Integrated STEM activities are espoused as appropriate for enhancing student learning in relation to statistical concepts; however, a greater understanding of the way in which students' ideas about those concepts develop is needed to maximise the learning potential offered by engagement in STEM activities. For this study, plant growth was chosen…

This paper presents preparations, execution and reflection on results for the physics part of a CSI task for the European Union Science Olympiad 2010, taking place at the University of Gothenburg. The participants were required to make a graph of the cooling of a swede ("Brassica napus"), as a proxy for the cooling of a murder victim,…

There has been a growing awareness that graphing is an essential part of the science curriculum. While much research has focused on student conceptions and abilities regarding graphical representations, only few studies have investigated what teachers think about them and how they use graphs in science class. The purpose of this study is to…

This paper explores students' ability to analyse and interpret empirical data as inadequate data analysis skills and understandings may contribute to the renowned disappointing outcomes of practical work in secondary school physics. Selected competences, derived from a collection of leading curricula, are explored through interviews and practical…

This study aimed to plan and implement a lesson that focuses on the role of gases that are effective in global warming and to increase the middle school students' awareness about global warming. The case study method was used. First, a Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) lesson that focused on the increased use of fossil-based…

When working within a meaningful context quite young students are capable of working with sophisticated data. Year 3 students investigate thermal insulation and the transfer of heat in a STEM inquiry, developing skills in measuring temperature by conducting a statistical investigation, and using a stylised graph to interpret their data.

Suggests using everyday examples to help students describe the relationships that emerge from the evidence displayed on line graphs during science investigations. (WRM)

Describes a procedure for the datalogging of microbial population densities. (WRM)