Background: Practical work in school science has been ineffective due to students not connecting hands-on to minds-on aspects. With the designation Thinking-Back-and-Forth (TBF)we present a framework with a taxonomy of TBF activities. Purpose: Aim was to gain insight how teachers stimulate and support their students in TBF. Detailed information…

The study explored science teachers' perceptions of Scientific Investigations (SI) and their classroom practices in South Africa. An explanatory sequential design using qualitative and quantitative approaches was used. Qualitative data were collected first using interviews and classroom observations, followed by quantitative data using a…

The main purpose of this study is to determine what teachers and academicians think about the process of designing and implementing science activities in informal settings and make suggestions as to how to teach more effectively in them. This study is a cross-sectional survey study and divided the teachers constituting the sample group into…

Background: Science skills play a crucial role in fostering economic development and technological innovation, making the enhancement of science education a global priority. Despite the recognized importance of teacher practices in enhancing equitable and effective learning, much of the research on their impact on student outcomes has been…

Rapid developments in educational technology show its impacts on classes. One of the recent trends in science education is virtual laboratory environments. The goal of this study is to reveal the effects of inquiry-based hands-on and virtual laboratory environments on pre-service science teachers' inquiry skills. A quasi-experimental research…

The main purpose of this study is to explore the epistemological problems underlying pre-service chemistry teachers' aims in using practical work, "i.e.," individual or small group object manipulation or observation, in school science. Twenty-two pre-service chemistry teachers participated in this study. Qualitative data collection tools…

The use of creativity in science practices is many times lost on secondary students. Creativity is seen as something central to the arts and humanities, but tangential at best in the sciences. However, an examination of many great scientific discoveries and the work of everyday contemporary scientists shows the depth and breadth of the use of…

Manipulative skills and abilities include skills in the handling and manipulation of materials and apparatus in the context of scientific investigation. Science teachers appeared to be struggling with the mode of assessment in making authentic evaluation of manipulative skills in laboratories. One of the contributing factors is due to the lack of…

In her current role as an adviser with Herts for Learning, the author finds that most of the support primary schools across the county have been asking for centres around assessment and ideas for making the new curriculum practical and "hands on". In this article, she outlines how she created resources to support assessment in science…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is a term seen almost daily in the news. In 2009, President Obama launched the Educate to Innovate initiative to move American students from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math achievement over the next decade (The White House, n.d.). Learning about the attributes of STEM…

To help support primary school students to better understand why science matters, teachers must first be supported to teach science in ways that matter. In moving to this point, this paper identifies the dilemmas and tensions primary school teachers face in the teaching of science. The balance is then readdressed through a research-based…

In this study, relationship between prospective science and technology teachers' experiences in conducting Hands on physics experiments and their physics lab I achievement was investigated. Survey model was utilized and the study was carried out in the 2012 spring semester. Seven Hands on physics experiments were conducted with 28 prospective…

As a science teacher educator and former science teacher, the author has long known that the science fair should be part of his professional experience, but he had not given it much thought until recently. As he worked with his daughter's project, he became convinced that it is time to reconsider the range of activities one calls "science fairs."…

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…

Linking hands-on science with literacy and the curriculum is growing in appeal, particularly among teachers educated as generalists who feel unprepared to deal with the depth of questions that inquiry and expanded reading can inspire in kids. In this article, four examples of teachers who have tried to link science and literacy are presented. One…