Contemporary education adopts various new visualisation techniques for content to be learned. Recently, research on the application of 3D modelling and printing (3DMP) has been expanding. However, as the latest literature reviews indicate, little research is available on the contribution of 3DMP to learning of students with blindness (SWB) and…

This paper gives an example of how to address the challenge of designing a learning progression that describes student thinking, with the necessary specificity to align instructional opportunities and assessment tools. We describe the Conceptual Underpinnings of Evolution project and the iterative process of developing a novel learning progression…

In the past decade, reform efforts in science education have increasingly attended to engaging students in scientific practices such as scientific modeling. Engaging students in scientific modeling can help them develop their epistemologies by allowing them to attend to the roles of mechanism and empirical evidence when constructing and revising…

In this review, we explore the notion of teaching science to English language learners (ELLs) as a balancing act between simultaneously focusing on language and content development, on the one hand, and between structuring instruction and focusing on student learning processes, on the other hand. This exploration is conducted through the lens of a…

This study examines the interactions between problem solving and conceptual change in an elementary science class where students build system dynamic models as a form of problem representations. Through mostly qualitative findings, we illustrate the interplay of three emerging intervening conditions (epistemological belief, structural knowledge…

Modeling is a core practice in science and a central part of scientific literacy. We present theoretical and empirical motivation for a learning progression for scientific modeling that aims to make the practice accessible and meaningful for learners. We define scientific modeling as including the elements of the practice (constructing, using,…

Tested were six levels of a twelve-level hierarchical model for the attainment of concepts leading to the conservation of displacement volume. Presentation was by individual interview using either objects or drawings to present tasks. Results show five of six tested followed anticipated order and that method of presentation showed no significant…

Reported is a study based on the summary findings of a series of studies which indicated that many children who receive organized instruction designed around the few major concepts of science do, in fact, use scientific models to explain their observations of natural phenomena. The instruction that children in the study received was delivered by…

Reported is an evaluation of the Child-Structured Learning in Science (CSLS) Curriculum using the intellectual models of Piaget and Guilford. A cognitive test instrument was designed to measure cognition of figural classes (CFC), convergent production of figural classes (NFC), evaluation of figural classes (EFC), cognition of figural relations…

This study is based upon an interpretation of Ausubel's subsumption learning theory. The primary characteristic of this theory is that it views a learner's specific content knowledge as a crucial factor in learning. Two types of assessment instruments were used with first-grade students to determine concept attainment based on specific models…

Uses examples related to a head of cabbage to discuss: (1) sensory development in children; (2) the integration of sensory and cognitive involvement; and (3) a child's mode of exploring and discovering. Also discusses why science curricula need to be organized around a paradigm that is holistic. (JN)

Discusses the process of designing a series of case-based interactive videodiscs to be used within a constructivist learning environment for elementary school science. Topics include assumptions about learners and learning; implications for learning materials; and implications for the instructional design process, including process-based versus…

Reviews the purposes, underlying assumptions, and curriculum development model for the United Kingdom's "Children's Learning in Science Project." Explains the general features and phases of the constructivist approach to learning that the program advocates. Identifies theoretical developments on children's ideas, the constructivist view…

The Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--was designed to examine problems and difficulties in primary science and to explore ways of overcoming these problems. Early research led to a proposal that children's questions and explanations could form the basis of an alternative teaching approach. However, several issues were raised which…

Designed primarily for practicing teachers and for use in pre- and in-service courses in science education, this book focuses on how 10- to 15-year-old children learn science. Findings are analyzed and suggestions are offered for improving the teaching/learning process. Issues are discussed and organized into five major sections. These include:…