This article introduces the use of "VPython" (the "Python" programming language plus a 3D graphics module called "Visual") as a potentially valuable tool in teaching aspects of secondary school chemistry, which also provides an opportunity for students to gain some experience with manipulating and/or writing computer…

Students completing undergraduate majors in chemistry are not typically required to undergo formal training in computer programming or coding. As a result, many chemistry students are graduating without skills in understanding, writing, or manipulating computer code. This skills gap places students at a disadvantage, considering the widespread and…

Multiple initiatives contend that all students should master computational thinking, including the "Next Generation Science Standards, the K-12 Framework for Computational Thinking," and Code.org. In turn, many physics teachers have begun to explore a variety of approaches to integrating computational modeling through programming. These…

Phylogenetic trees have become increasingly important across the life sciences, and as a result, learning to interpret and reason from these diagrams is now an essential component of biology education. Unfortunately, students often struggle to understand phylogenetic trees. Style (i.e., diagonal or bracket) is one factor that has been observed to…

The purpose of the current study is to design and develop an Arduino-assisted robotic and coding activity in compliance with the 5E learning model for middle school students to construct knowledge and realize learning in science teaching. The study was conducted on 6th grade students attending a private middle school in Turkey in the second term…

Prior to instruction, students often possess a common-sense view of motion, which is inconsistent with Newtonian physics. Effective physics lessons therefore involve conceptual change. To provide a theoretical explanation for concepts and how they change, the triangulation model brings together key attributes of prototypes, exemplars, theories,…

Despite Singapore's excellent science achievements in international benchmark tests such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), little is known about Singaporean children's (aged 4-8) emerging science conceptions as formal science schooling begins at Grade 3…

This article describes several approaches to assessing student understanding using written explanations that students generate as part of a multiple-document inquiry activity on a scientific topic (global warming). The current work attempts to capture the causal structure of student explanations as a way to detect the quality of the students'…

Research Findings: Anthropomorphism--the attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman entities--has long been a staple of children's media. However, children's experiences with anthropomorphic media may interfere with biological reasoning instead encouraging an anthropocentric view of the natural world. To date, little research has addressed…

Many students struggle with the use of mathematics in physics courses. Although typically well trained in rote mathematical calculation, they often lack the ability to apply their acquired skills to physical contexts. Such student difficulties are particularly apparent in undergraduate electrodynamics, which relies heavily on the use of vector…

For many years the need to educate and support our teachers to implement science and mathematics education has been ongoing throughout the world (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019; Mundry et al., 2009). In more recent years, this call has extended to include teaching through integrated science, technology,…

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…

For many years the need to educate and support our teachers to implement science and mathematics education has been ongoing throughout the world (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019; Mundry et al., 2009). In more recent years, this call has extended to include teaching through integrated science, technology,…

We implemented a laboratory curriculum reform to teach foundational concepts in chemistry, particularly those concepts related to healthcare, in a chemistry course for prenursing students. Here, we discuss the reform, exploring how students built upon understandings gained in lab and correlating lab learning to course outcomes. We further discuss…

Purpose: The rationale behind this study was to investigate how three Grade 5 Natural Sciences teachers in three Western Cape primary schools teach science concepts so as to enable the researcher to gain a deeper understanding and more insightful perception of the ways in which the pedagogical practices of South African primary school teachers…