Research on predictors of achievement in science is often targeted on more traditional content-based assessments and single student characteristics. At the same time, the development of skills in the field of scientific inquiry constitutes a focal point of interest for science education. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to…

The interactions described in this article represent an example of teachers expanding horizons of instructional plans as a direct result of outside expert contributions. After alerting teachers to oversimplified claims about the benefits of lycopene, the research fellow presented the team with a wider range of instructional options to consider…

There is limited research available in the area of science education for deaf children. In the twenty-first century, the importance of science and specifically scientific argumentation cannot be overlooked as a vital aspect of the curriculum. Current science teaching presents a range of difficulties for deaf students particularly when abstract…

The Next Generation Science Standards ("NGSS") were developed by teachers, scientists, and leaders in science and science education from around the country and are endorsed by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), a partner in the development of the "NGSS." This article presents an example of how to modify a lab to…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of outdoor school ground lessons on Year Five students' science process skills and scientific curiosity. A quasi-experimental design was employed in this study. The participants in the study were divided into two groups, one subjected to the experimental treatment, defined as…

Spatial reasoning has become a demanded skill for students pursuing a science emphasis to compete with the dynamic growth of our professional society. The ability to reason spatially includes explorations in memory recollection and problem solving capabilities as well as critical thinking and reasoning skills. With these advancements, educational…

Collaborative problem solving is an essential component of any 21st century science career. Scientists are hired, retained, and promoted for solving problems in dynamic and interdisciplinary teams. They discuss issues, explain and justify their opinions, debate, elaborate, and reflect on their collective knowledge. At the same time, both…

The ability to read, interpret, and evaluate articles in the primary literature are important skills that science majors will use in graduate school and professional life. Because of this, it is important that students are not only exposed to the primary literature in undergraduate education, but also taught how to read and interpret these…

A scientifically literate person should be able to engage and critique science news reports about socioscientific issues from a variety of information sources. Such engagement involves critical thinking and argumentation skills to determine if claims made are justified by evidence and explained by reasonable explanations. This study explored…

Graphing subjects in chemistry has been used to provide alternatives to verbal and algorithmic descriptions of a subject by handing students another way of improving their manipulation of concepts. Teachers should therefore know the level of students' graphing skills. Studies have identified that students have difficulty making connections with…

The purpose of this study was to see if a relationship existed between American College Testing (ACT) scores (i.e., English, reading, mathematics, science reasoning, and composite) and student success in a computer applications course at a Mississippi community college. The study showed that while the ACT scores were excellent predictors of…

In our research we examined the the relationship between the perception of scientific skills acquisition in Mexican graduate students with their awareness of scientific competences considered in the curriculum, mentoring practices and availability of institutional resources for conducting research. The study involved a conventional sample of 147…

This article describes key facets of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE), a curriculum that emerged in the United Kingdom, enabling teachers to accelerate the process of cognitive development so that more students could attain the higher-order thinking skills (formal operational thinking) required (Lecky, 2012). CASE, also…

Concepts relating to outer space are difficult to grasp because we lack direct experience of this environment. We analysed students' understanding of gravitation on Earth and beyond by testing the effect of training on it. In a pretest (T1), 28 seventh graders answered a questionnaire about space concepts. They all then underwent the same formal…

Education policy in the United States centers K-12 assessment efforts primarily on standardized tests. However, such tests may not provide an accurate and reliable representation of what students understand about the complexity of science. Research indicates that students tend to pass science tests, even if they do not understand the concepts…