This study highlights trends and features of E-books and their versatility of this tool in elementary educational settings. There has been little quantitative research employed to examine teachers' reasons for using or not using E-books. The purpose of this study was to examine elementary school mathematics and science teachers' reasons for using…

Hopscotch, basketball, or hide-and-seek? Children have many choices at recess, and while making these choices they must consider and make trade-offs. The way they make these decisions is not that different from the thought processes engineers use when making design trade-offs. Engineers have to make trade-offs because a design that meets all…

This study examined elementary teachers' instructional strategies for promoting scientific understanding and inquiry and supporting English language development with diverse student groups including English language learners. The study was part of a 5-year research and development project consisting of reform-based science curriculum units and…

This paper is a report of the impact of an externally funded, multiyear systemic reform project on students' science achievement on a modified version of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test in 33 small, rural school districts in two Midwest states. The systemic reform effort utilized a cascading leadership strategy…

The purpose of this program evaluation was to investigate the impact over time teachers' self-efficacies and the outcome expectancies of those who participated in an inquiry-based, hands-on, constructivist professional development program to learn science content. The hope was that after active participation in this inquiry-based professional…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of Texas public Montessori school principals as instructional leaders in science. Twelve public Montessori school principals were interviewed for this study. Two research questions were used: How do public Montessori principals perceive Texas science standards in public…

When educating children, teachers need to be aware of ways to make learning engaging. For young children, with their high exposure to current technology, listening to one person all day can be boring. Children today understand technology at a faster pace than did children of previous generations, so teachers need to implement more technology…

Traditionally, alchemy has involved the power of transmuting base metals such as lead into gold or producing the "elixir of life" for those wealthy people who wanted to live forever. But what of today's developments? One hundred years ago, even breaking the four-minute mile would have been deemed "magic," which is what the alchemists of the past…

In this article, the author describes how a cemetery in East London provides a haven for wildlife and a gem for children to explore. Children from Woolmore School in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are visiting the cemetery on a class outing as part of a wider whole-school experience. Throughout the whole visit children are encouraged to ask…

ScienceComics project originally involved a set of theatre performances that sought to highlight the importance of materials by exploring what happens when one uses the "wrong" material. As part of this early work, two plays were created that featured a young alien girl, called Selenia, who could change materials. In this article, the…

Current science education reform efforts highlight the importance of engaging students in scientifically oriented questions as a central dimension of inquiry-based elementary science. However, elementary teachers, particularly beginning teachers, must often overcome a variety of challenges to engage their students in reform-minded,…

It has been the author's experience that children are most engaged and eager to investigate, discover and learn when immersed in creativity, be it their own or that of other people. In this article, the author describes how he created a unique way to engage his class in learning about the solar system using reality television. The theme of the…

The grandson of Fred Keller, one of the founders of behavior analysis, Jacob was 10 years old when he conducted the project for his elementary school science fair. We recently contacted Jacob to learn more about his project. He told us the inspiration came from a class field trip to the county recycling center, which included seeing video footage…

Portugal has long been touted as a popular destination for savvy travelers, but now educators are touting it as something else--a professional development (PD) powerhouse for inquiry-based science! This article describes Portugal's ongoing efforts to reform its country's elementary science education program through a project known as the…

In this commentary, I discuss how policy initiatives play out in two different contexts for elementary school teachers yet produce very similar outcomes regarding teachers' professional development and school science learning for elementary students. Ironically, the outcomes that we want see in elementary school science learning and professional…