This article describes an unexpected playground experience that occurred between the author, a reading educator and former middle grades teacher, and his six-year-old granddaughter. The experience became the inspiration and impetus to provide an introduction to, and a rationale for, the concept of text clusters to middle grades teachers. The…

K-12 educators are increasingly implementing inquiry-based learning as a way to foster problem-solving within their learning contexts. However, the literature identifies that teachers adapt inquiry-based learning on a number of contextual characteristics. This is important because if teachers diverge from its theoretical foundation, one might…

Relying on multiple documents to answer questions is becoming common for both academic and personal inquiry tasks. These tasks often require students to explain phenomena by taking various causal factors that are mentioned separately in different documents and integrating them into a coherent multi-causal explanation of some phenomena. However,…

In science education, students need to work with laboratory elements that create conditions for them to learn to do science and experience the value of making meaning in this process. However, students rarely get to carry out investigations that resemble actual scientific practices. More often, they are encouraged to follow an already given…

Assessment is usually considered as an afterthought in the instructional design process. Given the many challenges of assessment design--and the lack of ready solutions--teachers may fall back on familiar forms of assessments and hope for the best. As a result, the problem is not a lack of will on the part of teachers. Instead, it is the lack of…

The paper presents a study that aimed to reveal the process quality descriptors of an argument-based inquiry approach. Process quality signifies whether a teacher is a better or unsatisfactory implementer of a version of in-class science inquiry. An experienced middle school science teacher was the participant. Based on the initial analysis…

This mixed-methods research study aimed to observe the changes in relational conceptual changes and achievement in photosynthesis and cellular respiration in 15 seventh-grade students using the variation theory of learning, a framework for contextual distinctions, and supports the Common Knowledge Construction Model (CKCM) for science education.…

Teachers of young writers often feel pressure to focus on narrow, tested conventions, forms and processes of writing. These pressures can contribute to instruction that does not consider students' interests, experiences, language or cultures, but rather can further deficit views of students whose backgrounds do not closely align with those making…

Open-ended learning environments (OELEs) support constructivist approaches to STEM learning. This promotes student engagement and facilitates a deeper understanding of STEM topics. Despite their benefits, OELEs can present significant challenges for novice learners. Recent studies have revealed the complex relationship between students' affective…

The objectives of this research are: (1) to develop a flipped classroom learning plan using inquiry-based learning on the topic of substance separation for Grade 8 students, to achieve effectiveness according to the 75/75 criteria; (2) to compare science process skills and learning achievement before and after implementing the developed learning…

This study aims to investigate the effect of the teaching model developed for hot conceptual change on middle school 7th-grade students' understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) aspects. In this qualitative and exploratory study, activities were carried out with 24 students of two classes in a village school in the South Marmara region using a…

This study investigated the effect of the science process skills-integrated inquiry-based approach (SPSIIBA) on grade 9 students' academic achievement in cell biology and their perception of SPSIIBA. The study used a mixed-method research approach with a quasi-experimental design. A total of 78 secondary school students participated in the study.…

Design thinking has been propositioned to be interconnected to Dewey's notion of pragmatist inquiry and aesthetic experience. To address the need for empirical studies on design thinking in the classroom and add to our understanding of its characteristics, this study explored middle years' students' discourse as they worked through a design…

It is seen that there are few studies on the role of the knowledgeable other when the literature on Lesson Study [LS] is examined. However, for LS to be better understood and applied in different cultures, the role of the knowledgeable other in LS process should be clarified. This study aimed to determine the role of the researcher as the…

The purpose of this study is to see how the inquiry-based nature of science (NOS) argumentation (IB-NOSA) instructional model affects scientific literacy skills. This research used a quasi-experimental method. The design of this research is a pretest-posttest control group design. This study describes the significance of the differences between…