This paper describes and compares primary school students' perceptions of science learning skills in a teacher-centered approach (TCA) and in inquiry-based science fieldwork (IBSF). This comparison was prompted by primary school students' perceptions of science learning skills, which has recently gained momentum, and the Namibian primary schools'…

Experimental activity in the physics teaching can be considered as a space in which teachers create contexts for students to approach the way scientific knowledge is constructed. In this sense, the strategies for the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the context of science education, has a wide potential to guide…

The rapid development of large language models (LLMs) presented opportunities for the transformation of science and STEM education. Research on LLMs was in the exploratory phase, characterized by discussions and observations rather than empirical investigations. This study presented a framework for incorporating LLMs into Science and Engineering…

It is a widely held view that students' epistemic beliefs influence the way they think and learn in a given context, however, in the science learning context, the relationship between sophisticated epistemic beliefs and success in scientific practice is sometimes ambiguous. Taking this inconsistency as a point of departure, we examined the…

Science education has an important role in children's understanding of the world, making the right decisions in accordance with their perceptions, using problem solving skills and scientific attitudes. In this study, the effects of activities prepared by considering the needs of visually impaired students on the development of scientific process…

Entropy is often introduced to students through the use of the disorder metaphor. However, many weaknesses and limitations of this metaphor have been identified, and it has therefore been argued that it is more harmful than useful in teaching. For instance, under the influence of the disorder metaphor, students tend to focus on spatial…

It has been argued that for novice students to acquire a full understanding of scientific texts, they also need to pursue a recurrent construction of their comprehension of scientific concepts. The course dossier method has students examine concepts in multiple passes: (a) through reflective writing on text before it is considered in the…

Teaching students to use and interpret different representational tools is critically important if they are to be scientifically literate, to understand how scientific ideas and concepts are represented and to appreciate how scientists think and act. Moreover, students not only need to be competent at using and explaining representations and…

Freshmen with declared life-science majors typically matriculate with a determination to succeed. However, inadequately-prepared students are easily overwhelmed and at risk of abandoning their aspirations for a STEM career. The investigator designed and taught weekly recitations for approximately 850 students during a five-year span, and…

Mathematical problem solving is the mainstay of the mathematics curriculum for Singapore schools. In the preparation of prospective mathematics teachers, the authors, who are mathematics teacher educators, deem it important that pre-service mathematics teachers experience non-routine problem solving and acquire an attitude that predisposes them to…

Imagine two fourth-grade classes. Both contain students of comparable demographics and highly respected teachers each with four to five years of experience. Both classes engage in science curricula that emphasize science and engineering practices as outlined in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013). Both classes…

Monk and Osborne ("Sci Educ" 81:405-424, 1997) provide a rigorous justification for why history and philosophy of science should be incorporated as an integral component of instruction and a model for how history of science should be used to promote learning of and about science. In the following essay we critique how history of science is used on…

This paper reports a causal-comparative study of science anxiety among Form Four students in Penang. The Wynstra's (1991) Science Anxiety Inventory (SAI), which consists of six factors (i.e., danger anxiety, science test anxiety, math and problem-solving anxiety, squeamish anxiety, performance anxiety, and science classroom anxiety), was…

Described are ways of utilizing intuition in scientific discovery. Students are directed to read detective stories and biographical accounts of scientists in order to gain understandings of the differences between intuition and deduction. Questions, information, and teaching suggestions are included. (Author/DB)

Recommends the use of concealed images as tools for teaching geography. Suggests that images be used as examples of geographers' search for spatial regularities, metaphors for the quasi-religious quest for scientific truth, and fallibility of scientific citation. Argues that the purpose of geography becomes palpable to students when the concealed…