This research study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of activity-based science teaching practices on the acquisition of problem-solving skills for 5-6 year old preschool children. A total of 32 children were included in this research study. The Personal Information Form and 4-7 Age Problem Solving Ability Scale were used as the data…

Increasingly, learning in science and mathematics is considered in terms of induction into the multimodal language practices of the disciplinary community. A strong strand of research in this tradition has involved students being challenged to invent multimodal language forms, and their ideas refined through structured guidance. Often, however,…

Background: Inquiry pedagogy has been advocated as means to engage and motivate students to learn science. The development of teacher formative assessment practice in inquiry is key for a successful implementation of student-centred inquiry pedagogy in the classroom. Purpose: This study explores secondary science teachers' espoused beliefs about…

A "digital explanation" is a science learning task where learners explain science content to non-expert others, in this case, the learners are primary preservice teachers [PST] in a science methods class. In the task, PST are assigned a prompt based on science content from the New South Wales K-6 syllabus and generate or source multiple…

The 21st century is the century of life science. With the rapid development of life science and technology, the social needs of biological professionals are changing dramatically, and the requirements for their theoretical quality and practical ability are becoming higher and higher. The construction of characteristic disciplines in Henan Province…

Undergraduate physics laboratory course structures have been identified in policy reports for novel design innovations to meet the needs of a diverse and growing student population. To this end, an online, hands-on laboratory option was implemented at a large, public university for introductory physics students using the iOLab device. To determine…

Educational standards and instructional frameworks aim to foster students' scientific literacy, especially their conceptual knowledge. Previous research has examined several instructional approaches to foster students' conceptual learning. Reliable and adequate use of technical terms in science instruction is also essential for fostering students'…

The flipped classroom is a relatively new active learning pedagogical intervention, gaining popularity as a blended learning methodology. The flipped classroom comprises two distinct parts, directed learning carried out at the student's own pace away from the classroom and an interactive, class-based activity encouraging problem-solving and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of augmented reality (AR) technology on students' learning outcomes (measured according to Bloom's cognitive levels) and attitude toward biology. The print book was redesigned by integrating a form of AR into it. A quasi-experimental pretest and posttest designs were used to test the…

Background: Incorporating research-based instructional strategies (RBISs) into college classrooms is essential for improving learning outcomes. However, the rate of implementation of new strategies is quite low. The development and dissemination model of introducing faculty to new strategies has shown to be inadequate in encouraging uptake and…

In this response paper, we reflect upon the contributions of Gallard Martínez, Pitts, Brkich, and Ramos de Robles (this issue) in their manuscript "How does one recognize contextual mitigating factors (CMFs) as a basis to understand and arrive at better approaches to research designs" (EJ1257238) and elaborate the ways in which we work…

In 2017, a change to the national curriculum of New Zealand required primary teachers to implement a new component into the Technology area of The New Zealand Curriculum. This was to be fully implemented by the start of the 2020 school year. However, unless this was a personal area of ability, no primary teacher in New Zealand has been trained or…

Learning to teach out-of-field is a challenge that many teachers worldwide face at some time in their career. Whether they are motivated to seek formal professional development as additional qualifications in this area, however, depends on many factors. Alignment between the specific professional development needs of out-of-field teachers and the…

Even among the sciences, physics stands out as an unusually White- and male-dominated field. The American Institute of Physics (AIP) reports that only 19% of physics faculty are women, and less than 6% of physics faculty are African American or Hispanic. Particularly for female students, the transition from high school to a college major in…

What better way to engage fifth-grade students in science and engineering practices than to use paper airplanes to encourage them to question, explore, create, and test designs! This multi-day unit draws from a fourth-grade curriculum (Pearson 2012) aligned with the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013) used in…