School pedagogies that expand opportunities for learners to build and use knowledge for meaningful purposes are resources for hope. Internationally, standards-based reforms in science education position schooling as a context for building and using disciplinary knowledge to explain phenomena and solve problems. There is also growing research…

The curriculum that changes according to the age conditions helps the individual adapt to society. One of the programs created in this context is the life studies teaching program. The objectives of the curriculums prepared gain importance in this context. This study aims to examine the 2015 and 2018 life studies curricula according to the Marzano…

This article describes an instructional model for integrating children's literature and language arts into the elementary school science curriculum. This science-literacy instructional model is an adaptation from the original 5E model of scientific inquiry. The model demonstrates how reading, writing, listening, and speaking can be incorporated…

In this paper, an online game was developed in the form of a competitive board game for conducting web-based problem-solving activities. The participants of the game determined their move by throwing a dice. Each location of the game board corresponds to a gaming task, which could be a web-based information-searching question or a mini-game; the…

Preservice preparation courses for elementary teachers of science can provide opportunities to build pedagogical content knowledge. One common concern of preservice teachers is how to cope with a preplanned lesson that does not proceed as planned. Providing opportunities for preservice teachers to experience the unexpected actually immerses them…

This study proposes an empirical classification of ways to introduce elements of the history of science into science teaching, as well as describing a special way to do so characterized by the introduction of short extracts from historical texts. The aim is to motivate students to participate in problem-solving activities and to transform their…

Presented are the results of a survey of elementary school principals designed to determine whether problem solving and critical thinking skills are an integral part of the science curriculum in elementary schools. Curriculum orientation, amount of problem solving, and problem-solving/higher-order thinking priorities are discussed. (CW)

Mess Management is considered here as collective problem solving. Describes an example of a program for gifted elementary students emphasizing problem solving skills. A sample strategy is included. (MA)

Skills needed for problem-solving are discussed. Examples of defining problems, questioning, observing, classifying, predicting, and confirming are provided. An overview of the Elementary Science Study (ESS) program, including a list of ESS units (grouped by subject matter), is also provided. (Author/JN)

This booklet describes 14 student art projects to be used in science classes. Creative skills involved in the process of artistic expression seem to translate very well into the problem solving world of technology. Even in the elementary level it can help build confidence, as well as the development of abstract skills that so often lead to…

Research findings are reported concerning the extent to which writing assignments in contrasting examples of upper elementary science curriculum materials are likely to engage students in higher order thinking and problem solving, and to facilitate meaningful learning of scientific concepts. Organized around a common set of elaborate framing…

Identified are reasons for discrepancies between desired states and actual practice of problem solving and reflective thinking. Issues discussed include describing the development of problem solving, using problem solving methods in instruction, outcome of developing students' problem solving abilities, and reasonable expectations of attaining the…

Investigated was the relationship between spatial visualization and cognitive development in a sample of 88 Australian freshman teacher education students. Results support the hypothesis that enhanced capacity to visualize is an outcome of overall cognitive development. (HM)

Gives historical account of research and practices associated with precollege science laboratories. Described three social contexts of research on science laboratories: separation, interaction, and partnership. Argues that more partnerships are needed to continue improvement to the science laboratory, suggesting that future partnerships will…

This evaluation report investigates the effectiveness of the Unified Science and Mathematics for Elementary Schools (USMES) program during the academic year, 1973-74. USMES is a curricular program designed to develop the problem solving abilities of students attending grades one through eight. The goal of the program is the development of 32…