We present a new learning unit, which introduces 12 year-olds to the subatomic structure of matter. The learning unit was iteratively developed as a design-based research project using the technique of probing acceptance. We give a brief overview of the unit's final version, discuss its key ideas and main concepts, and conclude by highlighting the…

We investigated whether it is possible for 12-year-old students to develop a qualitative conceptualization of energy and four associate features (forms of energy, transfer processes, conservation, and degradation) as a framework for constructing interpretive accounts for the operation of physical phenomena (specifically, for changes taking place…

This study is part of a dissertation which aims to explore and understand the role of play in the teaching-learning process at elementary level in a public school at Pernambuco, Brazil. We opted for a qualitative approach, using the interactive methodology, interviews by the technique of hermeneutic-dialectical circle, observations of science…

Instructional strategies that support meaningful student learning of complex chemical topics are an important aspect of improving chemistry education. Adequately assessing the success of these approaches can be supported with the use of aligned instruments with established psychometrics. Here, we report the implementation and assessment of one…

To explore the differences between how organic chemistry students and organic chemistry professors think about organic chemistry reactions, we administered a card sort task to participants with a range of knowledge and experience levels. Beginning students created a variety of categories ranging from structural similarities to process oriented…

We report our research of seven pairs of students enrolled in the second semester of sophomore-level organic chemistry as they attempted to describe (in their own words) and draw, respectively, three electron-pushing diagrams of three-step reaction mechanisms. The tasks' objective was to accurately reproduce the diagrams based solely on the…

There is a significant body of research on children's preconceptions concerning scientific concepts and the impact this has upon their science education. One active issue concerns the extent to which young children's explanations for the existence of natural kinds rely on a teleological rationale: for example, rain is for watering the grass, or…

Chemical demonstration shows are a popular form of informal science education (ISE), employed by schools, museums, and other institutions in order to improve the public's understanding of science. Just as teachers employ formative and summative assessments in the science classroom to evaluate the impacts of their efforts, it is important to assess…

Students' alternative conceptions of force are one of the most studied topics, important for both science assessment and instruction. Previous studies often described students' alternative conceptions of force with a small number of well-known frameworks by utilizing interviews and paper-pencil tests in their assessments. This study aims to…

This research aimed to assess three case studies of in-service science teachers regarding their practices of socio-scientific issue (SSI)-based teaching as they participated in a specially developed professional development (PD) program. Data were collected throughout the PD program from group discussions, observations, interviews, and the review…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether chemistry lesson sequences can indicate the level of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The sequencing of lessons for teaching chemical bonding is taken as the case for this study. The correct sequencing of concepts in teaching chemical bonding is key to learners' conceptual…

The aim of this study was to investigate how reciprocal peer assessment in modeling-based learning can serve as a learning tool for secondary school learners in a physics course. The participants were 22 upper secondary school students from a gymnasium in Switzerland. They were asked to model additive and subtractive color mixing in groups of two,…

This article aims to investigate how science teachers engaged with the macroscopic, sub-microscopic and symbolic levels of representations in their Chemistry teaching. Data were collected in Limpopo province in South Africa from 15 "lead" teachers and this paper reports on five lessons presented by the teachers during professional…

This article focuses on an argument-based inquiry (ABI) approach to a fourth grade unit on waves. A fourth-grade teacher included multiple opportunities for students to read, write, and use language to represent their understanding of physical science Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations (NGSS Lead States 2013). He…

Researchers examined how an inquiry-based instructional treatment emphasizing interrelated plant processes influenced 210 elementary pre-service teachers' (PTs) conceptions of three plant processes, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and transpiration, and the interrelated nature of these processes. The instructional treatment required PTs to…