Zoos have been under attack by animal rights groups for decades. Despite significant reforms to improve animal welfare in accredited zoos and aquariums across North America, and significant participation in animal conservation efforts globally, these attacks persist. If zoos are to continue long-term, they need to establish themselves as community…

The current research is to give an example to the inquiry-based science teaching implementations for facilitating knowledge acquisition and retention in a short period of time. Thus, the aim of the research is to transfer of acquired knowledge into different situations using sequential inquiry activities, which have challenging questions for…

With the release of the "Next Generation Science Standards," many schools are reexamining the science materials they are using. Textbook companies and kit developers are eager to meet the demand for "NGSS"-aligned teaching materials. Teacher may have been asked to serve on a science curriculum committee, or to evaluate current…

In July 2015, the Bush Blitz TeachLive expedition took place on the Olkola people's traditional lands on Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. Five teachers joined more than a dozen scientists and the Olkola Indigenous rangers to act as research assistants, as part of the eight-day Bush Blitz TeachLive experience. As a team, they discovered new…

The aim of this study is to determine the associating abilities of elementary education pre-service teachers science education program acquisitions with engineering using STEM education. In the study which is a case study, firstly pre-service teachers were trained about the STEM education approach. Then "Elementary School Science Education…

This article presents a systematic review of research on the achievement outcomes of all types of approaches to teaching science in elementary schools. Study inclusion criteria included use of randomized or matched control groups, a study duration of at least 4 weeks, and use of achievement measures independent of the experimental treatment. A…

The goal of the Howard Hughes Science Institute (HHMI) supported science program is to train one staff member to become a science lead within each of the elementary schools in the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS) district. The specific objectives of the first year of HHMI grant project were to: (1) provide approximately 20…

The aim of this study is to reveal the opinions of teachers, who gave the science lessons that took effect in Turkey in 2004 and 2013, on the sub-components of the programs and to identify to what extent the objectives of the program have been achieved. In total 89 teachers, out of which 42 were females and 47 were males, in the study which was…

In this commentary, I discuss how policy initiatives play out in two different contexts for elementary school teachers yet produce very similar outcomes regarding teachers' professional development and school science learning for elementary students. Ironically, the outcomes that we want see in elementary school science learning and professional…

Habits of inquiry should be nurtured as early as possible. Elementary students must be challenged to ask good questions and develop inquiring attitudes. As a science teacher, educator, professional developer, and science program reviewer, the author has often observed that the default is to use "good" science investigations from…

Creative drama activities designed to help children learn difficult science concepts were integrated into an inquiry-based elementary science program. Children (n = 38) in an upper elementary enrichment program at one primary school were the participants in this action research. The teacher-researcher taught students the Full Option Science…

The use of high stakes testing to improve educational outcomes falls short in many settings. Proposals for improvement include providing more opportunities for students to extend their thinking, gaining experience in the social nature of science, and learning how to interpret, explain, and justify results. This phenomenological qualitative project…

Last year, the Centennial Ave. Elementary School in Roosevelt, New York received a new shipment of the New York State Science 21 kits. The new science program from the previous year was out, and the new science program for this year was in. As consulting university professors, the authors' task was to help the third grade teachers bring Science 21…

This paper presents the full results from a 2008/2009 research study examining the application of a "learning environment" paradigm to the school library setting. The preliminary results from the examination of the Fifth Grade science classes were presented at the IASL 2009 Research Forum. We now report the process of completing our…

This study sought to explore qualitatively how participation in an informal science program might affect the following aspects of upper elementary school children's scientific thinking: conceptual understanding, epistemology of science, and the formation of their identity as science learners. A purposefully selected, maximum variation sample of…