This study explored teachers' conceptualizations of integrated computational modeling in secondary physics by exposing twelve experienced physics teachers to programming and then analyzing interview responses. Responses revealed that teachers fell along a spectrum of disciplinary boundary-stretching mentalities. This paper presents a preliminary…

Rarely are scientific phenomena isolated to a single discipline such as biology, chemistry, physics, Earth science, or others. Rather, these phenomena span multiple disciplines and often require bringing together content and understandings from multiple disciplines to engage with or explain the target phenomena. This study uses a model-based…

School instruction is critical for helping students use energy as a lens for making sense of phenomena, however, students often struggle to see the usefulness of energy analysis for interpreting the world around them. One reason for this may be an over-reliance on the idea of energy forms in introductory energy instruction, which may…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) advocate an integrated model of science instruction for middle schools in which the science disciplines are connected rather than separate. This model, used by other countries that are consistently successful in science, has several key benefits, including enhanced student learning and better…

The addition of the arts to STEM education, now known as STEAM, adds a new dimension to problem-solving within those fields, offering students tools such as imagination and resourcefulness to incorporate into their designs. However, the shift from STEM to STEAM has changed what it means for students to learn within and across these disciplines.…

This paper examined the nuances of the background process of design and development and follow up classroom implementation of computer-based models for high school chemistry. More specifically, the study examined the knowledge contributions of an interdisciplinary team of experts; points of tensions, negotiations and non-negotiable aspects of…

The aim of this research is to develop principles for a pedagogy of risk in socio-scientific issues. Risk is challenging to teach because of its contested conceptual basis incorporating epistemic and non-epistemic values, its situated nature and its mathematical basis in probability and statistics. In our project--"Promoting Teachers'…

Schools are increasingly integrating multidisciplinary education into their programmes. The Minister of Education, Culture and Science has introduced a new, integrated science subject in secondary education in the Netherlands, called Nature, Life and Technology (NLT). This research note describes the design of a generic model for a professional…

"Approaches and Strategies in Next Generation Science Learning" examines the challenges involved in the development of modern curriculum models, teaching strategies, and assessments in science education in order to prepare future students in the 21st century economies. This comprehensive collection of research brings together science educators,…

Presents the Story Model which helps students to ask meaningful questions and answer them in a systematic way that shows respect for the environment. (MKR)

Presents an interdisciplinary model. The life style coefficient illustrates data expression as an equation with an exponential term. (GH)

Identifies common areas of interest for the sciences and social studies. Explains effective clarification strategies and methods of focusing on value conflicts. Two such methods, the analytical model and moral reasoning model, are explained and examples of instructional materials provided for each. (GS)

This document presents a curriculum base for a particular school system comprised of eight high schools. Its purpose is to provide a conceptual base which encourages flexibility and diversity. The format is based on the conceptual schemes identified in the NSTA publication, Theory Into Action. Included in the publication is the philosophy of the…

Describes a general systems evolutionary model and demonstrates how a previously established ecological model is a function of its past development based on the evolution of the rock, nutrient, and water cycles. Discusses the applications of the model in environmental education. (MDH)

This teacher's manual is one of a series designed to support "general level" program development for intermediate/junior high school science, emphasizing the relationship between science and society. The main body of the manual deals with teaching about heat in the context of home heating systems. In addition, a brief treatment of the…