. The interview transcripts were…