One of the primary characteristics of the holistic module learning model is task-driven learning. In this learning model, a task is a distinct activity or collection of distinct activities designed to assist students in achieving learning objectives. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effective design and implementation of task-driven…

Improving the interest of high-school students towards chemistry (and science in general) is one of the goals of the Italian Ministry of Education. To this aim, we designed a context-based activity that actively involved students in six different laboratory experiences interconnected by a case study of the murder of Miss Scarlet, from the famous…

This article analyzes masculinity and experimental practices within three different physics communities. This work is premised on the understanding that the discipline of physics is not only dominated by men, but also is laden with masculine connotations on a symbolical level, and that this limited and limiting construction of physics has made it…

Between 1880 and 1920 the way science was taught in American High Schools changed dramatically. The old "lecture/demonstration" method, where information was presented to essentially passive students, was replaced by the "laboratory" method, where students performed their own experiments in specially constructed student laboratories. National…

This paper proposes a reconsideration of use of computer simulations in science education. We discuss three studies of the use of science simulations for undergraduate distance learning students. The first one, "The Driven Pendulum" simulation is a computer-based experiment on the behaviour of a pendulum. The second simulation, "Evolve" is…

This study investigates the effect of a science teaching approach--the experimental inquiry approach--on preservice student teachers' understanding of the teaching and learning of science in primary schools. This understanding might be influenced by their prior science learning experiences in schools and in teacher education. In this study, the…