This article describes the construction of an inexpensive, robust, and simple hydrogen electrode, as well as the use of this electrode to measure "standard" potentials. In the experiment described here the students can measure the reduction potentials of metal-metal ion pairs directly, without using a secondary reference electrode. Measurements…

Earth and space science figure prominently in the National Science Education Standards for levels 5-8 (NRC 1996). The Earth in the Solar System standard focuses on students' ability to understand (1) the composition of the solar system (Earth, Moon, Sun, planets with their moons, and smaller objects like asteroids and comets) and (2) that…

We consider the professional development of in-service teachers and review traditional development efforts that have been used in the past. An alternative form of professional development using Japanese lesson study is proposed and discussed as a possibility. A case study involving the Mpumalanga Secondary Science Initiative, where lesson study…

The nature of literacy is changing. Increased student use of computer-mediated, digital, and visual communication spans our understanding of adolescent multi-modal capabilities that reach beyond the traditional conventions of linear speech and written text in the science curriculum. Advancing technology opens doors to learning that involve…

Students identified with learning disabilities experience markedly lower levels of science and mathematics achievement than students who are not identified with a learning disability. Seemingly compounding their disadvantage, students with learning disabilities also complete more credits in non-core coursework--traditionally considered nonacademic…

The research objectives addressed in this dissertation include: the measurement of the effects of an inquiry-based middle school science professional development program on teachers, the development and utilization of a student-level scientific reasoning ability test, and an examination of the connection between the scientific reasoning ability of…

There is an increasing literature pertaining to student achievement and school productivity. This session will present school and classroom strategies used in high school science classes at Robert E. Lee High School (5A) in Tyler, Texas. This year, 84% of the students at Lee passed the science TAKS test. Lee is also ranked in the top 1500 high…

The main purpose of this study was to find the effectiveness of using analogies to prevent misconceptions about chemical equilibrium. Nineteen analogies, which were based on dynamic aspects of chemical equilibrium and application of Le Chatelier's principle, were developed. The participations of this study consisted of 11th grade students (n: 151)…

This article investigates the attitudes of South African student teachers towards the theory of evolution and their willingness to teach it. The teaching of evolution has been excluded from the South African school curriculum for most of the 20th century. In 2008, Grade 12 learners were for the first time exposed to the concept of evolution in the…

In a context where the science underlying global issues such as climate change often loses out to political opinions and distortions, science teachers have a unique and very important role. Science teachers can use global-learning approaches to encourage learners to develop skills in scientific enquiry and critical analysis of scientific issues.…

Framed by sociocultural theory, the purpose of the study was to understand the cultural tools used by science teachers when leaning to mentor and how tool use may lead to the construction of new understandings about mentoring. The participants were 37 experienced teachers enrolled in a federally funded science-specific mentor preparation program.…

Self-regulated learning (SRL) encourages students to learn using metacognition, strategic action, and motivation. This nontraditional approach to education relies on the student's active role in learning and the instructor's facilitatory role in teaching. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of an SRL instructional model the author…

This article explores 11- to 16-year-old students' explanations for phenomena commonly studied in school chemistry from an inclusive cognitive resources or knowledge-in-pieces perspective that considers that student utterances may reflect the activation of knowledge elements at a range of levels of explicitness. We report 5 themes in student…

The aim of the current research is to characterize the conceptual flow processes occurring in whole-class dialogic discussions with a high level of interanimation; in the present case, of a high-school class learning about image creation on plane mirrors. Using detailed chains of interaction and conceptual flow discourse maps--both developed for…

This ethnographic study of teaching and learning in urban high school science classes investigates the ways in which teachers and students talk, gesture, and use space and time in interaction rituals. In situations where teachers coteach as a means of learning to teach in inner-city schools, successful teacher-teacher collaborations are…