The use of scientific modeling has been shown to be highly effective in the learning of science content in multiple disciplines for non-English Learners (EL). However, the benefits of using this pedagogy with ELs have not been heavily explored. This article discusses the use of modeling-based evolution and population ecology pedagogical units in a…

We investigated second and third graders' capacity to understand microevolution, given a learning progression leveraging intuitions to build more adequate explanations, problematizing core ideas within scientific practices, and in-depth study of a single domain (botany or animal behavior). The intervention was implemented in both researcher-taught…

We present a multiple-choice test, the Montana State University Formal Reasoning Test (FORT), to assess college students' scientific reasoning ability. The test defines scientific reasoning to be equivalent to formal operational reasoning. It contains 20 questions divided evenly among five types of problems: control of variables, hypothesis…