The present study investigates the internal structure of professional vision of in-service teachers and student teachers with respect to classroom management and learning support in primary science lessons. Classroom management (including monitoring, managing momentum, and rules and routines) and learning support (including cognitive activation…

In the past decade, reform efforts in science education have increasingly attended to engaging students in scientific practices such as scientific modeling. Engaging students in scientific modeling can help them develop their epistemologies by allowing them to attend to the roles of mechanism and empirical evidence when constructing and revising…

This dissertation presents three interrelated studies examining opportunities for student learning through contributory citizen science (CS), where students collect and contribute data to help generate new scientific knowledge. I draw on sociocultural perspectives of learning to analyze three cases where teachers integrated CS into school science,…

This paper concerns the identification of teaching strategies that enhance the development of 4th grade students' experimental design skills at a public primary school in Argentina. Students' performance in the design of relevant experiments was evaluated before and after an eight-week intervention compared to a control group, as well as the…

To help support primary school students to better understand why science matters, teachers must first be supported to teach science in ways that matter. In moving to this point, this paper identifies the dilemmas and tensions primary school teachers face in the teaching of science. The balance is then readdressed through a research-based…

The aim of this study was to examine pre-service science teachers' views about laboratory applications in science education and how their views changed through laboratory applications that were carried out for two semesters. 63 (52 females, 11 males) pre-service teachers participated in the study. The study was carried out by using pre-test and…

Just as the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSSs) call for change in what students learn and how they are taught, teacher education programs must reconsider courses and curriculum in order to prepare teacher candidates to understand and implement new standards. In this study, we examine the development of prospective elementary…

School gardens are ideal places for students to ask and answer questions about science. This paper describes a case study of two 3rd grade teachers and two STEM coordinators who were recruited to implement and evaluate a horticultural-based curriculum developed for this study. Informed by the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform model we conducted a…

This article describes the development and validation of an instrument that can be used for content analysis of inquiry-based tasks. According to the theories of educational evaluation and qualities of inquiry, four essential functions that inquiry-based tasks should serve are defined: (1) assisting in the construction of understandings about…

This study aims to discuss the issues of integrating e-books into science teaching by preservice elementary school teachers. The study adopts both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In total, 24 preservice elementary school teachers participated in this study. The main sources of research data included e-books produced by preservice…

Recent education reform efforts have included an increasing push for school science to better mirror authentic scientific endeavor, including a focus on science practices. However, despite expectations that all students engage in these language-rich practices, little prior research has focused on how such opportunities will be created for…

Graphics are among the most important forms of communication in science and engineering. They are invaluable for both expressing understanding as well as generating new ideas. Unfortunately, many students do not think they can draw, and therefore fail to take advantage of this means of expression. However, with some basic instruction, nearly…

In this article, the authors describe St Peter's Primary School's and Honiton Primary School's experiences of keeping chickens. The authors also describe the benefits they bring and the reactions of the children. (Contains 5 figures.)

In his introduction to the science shows feature in "Primary Science" 115, Ian B. Dunne asks the question "Why have science shows?" He lists a host of very sound reasons, starting with because "science is fun" so why not engage and entertain, inspire, grab attention and encourage them to learn? He goes onto to state that: "Even in today's…

Weekend plans...every family has them. Whether it's fishing, swimming, or simply picnicking by the river, water plays a significant role in many recreational endeavors. Encouraging students and their families to use their "scientific eyes" to explore these wonderful wet places is what Weekend Science Project is all about. Weekend Science Project…