Here we evaluate undergraduate student attitudes about science after each of three authentic research experiences in a semester of an introductory biology laboratory course at Utah State University. The three course-based research experiences (CUREs) vary in length and student freedom, and they cover different areas of biology. Students responded…

Polymers are present in most organic materials in the field of cultural heritage science and art conservation. This makes the study of polymer chemistry necessary in art conservation graduate training programs. Given each program approaches this important topic in different ways, the present paper describes areas of common ground and problems we,…

At first glance, science and art seem as likely companions as oil and water. Is there more to mixing them up than mere metaphor and a messy floor? In this article, Tom Pringle shares some ideas for powering up the classroom by turning STEM into STEAM by dipping the paintbrush of art into the pot of science. In both art and science pupils can…

Constructing explanations of complex phenomena is an important part of doing science and it is also an important component of learning science. Students need opportunities to make claims based on available evidence and then use science concepts to justify why evidence supports the claim. But what happens when "new" evidence emerges for…

An introductory general chemistry laboratory course was developed to provide an authentic research experience in environmental chemistry. First- and second-year students learned general chemistry concepts and laboratory skills in the context of snow chemistry while participating in the course-based undergraduate research experience. Students were…

Students entering into a quantitative analysis course often struggle with connecting theoretical aspects of concepts from lecture to hands-on applications in the laboratory setting. A one-semester quantitative analysis course was redesigned to integrate active learning with a project-based curriculum that incorporated structured review of…

Background: Argumentation is an important discourse process in science that needs to be taught and learned as part of a repertoire of strategies to support the acquisition of scientific literacy. Research in science education indicates that beliefs or perceptions and the epistemological orientations of teachers influence their approaches to…

In this study, middle school students' (8th grade, n = 24) problem-solving processes were investigated while implementing a design-based science learning (DBSL) approach. DBSL tries to incorporate science learning with the processes of engineering design. A DBSL module was developed by the research team within which students were expected to…

Protein structure-function is a key concept in biochemistry. We used the perspective of domain-specific problem-solving to investigate students' solutions to a well-defined protein structure-function problem. We conducted think-aloud interviews with 13 undergraduate students and performed qualitative content analysis to examine the differences in…

The "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS") and the guiding "Framework" invite students to engage in practices of scientific argumentation and modeling through which they can collaborate as young scientists and develop understandings of disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts. This article shares…

New competence-oriented learning goals can only be sustainably implemented if they are aligned with teaching and assessment goals. Within the fields of science, technology and mathematics education, one approach of competence-oriented teaching is based on the concept of inquiry-based education. Scientific inquiry in science, problem solving in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the features of modeling-based abductive reasoning as a disciplinary practice of inquiry in the domain of earth science. The study was based on an undergraduate course of a university of education, Korea, offered for preservice elementary teachers majoring in science as their specialty. The course…

Background: Increasingly, high dropout rates in science courses at colleges and universities have led to discussions of causes and potential support measures of students. Students' prior knowledge is repeatedly mentioned as the best predictor of academic achievement. Theory describes four hierarchically ordered types of prior knowledge, from…

The aim of this research is to examine the effects of the General Geography lessons, which are taught by using place, based teaching activities, on the science process skills for classroom teacher candidates. A nested pattern, which is one of the mix method research patterns, is used for this research. The quasi-experimental design with pre-test…

Investigating real-world phenomena in a playful, exploratory setting is a natural process for young children. Teachers can capitalize on children's curiosity to foster their understanding of science ideas and their engagement in science practices, such as predicting, experimenting, observing, comparing, and contrasting. Force and motion…