The Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) is a qualitative method, based on the Personal Construct Psychology (PCP) theory, which provides a powerful tool to elicit tacit personal construction systems, with minimal intervention and interpretation. Although the contributory potential of the RGT as a cognitive research tool in science education has been…

The abstractness of the chemistry concept can be understood easily through chemistry learning using multiple representations. This article used the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method to review eleven articles published from 2012 to 2021 and focused on chemistry learning using various representations. The articles are systematically obtained…

Cross-grade studies are valuable for the development of sequential curriculum. However such studies are time and resource intensive and fail to provide a clear representation to integrate different levels of representational complexity. Lin (Lin, 2006; Lin & Chiu, 2006; Lin, Chiu, & Hsu, 2006) proposed a cladistics approach in conceptual…

This study aims to examine kindergarten children's mental models of the day and night cycle and provide implications for pedagogical practices targeting space science concepts in early childhood classrooms. A total of 46 kindergartners participated in the study, their age ranging from 60 to 75 months, including 22 boys and 24 girls.…

Following up on the effects of learning environments is essential to learning. The aim of this study was to examine students' mental models related to the concepts of expansion and contraction of materials. The population of the case study consisted of 155 students in a city center in Turkey. The data was gathered using open-ended questions that…

This paper aims at shedding light on what students can "construct" when they learn science and how this construction process may be supported. Constructivism is a pluralist theory of science education. As a consequence, I support, there are several points of view concerning this construction process. Firstly, I stress that constructivism…

The consideration of threshold concepts is offered in the context of biological education as a theoretical framework that may have utility in the teaching and learning of biology at all levels. Threshold concepts may provide a mechanism to explain the observed punctuated nature of conceptual change. This perspective raises the profile of periods…

There is no agreement about the robustness of intuitive representations of the circulatory system and their susceptibility to change by instruction. In this paper, we analyse to what extent students with varying degrees of biology instruction and different ages (High School Health Science and Social Science students and first and final year…

The main purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of 5E learning cycle model based instruction and traditionally designed chemistry instruction on 10th grade students' understanding of state of matter and solubility concepts. In this study, 119 tenth grade students from chemistry courses instructed by same teacher from an Anatolian…

Explores the effects of Roundhouse diagram construction on a previously low-performing middle school science student's struggles to understand abstract science concepts and principles. Based on a metacognition-based visual learning model, aims to elucidate the process by which Roundhouse diagramming helps learners bootstrap their current…

Argues for the need for theoretical work on mental models in the field of science education. Considers relationships between both models and theories, and mental models and conceptions in order to improve the notions of "model" and "mental model" used in the literature. Contains 20 references. (Author/WRM)

Describes the use of brain models to connect the microscopic level accessible by molecular and cellular techniques with the systems level accessible by the study of behavior. Discusses classes of brain models, and specific examples of such models. Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of using brain modelling to understand human brain function.…

Investigated is the ability of high school pupils and university students to answer questions based on relationships within food webs using sound ecological principles. Research methods used and the results of this study are discussed. (CW)

Reports a study which identified different problem-solving strategies among Hong Kong high school chemistry students. Finds that student experts employed a recognition plus a working forwards strategy, whereas student novices attempted a means-end analysis to create a solution procedure. Comparisons were made with problem-solving in physics. (GG)

Examines quantitative models in school physics, looking particularly at the degree to which they match the real world. Explores the positive aspects of a mismatch between models and real world conditions. (DDR)