The topic of the seasons is covered in both primary and secondary schools in Australia. It may be difficult for some students to comprehend how the Sun alters its position throughout the year. This article shows how to calculate the changing rising and setting positions of the Sun for one's locality and the extremes of its elevation near noon over…

The aim of this article is to examine research on inquiry-based chemistry education in primary and secondary schools to discuss how it is addressed in the research literature. A systematic review was conducted, including 102 articles published between 2000 and 2020. Through inductive analyses, the articles were categorised into four groups: (1)…

How do we recruit strong and diverse teachers who are committed to teaching in complex, underfunded schools? How do we prepare them, both in terms of their skills and mindsets, to feel responsible for reaching and teaching all of the learners in their classrooms? And how do we prepare them to be capable and confident enough that they feel…

Since 2013, a majority of states have been working to implement new standards for K-12 science education that are based on the National Research Council's framework for science education and the Next Generation Science Standards. The new science standards emphasize deeper understanding of content in relation to practices and a three-dimensional…

It is now required for teachers to incorporate computational thinking (CT) into their science classes. Our research modifies the existing structure of a science methods course for preservice teachers to include CT via modeling and simulations. In the first study, preservice teachers were introduced to the basics of coding through an Hour of Code…

A Framework for K-12 Science Education [the Framework] and the resulting Next Generation Science Standards [NGSS] are based upon current research about teaching and learning science. Thus, they provide a structure that science classrooms can use to change from places where students learn about science to places were students "do"…

Creation of physical models can help students learn science by enabling them to be more involved in the scientific process of discovery and to use multiple senses during investigations. This activity achieves these goals by having students model ocean currents in the Gulf of Mexico. In general, oceans play a key role in influencing weather…

The aim of this research was to empirically validate constructs for evaluation of teachers' attitudes toward usage of educational software in chemistry teaching. Questionnaire with items transformed from UTAUT (Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology) and other technology acceptance theories were filled in by 556 Czech chemistry…

This article presents findings from a multi-year, qualitative study of K-12 science teacher fellows involved in a grant-funded professional development program. This research hones in on Year 2 where we examine the actions our fellows have taken in their districts as science teacher leaders and their sense of agency. The following main themes…

This paper provides a rationale for the changes advocated by the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards. It provides an argument for why the model embedded in the Next Generation Science Standards is seen as an improvement. The Case made here is that the underlying model that the new Framework presents of…

Scientific modeling has been advocated as one of the core practices in recent science education policy initiatives. In modeling-based instruction (MBI), students use, construct, and revise models to gain scientific knowledge and inquiry skills. Oftentimes, the benefits of MBI have been documented using assessments targeting students' conceptual…

All too often, subjects in schools present disjointed phenomena as a compilation of data or facts that seem isolated from students' lives. However, current science education pedagogy clearly emphasizes integration of knowledge and skills in real-world settings (NRC 2007). This integrated instructional approach addresses fundamental process skills…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)--now in development--will be based on "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" released by the National Research Council last summer. The "Framework" identifies seven scientific and engineering practices that should be used in science classrooms. These practices reflect the multiple ways in which…

In this study we present the structure and implementation of a model-based inquiry teaching-learning sequence (TLS) integrating expressive, experimental and exploratory modelling pedagogies in a cyclic manner, with the aim of enhancing primary education student teachers' epistemological beliefs about the aspects, nature, purpose and change of…

Novice learners find motion as a continuous process of change challenging to understand. In this paper, we present a pedagogical approach based on agent-based, visual programming to address this issue. Integrating agent-based programming, in particular, Logo programming, with curricular science has been shown to be challenging in previous research…