The purpose of this study is to explore community college students' reasoning patterns and argumentation within the context of natural selection. Written assessments and interviews were administered to 2-year college students. Participants were given the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Argumentation (LCTSR), a Test of Scientific Argumentation…

The purpose of this research was to investigate an efficient method to assess year 8 (age 13-14) students' conceptual understanding of heat and temperature concepts. Two different types of instruments were used in this study: Type 1, consisting of multiple-choice items with open-ended justifications; and Type 2, consisting of two-tier…

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationships between high school students' learning approaches and logical thinking abilities and their understandings of heat, temperature and internal energy concepts. Learning Approach Questionnaire, Test of Logical Thinking and Three-Tier Heat, Temperature and Internal Energy Test were used…

Genetics is considered as one of the topics in science that students have difficulty and trouble in understanding. This study used study guide as an intervention tool to address the difficulties of students in learning genetics concepts. The main purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of students on the effectiveness of study guide…

This paper is the outcome of a collaborative endeavour between mathematics and science educators where the insight from each field mutually informed one another. Specifically, building on the knowledge base from mathematics education research, this study analyses the ways in which percent is interpreted by first year university students in general…

This paper presents a revised learning progression for the energy concept and initial findings on diverse progressions among subgroups of sample students. The revised learning progression describes how students progress towards an understanding of the energy concept along two progress variables identified from previous studies--key ideas about…

Among three levels of chemical representation, the sub-microscopic level is the most difficult to learn by students. To solve the problem, it is assumed that the concept of the discontinuous nature of matter or particle concept should be mastered initially by students before they learn sub-microscopic representations of further chemical phenomena.…

The systemizing and empathizing brain type represent two contrasted students' characteristics. The present study investigated differences in the conceptions and approaches to learning science between the systemizing and empathizing brain type students. The instruments are questionnaires on the systematizing and empathizing, questionnaires on the…

The previous researches results seem to suggest that some aspects of learning of diffusion and osmosis concepts such as membranes, kinetic energy of matter, and elements of the particulate and random nature of matter could lead to misconceptions. The concept of diffusion is very common in science instruction, and understanding the concept is an…

The aim of this study was to design and evaluate an inquiry- and activity-based learning unit for the classroom that uses biological collections to teach key evolutionary concepts and to support the understanding and appreciation of the work of a museum. The unit consisted of three parts that focused on the most important tasks of museums:…

Passive, lecture-based forms of instruction are often ineffective in helping students develop deep conceptual understanding of scientific concepts. Student-centered forms of instruction based in a constructivist framework, where students are guided toward actively constructing their understanding, have been met with greater success. However,…

Background: In the last few decades, researchers have turned their attention to students' understanding of scientific concepts at different school levels. The results indicate that the learners have different ideas, and most of them are inaccurate in terms of those generally accepted by the scientific community. Purpose: This study was undertaken…

Research has shown that students have tremendous difficulties developing a qualitative understanding of wave optics, at all educational levels. In this study, we investigate how three different approaches to visualizing light waves affect students' understanding of wave optics. In the first, the conventional, approach light waves are represented…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 5E learning cycle model oriented instruction (LCMI) on 11th-grade students' conceptual understanding of acids and bases concepts and student motivation to learn chemistry. The study, which lasted for 7 weeks, involved two groups: An experimental group (LCMI) and a control group (the…

Background: Education Standards highlight the importance of conceptual knowledge. Instructional tasks play a key role in biology instruction and offer learning opportunities for students. Tasks contain of a content and a demands part. Therefore, complexity and cognitive level are adequate variables to describe tasks and are assumed effective for…