In this paper, we investigate how elementary school students develop multi-level explanations of population dynamics in a simple predator-prey ecosystem, through scaffolded interactions with a multi-agent-based computational model (MABM). The term "agent" in an MABM indicates individual computational objects or actors (e.g., cars), and these…

The Northern Ireland Primary Curriculum, formerly a highly prescribed, content-rich programme in which science was a discrete subject, was revised in 2007 and made statutory for all year groups by 2009. One of the most significant changes has been the amalgamation of science and technology with geography and history under a single area of learning…

What better way to engage young students in physical science concepts than to have them engineer flying toy rockets? The integration of engineering into science classrooms is advocated by the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) and researchers alike (Brophy et al. 2008), as engineering provides: (1) A "real-world…

One-day chemistry camps, managed by graduate students from the Departments of Chemistry at the Universities of Virginia (UVA) and Vermont (UVM), have proven successful as an outreach initiative. The camp model engages kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school students in hands-on, inquiry-based science experiments to educate and excite…

In the broadest sense, the goal for primary science teacher education could be described as preparing these teachers to teach for scientific literacy. Our starting point is that making such science teaching accessible and desirable for future primary science teachers is dependent not only on their science knowledge and self-confidence, but also on…

Elementary students have limited opportunities to learn science in an outdoor setting at school. Some suggest this is partially due to a lack of teacher efficacy teaching in an outdoor setting. Yet the research literature indicates that outdoor learning experiences develop positive environmental attitudes and can positively affect science…

The paper describes a set of physics demonstration experiments where thermal sensitive foils are used for the detection of the two dimensional distribution of temperature. The method is used for the demonstration of thermal conductivity, temperature change in adiabatic processes, distribution of electromagnetic radiation in a microwave oven and…

In supporting students toward literacy, teachers must provide experiences that support the formation of informed understandings of the nature of science (NOS), as well as a structure for developing evidence-based explanations. In this article the authors describe how they guided their students through this learning cycle to answer the essential…

The present paper advocates the use of History of Science into the teaching of science in primary education through a case study in the field of electricity. In this study, which provides both historical and experimental evidence, a number of conceptual difficulties faced by early nineteenth century physicists are shown to be a useful tool to…

The Beat the Flood challenge involves designing and building a model flood-proof home, which is then tested in "flood" conditions. It is set on the fictitious Watu Island. The children form teams, with each team member being assigned a responsibility for the duration of the task--team leader, chief recorder, and resource manager. This…

As a final-year student teacher specialising in primary science, Emma Heaney faced the challenge of having to plan, organise, and conduct a small-scale, classroom-based research project. She had to teach about bones in the final block practice session and thought it would be a good idea to bring in some biological specimens obtained from the local…

Little research has been conducted on how to address the complex topic of death when teaching science to children. The present paper addresses this issue by examining how three elementary teachers discuss the death of wild animals during science read-aloud sessions. Our findings reveal the variety of ways in which nonhuman death can be…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) permeate the modern world. The jobs people do, the foods they eat, the vehicles in which they travel, the information they receive, the medicines they take, and many other facets of modern life are constantly changing as STEM knowledge steadily accumulates. Yet STEM education in the United…

The study examined environmental identity and its relationship to school science in 5th grade students (N=65) in a suburban public elementary school in the southern US using a mixed methods approach. This research was used to establish a proposed model of children's environmental identity, that may be of value to environmental and science…

The aim of this study is to investigate effects of the guiding materials developed based on the "fire context" and related to "expansion-contraction" concepts in the conceptual understanding of students. A quasi-experimental method has been used in the study. The sample group of the study consists of 5th grade students selected…