This article outlines a research study focused on the connections between natural science and art. In the instructional unit designed for the research study, multiple art forms were utilized, in order to reach multiple types of learners. Interdisciplinary, or integrated art instruction is a way to enhance understanding of and the connections…

The Science and Technology Standards for the teaching and learning of K-12 science in Massachusetts were issued in April 2016. These were adapted, as the document explains, from K-12 science-education documents that have come generally to be known as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Common features include: (1) integration of science…

Our paper presents findings from a design-based research project focused on an integrated physical science and literacy instructional intervention involving three grade 5 teachers. The study utilized a mixed-methods research design. Analyzing qualitative data produced instructional profiles documenting teachers' salient views and instructional…

Despite the increasing attention to afterschool science programs, little is known about the conditions under which children likely engage in meaningful scientific practices, such as argumentation and scientific explanation in those settings. This analysis draws on X hours of video data collected of elementary-aged children (n = 4) during a 14-day…

The purpose of this research was to compare the effect of conceptual change texts enriched with metaconceptual processes with the effect of refutational and expository texts on pre-service science teachers' conceptual understanding of heat and temperature. The durability of the effect of the texts on pre-service science teachers' conceptual…

Pet birds, fish, reptiles, and mammals--all are often found in elementary classrooms because of the wide variety of opportunities they provide for exciting teaching and learning experiences. Applications of the opportunities these organisms can provide is reflected in the "NGSS" Life Science progression of disciplinary core ideas,…

The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) project is a three-year project based at Bath Spa University and funded by the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT). It aims to develop support for a valid, reliable and manageable system of science assessment that will have a positive impact on children's learning. In this article, the author…

The phenomenon known as "essentialism"--the belief that all species have an essential form with variation being a form of accident of aberration from the essence of the species--is widespread and important because it is at odds with biological reality. The prospect of teaching children about inheritance and evolution would be undermined…

SATRO (Science And Technology Regional Organisation), a charity based in Surrey that seeks to inspire young people about their future careers, received a call from a local junior school just before Easter last year from a science coordinator who was in tears. Her school had just been made a "failing school" and science was a disaster; no…

Without the science content knowledge required to effectively teach this discipline, many elementary teachers struggle without the support of curriculum materials. Curriculum materials are often the main means by which these science practices and canonical knowledge are incorporated into lessons. As part of a 5-year longitudinal research and…

This article provides an introduction for the special issue of the "Journal of Science Education and Technology" focused on science teaching and learning with models. The article provides initial framing for questions that guided the special issue. Additionally, based on our careful review of each of these articles, some discussion of…

This study aimed at finding out how young children express their thinking about some of the themes in the early-grades school science curriculum. Foundation-phase children at a primary school in Soweto, Johannesburg, were interviewed after they had watched classroom demonstrations of the production of carbon dioxide gas, absorption of water and…

Reported are the results of a multiyear study in which reading comprehension and writing were integrated within an in-depth science instructional model (Science IDEAS) in daily 1.5 to 2 h daily lessons on a schoolwide basis in grades 3-4-5. Multilevel (HLM7) achievement findings showed the experimental intervention resulted in significant and…

Due to the increased interest in ecology, global warming and numerous environmental problems, ecological issues are becoming extremely important in education. Many researchers and thinkers believe that solutions to environmental problems are affected by the environmental ethics adopted. This article identifies which of the three branches of…

The authors synthesize the findings of a research project to extend what is known about educative curriculum materials, or curriculum materials designed with the intent of supporting teacher learning as well as student learning. Drawing on a three-year program of research, including several close observational case studies and a large-scale…