Argumentation research often addresses the nature of argumentation as a complex set of procedures that can aid learning of complex scientific knowledge and practices. Thus, studies might look at transfer of knowledge and processes to specific science domains or to other types of procedural knowledge, such as teacher implementation in the…

Meaningful understanding of chemistry, among others, includes the ability of an individual to think simultaneously at macroscopic, submicroscopic and symbolic levels, and this presupposes the competence to translate between different types of chemical representations. In this study, we investigated 11th grade Greek students' and 3rd year…

This research explored the practices of one science teacher, expert in her field, as she worked to enact science discourse that incorporated language in naturalistic and rigorous ways. Difficulties in mastering the language of science contribute to troubling and persistent achievement gaps across demographic and gender groups. Science learning is…

Example-based learning often uses a design in which learners first receive basic instructional explanations of new principles and concepts and then examples thereof. In this sequence, it is crucial that learners self-explain by using the content of the basic instructional explanations to elaborate on the examples. Typically, learners are not…

This study investigates early childhood (EC) student-teachers' species identification skills and their views on the importance of species knowledge. The study used a mixed methods approach, including a species identification test and a questionnaire, and involved 186 Norwegian EC student-teachers. Our results reveal that species knowledge of…

Recent reforms in science education emphasize having students develop and refine core disciplinary ideas through participation in science knowledge--building practices. Supporting students' meaningful participation in these practices is challenging, in part because our understanding of how this kind of participation develops is underexplored. This…

Newtonian mechanics is still among the most difficult topics in the physics' syllabus taught at school. For example, even after completing traditional instruction, students still think that a force is necessary to maintain motion. Therefore, a revised method of instruction is needed that meets students' learning needs. The aim of the project…

Charging a capacitor with a photovoltaic module is an experiment which reveals a lot about the modules characteristics. It is customary to represent these characteristics with an equivalent circuit whose elements represent its physical parameters. The behavior of a photovoltaic module is very similar to that of a single cell but the electric…

The aim of this paper is to investigate the stability of a bottle filled with different volumes of water, and to determine the angle at which it topples over for each volume of water. Data for the angle at which the bottle toppled were gathered experimentally using a cylindrical 1 litre bottle, and two theoretical models were then developed,…

When teaching how "tension" and "compression" relate to geometrical structures such as bridges, arches, and domes, The author shows a picture of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, completed in the 14th century, and presents a lesson on using the curve called a catenary to explain how he teaches about tension and compression…

This column shares web tools that support learning. The authors have been covering the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards in every issue since September 2016. This article examines the final standard, called Creative Communicator, which requires students to communicate effectively and creatively express themselves…

This paper discusses R.S. Peters' notion of "cognitive perspective," which, through careful reading, can be interpreted as a wider perspective resulting from an awareness of the relationships of one's knowledge and understanding to one's own life. This interpretation makes cognitive perspective a holistic notion akin to that of…

Data are abundant, quantitative information about the state of society and the wider world is around us more than ever. Paradoxically, recent trends in the public discourse point towards a post-factual world that seems content to ignore or misrepresent empirical evidence. As statistics educators we are challenged to promote understanding of…

This column provides background science information for elementary teachers. This month's issue discusses the science behind self-driving cars, but first explains how a car "with" a driver works.

The subject of fluid mechanics is a rich, vibrant, and rapidly developing branch of applied mathematics. Historically, it has developed hand-in-hand with the elegant subject of complex variable theory. The Westmont College NSF-sponsored workshop on the revitalization of complex variable theory in the undergraduate curriculum focused partly on…