Back in May 2011, an article in "Primary Science" described how the idea for a quality mark for primary science was developed from an initial conversation at an Association for Science Education annual conference (Turner, Marshall and Elsmore, 2011). Its intention then, as now, was to support and champion good practice and raise the…

In this article, Juliet Nickels explores the importance of content and exploration in a child- and enquiry-led curriculum. During British Science Week, Nickels runs science week at Coten End Primary School, culminating in an exhibition. Leading up to the school's science week in 2015, she ran staff meetings to clarify purpose and logistics, and…

Although the importance of language in science learning has been widely recognized by researchers, there is limited research on how science teachers perceive the roles that language plays in science classrooms. As part of an intervention design project that aimed to enhance teachers' capacity to address the language demands of science, interview…

National elementary science standards have included the teaching of systems for decades, however little is known about teachers' understanding of complex systems. This study focuses on how elementary pre- and in-service teachers understand and apply "systems thinking" to the water cycle. Teachers completed the Water Cycle Diagnosis Test…

Reading comprehension is a crucial skill that elementary school students must develop in order to learn science. However, there is not yet enough research about the role that multimodal texts play in scaffolding student reading comprehension of complex scientific processes, such as energy transfer. This study explored how verbal and visual…

What teachers believe about their own effectiveness in the classroom influences what and how they teach, so teacher preparation programs should work to cultivate strong self-efficacy beliefs (SEBs) in future teachers. I designed a science content course for future elementary teachers around the simultaneous goals of teaching science content and…

This paper explores the professional needs of pre-service teachers, their university tutor and in-service teachers in terms of their subject and pedagogical content knowledge. It does so through an examination of these professionals' participation in the learning experiences of children. The context for this participation is the children's…

Background/Context: Much science education reform has been directed at middle and high school students; however, earlier experiences in elementary school may well have an important impact on young people's future science literacy and preparation for possible STEM careers. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study explores the…

In December 2015, the media was full of Tim Peake and his adventures as he set off for the International Space Station as the first British ESA astronaut. The author set up a class blog as well as a Twitter account and created cross-curricular units of work around the "real" experience. Children really raised their game when they were…

Hempshill Hall Primary School is an urban school in Nottingham (U.K.), with almost 500 pupils. It is situated in a low-income area in the country, yet attracts many families from outside its school borders. It offers a broad curriculum that aims to be very child-led and engaging. However, it struggles to reach some of its less-engaged parents and…

In a kindergarten classroom, exclamations like "Oh no!" may be causes for concern. However, when the students in Mrs. Grabia's classroom shouted "Oh no!" and "Uh oh!" during an engineering-infused 5E lesson, it meant that a persistent little robot had pushed its way out of the fences they had created. It also meant…

The evaluation of promisingness is central to knowledge building and knowledge creation but remains largely unexplored. As part of a design-based research program to support promisingness judgments, the present study implemented an intervention in a sixth grade science class, with the goal of exploring the potential of promisingness judgments to…

Background: The Internet of Things (IoT) is a global network of data-sensing devices which pupils can access during science or other curriculum activities. Purpose: This article reports on a commissioned evaluation of a small-scale pilot project to explore the potential of the IoT combined with local sensors to enhance pupils' data interpretation…

Emerging technologies have been widely used in applications designed to increase potential for learning enhancement. This study develops a mobile application to integrate augmented reality (AR) functionality into physical puzzle-type games. In the application, learners see visualizations of three-dimensional (3D) dinosaurs and interact with…

With the growing adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards across the United States, elementary teachers are being called upon to incorporate engineering into their science instruction, creating a need for ways to help elementary teachers better understand what engineering is and how to accurately communicate it to students. The present…