The nature of science (NOS) describes what science is and how knowledge in science is developed (NSTA 2013). To develop elementary students' understandings of how scientists explore the world, the authors--an education professor and a third-grade teacher--endeavored to integrate NOS into a third-grade life science unit. Throughout the lesson,…

A rich science learning experience not only captures students' attention but also motivates them to investigate and solve problems and investigate how scientists carry out their work. This article describes how secondary science coordinator Patrick Brown's found success teaching students the nature of science by engaging them in…

This paper presents situated learning as a theoretical framework for conceptualising new ways to approach science education. Key constructs associated with this framework, including communities of practice, Discourse and identity, are introduced. I advance an argument to develop classroom communities of practice based on engaged citizenship…