The aim of the present study was to develop the epistemological beliefs of eighth grade students through writing-to-learn (WTL) activities. A one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research design was utilized in the study. The sample group consisted of a total of 18 eighth grade students, attending a secondary school in the rural part of…

Science writing, such as lab reports, allows students to form a meaningful understanding of scientific concepts. However, students often view scientific writing as unimportant and utilize surface level approaches when completing writing assignments. The current study implemented three experimental interventions (directly-communicated,…

The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of using multimodal representation modes in the writing practices done by the fifth grade students on their scientific process skills. A combined research method which had both quantitative and qualitative characteristics was used in the research and the groups were chosen as control and…

Collaborative learning is an approach employed by instructors to facilitate learning and improve learner's performance. Mobile learning can accommodate a variety of learning approaches. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of collaborative learning styles on performance of students in a mobile learning environment. The specific purposes…

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of writing poems and keeping a journal as writing-to-learn activities on the academic achievement of students in teaching the Force and Motion unit in the Science class of fifth grade students in secondary school. Sample of the study consists of 50 students who study in the fifth grade of two…

The goals for engaging students in peer learning range from positioning students as knowledgeable others to promoting social-emotional learning goals to providing contexts in which students can articulate and compare their thinking to supporting opportunities to cogenerate solutions to complex problems. There are a number of complexities…

Emotions influence motivation and achievement, but negative emotions have rarely been assessed in science education. In this study, we assessed the influence of two different expressive writing assignments on disgust and anxiety in university students prior to the dissection of a trout. We randomly assigned students to one of two expressive…

In consideration of the potential of drawing and writing as assessment and learning tools, we explored how early primary students used these modes to communicate their science understandings. The context for this study was a curricular unit that incorporated multiple modes of representation in both the presentation of information and production of…

This study investigated the hypothesis that prompting students to self-assess their interest and understanding of science concepts and activities would increase their motivation in science classes. Students were randomly assigned to an experimental condition that wrote self-assessments of their competence and interest in science lessons or a…

Traditional methods for teaching the Lewis dot structure model emphasize rule-based learning and often neglect the purpose and function of the model. Thus, many students are unable to extend their understanding of molecular structures in new contexts. The assignment described here addresses this issue by asking students to read and write about the…

The purpose of the study is to determine the effects of using writing activities with different learning purposes by the secondary school 7th grade students on their academic achievement and attitudes towards the course. The study was carried out in a secondary school located in the centre of Erzurum in 2012-2013 academic year; the study is a…

This quasi-experimental and pre/posttest study was designed to examine whether fourth-grade students who engaged in collaboratively writing letters to 11th-grade students performed better on tests of conceptual understanding of a unit on force and motion than students who did not. The participants included 835 fourth-grade students and 416…

This study evaluated the effects of a short-term professional development session. Forty volunteer high school biology teachers were randomly assigned to one of two professional development conditions: (a) developing deep content knowledge (i.e., control condition) or (b) evaluating student errors and understanding in writing samples (i.e.,…

Science includes more than just concepts and facts, but also encompasses scientific ways of thinking and reasoning. Students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds influence the knowledge they bring to the classroom, which impacts their degree of comfort with scientific practices. Consequently, the goal of this study was to investigate 5th grade…

A writing-across-the-curriculum and ethics component is presented for a second-semester, physical chemistry course. The activity involves introducing ethical issues pertinent to scientists. Students are asked to read additional material, participate in discussions, and write essays and a paper on an ethical issue. The writing and discussion…