This study investigates the effect of a conceptual change approach over traditional instruction on students' understanding of chemical equilibrium concepts (e.g. dynamic nature of equilibrium, definition of equilibrium constant, heterogeneous equilibrium, qualitative interpreting of equilibrium constant, changing the reaction conditions). This…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how aware high school biology teachers are of societal issues (values, moral, ethic, and legal issues) while teaching genetics, genetics engineering, molecular genetics, human heredity, and evolution. The study includes a short historical review of World War II atrocities during the Holocaust when…

In this paper we present a simple set-up that illustrates the mechanism of sap ascent in plants and demonstrates that it can easily draw water up to heights of a few meters. The set-up consists of a tube with the lower end submerged in water and the upper one connected to a filter supported by a standard filter-holder. The evaporation of water…

Since biology is one of the most dynamic research fields within the natural sciences, the gap between the accumulated knowledge in biology and the knowledge that is taught in schools, increases rapidly with time. Our long-term objective is to develop means to bridge between the dynamics of biological discoveries and the biology teachers and…

This project aimed to examine whether the use of computers could have a positive impact on the performance of academic tasks and their behaviour whilst completing them of children with ADHD. This small exploratory study therefore investigated the impact of the use of a laptop computer, with and without stimulating animations and features…

In this study, the researcher included an extensive science museum experience for the pre-service secondary science teachers within a "teaching methods course" to enhance their learning to teach science. The extensive museum experience covered four aspects: the visit, discussion with museum educators, the development of lesson plans, and…

This study reports cross-validation results for an Indonesian-language version of a modified form of the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire and its use in investigating the nature of science classroom learning environments in Indonesian lower secondary schools. Following administration of the WIHIC to approximately 1400…

Drawing on evidence from lesson observations, teacher interviews and project reports, this paper examines the pedagogical perspectives and strategies of teachers working to incorporate use of Internet resources and associated ICT tools into humanities, social studies and science lessons in English secondary schools. The eight teachers were…

The development of a science education that includes a focus upon the nature of science suggests the need for "pedagogic tools" that can be used to engage children with the procedural understandings that are central to the scientific approach to enquiry. This paper reports on a collaborative action research project that focused on the…

Those who are most marginalized, both culturally and economically, in society are concentrated in the nation's largest urban centers and have the least opportunities to be successful in school science or to pursue higher education and career trajectories in science, mathematics, or engineering. This article shares the results of a study in which…

This project developed as a result of some inconclusive data from an investigation of whether a relationship existed between the use of formative assessment opportunities and performance, as measured by final grade. We were expecting to show our colleagues and students that use of formative assessment resources had the potential to improve…

Reformed preparation of science teachers is indeed vital for the vision of science teaching reform to be accomplished. Typically, a critical component of a preservice science teacher preparation program is the science teaching methods course. The usual intent of this course is to help preservice science students develop an understanding of various…

This study was designed to ascertain if (a) the level of biology performance of the selected 393 Jamaican 11th-graders (188 boys, 205 girls)--who constituted the main study's sample--was satisfactory or not; (b) there were statistically significant differences in their performance linked to their gender, attitudes towards biology, learning styles,…

Inquiry-based laboratories are acknowledged as the preferred method of instruction for development of research skills. Much has been written about changes in student performance associated with inquiry, but less is known about how students view the inquiry-based format or whether they perceive a benefit from this type of instruction. The Student…

This article reports the experiences of three retrained teachers as they made the transition to science teaching. The stories of their survival in a new school context were constructed from data obtained in an evaluation of the retraining program and interpreted using a reflexive methodology. These mature professionals had developed an approach to…