Background: The Next Generation Science Standards (2013) put a special emphasis on engineering for K-12 science education. However, a significant number of elementary teachers still feel unprepared to integrate engineering into their science programs. It is, therefore, incumbent upon science educators to update their elementary science methods…

Philosophy is concerned with fundamental questions about knowledge, truth, reality, experience, justice and what is right and wrong. In this article, the authors discuss how philosophy and science can be taught together in the primary classroom.

The NGSS [Next Generation Science Standards] reconceptualize science instruction by redefining the teacher as someone who helps students construct their own knowledge by "thinking like scientists" and engaging in discrete science practices. However, with STEM teachers in short supply and generalists often feeling underprepared to teach…

Are you interested in helping your elementary students learn the practices of science, including constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence? "Argument-Driven Inquiry in Fifth-Grade Science" will provide you with both the information and instructional materials you need to get started right away. The book is a…

In recent decades a body of research has emerged supporting the effectiveness of a plethora of science teaching practices in improving learners' science achievement and scientific literacy. However, if the benefits of evidence-based science practice are to be realised consistently and at scale we need to improve our understanding of how teachers…

The research aimed to 1) build and assess suitability of the learning management plan of the predictive-observation-explanatory (POE) technology based learning approach to promote scientific explanation making about the change of the substance for primary school students, 2) to distill the lesson learnt of the predictive-observation-explanatory…

This study aimed to develop a specialized rule-based AI chatbot tailored for a sixth-grade optics unit and to evaluate the impact of the implementation of the chatbot on students' cognitive and affective outcomes related to science within the classroom setting. Specifically, this study explored how factors such as gender and achievement levels…

Artificial photosynthesis is a promising approach to generate commodity chemicals using abundant chemical feedstocks and renewable energy sources. Despite its importance, affordable and effective hands-on classroom activities that demonstrate artificial photosynthesis and teach key concepts, especially for primary school students, are lacking.…

Research on computer-supported collaborative learning faces the challenge of extending student collaboration to higher social levels and enabling cross-boundary interaction. This study investigated collaborative knowledge building among four Grade 5 classroom communities that studied human body systems with the support of Idea Thread Mapper (ITM).…

Purpose: Collective efficacy (CE)--a group's belief in its capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to reach a goal--is an important organizational property because it facilitates goal attainment. The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-methods study was: (1) to affirm the link between CE and student achievement;…

Background: Randomised Control Trials (RCT) involving large numbers of schools, teachers and pupils, can provide statistically significant evidence that an intervention 'works', or makes a difference to learning. However, often the quantitative data collected to illustrate the extent of impact is insufficient to illustrate exactly 'how' the…

Real Engagement in Active Problem Solving (REAPS) cultivates exceptional talent across disciplines through students solving problems that are real in their lives. In this study, the focus was on scientific talent: to determine students' growth in creative problem solving in science in classrooms in which REAPS was implemented. Using a repeated…

Background: Immersive virtual reality (IVR) applications that support student learning have gained increasing interest. However, empirical studies exploring the educational potential of using IVR in primary school science classrooms are lacking. Objectives: This study developed a series of IVR science lessons for primary school students and…

A great deal has been written about the huge benefits to children of learning through the context of stories. Some scientific concepts can be difficult for children to understand if they cannot see or experience them. Stories help bring the concepts to life, making them more meaningful, increasing engagement and often providing a more fun…

Children often have very stereotyped views of science and scientists, far removed from their own lives. Getting children to 'become' scientists and feel that they are actually "doing" science, being involved in something pertinent to them and their environment, is a goal of modern science teaching. This article aims to illustrate how…