Science shows provide a method of introducing large public audiences to physics concepts in a nonformal learning environment. While these shows have the potential to provide novel means of educational engagement, it is often difficult to measure that engagement. We present a method of producing an interactive physics show that seeks to provide…

Although much of the scientific community concerns itself with ideas of a sustainable future, very little of this interest and motivation has reached the classroom experience of the average chemistry major, and therefore, it is imperative to expose students to these ideas early in their careers. The focus of most undergraduate chemistry curricula…

This study examines the pre-service teachers' opinions about conceptual integration (CI) and their understanding of it. A qualitative phenomenology design was used in the study. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews comprising ten guiding questions. Three pre-service physics and three pre-service chemistry teachers…

The present study fills a gap in existing visitor research by focusing on the preschool age group. The study explores relationships between parent explanation, children's exploratory behavior, and their domain-specific learning in a shadow exhibition. In addition, the effect of a preceding theater show on child and parent behaviors is examined. In…

Amid calls for integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (iSTEM) in K-12 education, there is a pressing need to uncover productive methods of integration. Prior research has shown that increasing contextual linkages between science and mathematics is associated with student problem solving and conceptual understanding. However,…

Color, temperature and heat are among the concepts in science that are interconnected. These concepts are introduced to learners even before they enter the basic education. On the other hand, in school, it is formally introduced to them not only in science but also in the humanities. The foregoing study attempted to explore the mental thoughts of…

This study proposed an analytic framework for coding students' dialogic argumentation and investigated the characteristics of the small-group argumentation pattern observed in modeling-based learning. The participants were 122 second grade high school students in South Korea divided into an experimental and a comparison group. Modeling-based…

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of educational games on scientific concepts acquisition by the first grade students. The sample of the study consisted of (53) male and female students distributed into two groups: experimental group (n = 26) which taught by educational games, and control group (n = 27) which taught by…

Factors such as innovations brought in by the developing technology, also rapidly changing social structures casted various roles to both the student and the teacher. Therefore, it is necessary to associate such knowledge acquired in courses with implications of the knowledge in our real lives and to constantly enrich course contents, namely to…

The purpose of this work is to reconsider and critically discuss the conceptual foundations of modern biology and bio-sciences in general, and provide an epistemological guideline to help framing the teaching of these disciplines and enhancing the quality of their presentation in High School, Master and Ph.D. courses. After discussing the…

Sense-making has been described as working on and with ideas--both students' ideas and authoritative ideas in texts--to build coherent storylines, models, and/or explanations. This article describes the process for developing storyline units to support students' making sense of and explaining a rocket launch. The storyline approach, which aligns…

A study was conducted on the understandings of the accepted model of ionic substances that are held by participants at all levels of the chemical education system in Croatia, including secondary school students, university students, and chemistry teachers. We follow the research of Taber who found that a diagram of a layer of a sodium chloride…

To assess students' conceptual understanding levels and diagnose alternative frameworks of the electrolyte concept, a measurement instrument was developed using the Rasch model. This paper reports the use of the measurement instrument to assess 559 students from grade 10 to grade 12 in two cities. The results provided both diagnostic and summative…

To develop scientific literacy, elementary students should engage in knowledge building of core concepts through scientific practice (Duschl, Schweingruber, & Schouse, 2007). A core scientific practice is engagement in scientific modeling to build conceptual understanding about discipline-specific concepts. Yet scientific modeling remains…

With the release of the "Next Generation Science Standards," many schools are reexamining the science materials they are using. Textbook companies and kit developers are eager to meet the demand for "NGSS"-aligned teaching materials. Teacher may have been asked to serve on a science curriculum committee, or to evaluate current…