We assessed the impact of teaching methodological aspects of physics on students' scientistic beliefs and subject interest in physics in a repeated-measurement design with a total of 142 students of upper secondary physics classes. Students gained knowledge of methodological aspects from the pre-test to the post-test and reported reduced…

This study aims to produce inquiry-oriented general physics learning material to improve student learning outcome. Development steps of learning materials were adapted from the design model of Dick and Carey. Stages of development consists of three phases: planning, development, and formative evaluation and revision. Implementation of formative…

The aim of my study was to explore the nature of changes in pre-service science teachers' (PSTs') self-efficacy beliefs toward science teaching through a mixed-methods approach. Thirty-six participants enrolled in a science methods course that included a collaborative peer microteaching ("Cope-M"). Participants' science teaching…

This study investigates the role of the discursive process in the act of scientific knowledge building. Specifically, it links scientific knowledge building to risk perception of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). To this end, this study designed and implemented a three-stage argumentation programme giving pre-service teachers (PSTs) the…

Implementation of a guided-inquiry lab in introductory biology classes, along with scaffolded instruction, improved students' understanding of the scientific method, their ability to design an experiment, and their identification of experimental variables. Pre- and postassessments from experimental versus control sections over three semesters…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of using role play (portraying a scientist's life story) on the children's views of the nature of science (NOS). The study was carried out at the Children's University of Trakya in Turkey during the summer of 2010. The participants consisted of 18 children, aged 10-11. They met for 10 days for…

This case study examined the development and evaluation of an interdisciplinary first-year learning community designed to stimulate scientific reasoning and critical thinking. Designed to serve the needs of scholarship students majoring in mathematics and natural sciences, the six-credit learning community course was writing-intensive and…

Operation ARIES! is an Intelligent Tutoring System that is designed to teach scientific methodology in a game-like atmosphere. A fundamental goal of this serious game is to engage students during learning through natural language tutorial conversations. A tight integration of cognition, discourse, motivation, and affect is desired to meet this…

This study investigated the use of a contextually sensitive instrument to assess the effect of invasive species monitoring training on the scientific literacy of citizen volunteers. The authors measured scientific literacy scores before and after 57 citizens participated in a 2-day event to learn to monitor invasive species with an instrument…

A crucial element of the logic of the scientific method is the Control of Variables Strategy (CVS), in which conclusions about causal relations are enabled by manipulating a focal variable of interest while holding all other variables constant. Understanding CVS in elementary grades generally is poor, but can be improved with systematic…

This study investigates beliefs about teaching held by preservice science teachers and their influences on self-perceived microteaching outcomes within interactive secondary science teaching methods courses. Hermeneutic methodology was used in cooperation with seven preservice science teachers (N = 7) to infer participant beliefs about teaching…

An important aspect of developing science literacy for all students is developing science-literate teachers. With the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, many middle school teachers found themselves in a position where they were no longer qualified to teach middle school science. This study was designed to help science teachers…

Background: Most policy doctrines promote the use of scientific inquiry in the K-12 classroom, but good inquiry is hard to implement, particularly for schools with fiscal and safety constraints and for teachers struggling with understanding how to do so. Purpose: In this paper, we present the design of a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE)…

Using cultured fibroblast cells, undergraduate students explore cell division and the responses of cultured cells to a variety of environmental changes. The students learn new research techniques and carry out a self-designed experiment. Through this project, students enhance their creative approach to scientific inquiry, learn time-management and…