Grounded within current reform recommendations and built upon Giere's views (1986, 1999) on model-based science, we propose an alternative approach to science education which we refer to as the "Evidence-Explanation (EE) Continuum." The approach addresses conceptual, epistemological, and social domains of knowledge, and places emphasis…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are composed of three intertwined dimensions--disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts--that provide a foundation for what students should know and be able to do at various grade levels. The eight science practices outlined in the NGSS are critical components…

Simulation games can play a critical role in enabling students to navigate the problem spaces of the past while simultaneously critiquing the models designers offer to represent those problem spaces. There is much to be gained through their use. This includes rich opportunities for students to engage the past as independent historians; to consider…