Legislative changes and discussions about the United States falling further and further behind other nations in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) achievement are growing. As they grow, STEM instruction in elementary school has earned its place as a national area of interest in education. In the case of Ivory School District,…

In this conceptual paper, we propose an heuristic to balance context-specific and generic scaffolding, as well as computer-based and teacher scaffolding, during instruction centered on authentic, scientific problems. This paper is novel in that many researchers ask a dichotomous question of whether generic or context-specific scaffolding is best,…

Science as inquiry and mathematics as problem solving are conjoined fraternal twins attached by their similarities but with distinct differences. Inquiry and problem solving are promoted in contemporary science and mathematics education reforms as a critical attribute of the nature of disciplines, teaching methods, and learning outcomes involving…

One of the goals of science education is to provide students with the ability to construct arguments--reasoning and thinking critically in a scientific context. Over the years, many studies have been conducted on constructing arguments in science teaching, but only few of them have dealt with studying argumentation in the laboratory. Our research…

The groundbreaking book featuring an inquiry-based framework for enhancing social studies state standards and linking social studies education to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies. The book includes the entire C3 document, "College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social…

Since 9/11, the repercussions of religious intolerance have reached center stage, highlighted by religious hate crime statistics, governmental policies, and documented cases of increased anxiety. Religious illiteracy is also highlighted as a phenomenon across the American landscape. Conceptual arguments hold that knowledge of other religions can…

Information system professionals strive to determine requirements by interviewing clients, observing activities at the client's site, and studying existing system documentation. Still this often leads to vague and inaccurate requirements documentation. When teaching the skills needed to determine requirements, it is important to recreate a…

Mobile technologies have not yet triggered the knowledge revolution in schools anticipated, in particular, by the telecommunications industry. On the contrary, mobile technologies remain extensively used outside the frontiers of formal education. The reasons for this are many and varied. In this paper, we concentrate on those associated with the…

Inspiring Science Education (ISE) (http://www.inspiringscience.eu/) is an EU funded initiative that seeks to further the use of inquiry-based science learning (IBSL) through the medium of ICT in the classroom. The Basketball Shot is a scenario (lesson plan) that involves the use of video capture to help the student investigate the concepts of…

With community colleges in the national spotlight as never before, a lot of talk has focused on the excellent work that community colleges are doing to help students succeed, especially the inroads that community colleges are making among their most academically vulnerable students. Thanks to the efforts of hard-working, dedicated faculty and…

A medium-scale quantitative study (n = 90) found that 10-11-year-old pupils dealt with theory and evidence in notably different ways, depending on how the same science practical task was delivered. Under the auspices of a 2×2 part-randomised and part-quasi experimental design, pupils were asked to complete a brief, apparently simple task involving…

The article reports the results of a longitudinal research study conducted in three mathematics classes in Czech schools with 62 pupils aged 12-18 years. The pupils were exposed to the use of selected heuristic strategies in mathematical problem solving for a period of 16 months. This was done through solving problems where the solution was the…

Longitudinal studies now confirm the economic, academic, and social importance of high-quality early childhood education. At the same time, a substantial body of research indicates that an outdoor learning and play environment with diverse natural elements advances and enriches all of the domains relevant to the development, health, and well-being…

Many household gardeners accumulate considerable knowledge of plant biology through a range of informal learning sources. This knowledge seldom relates to school biology and is driven by interest, keen motivation and what is termed here "vital relevance." A small opportunity sample of 12 gardeners (6 M, 6 F) is interviewed in terms of…

Recommendations for reforming high school mathematics curricula emphasize the importance of engaging students in mathematical investigations of societal issues (CCSSI [Common Core State Standards Initiative] 2010; NCTM [National Council of Teachers of Mathematics] 2000). Proponents argue that these investigations can positively influence students'…