Despite decades of research regarding best practices for the teaching and learning of chemistry, as well as two sets of national reform documents for science education, classroom instruction in high school chemistry classrooms remains largely unchanged. One key reason for this continued gap between research and practice is a reliance on…

This study investigates the preconceptions of junior secondary school students in Niger State on scientific ideas. The sample was made up of three hundred and sixty (360) junior secondary school students (JSSS I) who were randomly selected from twelve secondary schools. Four schools in each three educational zones with thirty (30) students from…

The potential of science to transform lives has been highlighted by a number of scholars. This means that critical socio-scientific issues (SSIs) must be integrated into science curricula. Development of context-specific scientific knowledge and twenty-first-century learning skills in science education could be used to address SSIs such as…

Any assessment activity can help student learning if it provides information that both teachers and students can use as feedback in assessing themselves. However, such assessment only becomes "formative" assessment when teachers actually use the feedback to adapt their teaching to meet the learning needs of students. This column provides…

As a growing number of students with learning disabilities (LD) receive science instruction in general education settings, students with LD continue to perform significantly lower than their non-disabled peers. The shift from textbook-driven instruction to inquiry-based approaches to science learning supports students who struggle with reading.…

The primary objective of this study was to determine how experience in learning to teach scientific inquiry using a practical approach affected teacher's attitudes, evaluations of use of inquiry and their actual design of inquiry based instruction. The methodology included the use an approach incorporating inquiry methodology combined with a…

The declining rate of pre-service teachers' performance in integrated science has continuously engaged the attention and concern of stakeholders in Nigeria. Many reasons have been adduced, but effectiveness of instructional strategies adopted by lecturers and other student variables stand out. As panacea, researches have focused on collaborative…

In New York State (NYS), Earth science teachers use the "National Science Education Standards" (NSES), the NYS "Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science and Technology" (NYS Standards), and the "Physical Setting/Earth Science Core Curriculum" (Core Curriculum) to create local curricula and daily lessons. In this…

This article addresses the issue of the level of conceptual demand of science curricula by analysing the case of the current Portuguese Natural Sciences curriculum for middle school. Conceptual demand is seen in terms of the complexity of cognitive skills, the complexity of scientific knowledge and the intra-disciplinary relations between distinct…

This article describes ways to adapt U.S. science curriculum to the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) "Framework for K-12 Science Education" and "Next Generation of Science Standards" (NGSS), noting their focus on teaching the physical sciences. The overall goal of the Framework and NGSS is to help all learners develop the…

After providing some glimpses of his private life, Peter Fensham, a leading figure of the prestigious Faculty of Education, Monash University (and now emeritus professor at Queensland University, Brisbane, Australia), gives some suggestions about the conditions that help students to learn meaningfully. He began his career in the field of physical…

The classroom environment influences students' academic outcomes, but it is often students' perceptions that shape their classroom experiences. Our study examined the extent to which observed classroom environment features shaped perceptions of the classroom, and explained levels of, and changes in, girls' motivation in junior secondary school…

Our ability to statistically analyze data has grown significantly with the maturing of computer hardware and software. However, the evolution of our statistics capabilities has taken place without a corresponding evolution in the curriculum for the undergraduate chemistry major. Most faculty understands the need for a statistical educational…

This paper makes the case for deep and radical change to New Zealand's approach to science education. It discusses the implications of recent science education research and policy work, and argues New Zealand still has a long way to go to developing a future-oriented science education system. It explores what needs to change and contains…

Traditionally, cytotechnology (CT) students have been trained by using light microscopy (LM) and glass slides. However, this method of training has some drawbacks. Several other educational programs with similar issues have incorporated virtual microscopy (VM) in their curricula. In VM, the specimens on glass slides are converted into virtual…