The Common Core Science Standards represent a new effort to increase science learning for all students. These standards include a focus on English and language arts aspects of science learning, and three dimensions of science standards, including practices of science, crosscutting concepts of science, and disciplinary core ideas in the various…

The 3-parameter model of Item Response Theory gives the probability of an individual (examinee) responding correctly to an item without being sure of all the facts. That is known as guessing. Guessing could be a strategy employed by examinees to earn more marks. The way an item is constructed could expose the item to guessing by the examinee. A…

In this paper, we examine student success on three variants of a test item given in different representational formats (verbal, pictorial, and graphical), with an isomorphic problem statement. We confirm results from recent papers where it is mentioned that physics students' problem-solving competence can vary with representational format and that…

This study reports on the process of developing a test to assess students' reading comprehension of scientific materials and on the statistical results of the verification study. A combination of classic test theory and item response theory approaches was used to analyze the assessment data from a verification study. Data analysis indicates the…

This Forum discusses the significant growth of international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) since the mid-1990s. Addey and Sellar's contribution ("A Framework for Analysing the Multiple Rationales for Participating in International Large-Scale Assessments") outlines a framework of rationales for participating in ILSAs and examines the…

The aim of this study is to address and analyse pre-service teachers' mathematical reasoning skills in relation to mathematical thinking processes. For these purposes, pre-service teachers' mathematical reasoning skills namely generalising/abstraction/modelling, ratiocination, development and creative thinking skills and the relationships among…

These proceedings contain papers of the 4th International Baltic Symposium on Science and Technology Education (BalticSTE2021) held in Šiauliai, Lithuania, June 21-22, 2021. This symposium was organized by the Scientific Methodical Center "Scientia Educologica" in cooperation with Scientia Socialis, Ltd. Lithuania. The proceedings are…

The study examined the reasoning skills of first year high school students after learning general science concepts through analogies. Two intact heterogeneous sections were randomly assigned to Analogy-Enhanced Instruction (AEI) group and Non Analogy-Enhanced (NAEI) group. Various analogies were incorporated in the lessons of the AEI group for…

The landscape of science education is being transformed by the new "Framework for Science Education" (National Research Council, "A framework for K-12 science education: practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas." The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2012), which emphasizes the centrality of scientific…

This study investigated the effect of using differentiated instruction using multiple intelligences on achievement in and attitudes towards science in middle school students with learning disabilities. A total of 61 students identified with LD participated. The sample was randomly divided into two groups; experimental (n= 31 boys )and control (n=…

Researchers have long recognized the potential benefits of open-ended computer- based learning environments (OELEs) to help students develop self-regulated learning (SRL) behaviours. However, measuring self-regulation in these environments is a difficult task. In this paper, we present our work in developing and evaluating "coherence…

The authors aimed to investigate the variability in science achievement as a function of student-, school- and country-level factors. Achievement scores of 134,123 eighth-grade students from 4,511 schools of 29 countries who participated in the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study were analyzed. Multilevel modeling results…

Curriculum-assessment alignment is a well known foundation for good practice in educational assessment, for items' curricular validity purposes. Nowadays instruments are designed to measure pupils' competencies in one or more areas of competence. Sub-competence areas could be defined theoretically and statistical analysis of empirical data by…

Web-based training is becoming a phenomenon in education today because of its flexibility and convenience, it is vitally important to address those issues that adversely impact retention and success in this environment. To generate principles of effective asynchronous web-based materials specifically applicable for secondary level students based…

Research on learning in the undergraduate chemistry laboratory necessitates an understanding of students' perspectives of learning. Novak's Theory of Meaningful Learning states that the cognitive (thinking), affective (feeling), and psychomotor (doing) domains must be integrated for meaningful learning to occur. The psychomotor domain is the…