LASAR (Learning about Science and Religion) has been exploring different opportunities to engage children with practical science enquiry to develop children's understanding of the nature of science and how they suppose science connects to 'big questions'. After-school club opportunities and classroom opportunities are presented.

Although the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) have three dimensions, the crosscutting concepts are often the forgotten dimension. One reason teachers may not emphasize the crosscutting concepts might be because they are broad, domain-general constructs that can be difficult to conceptualize in a meaningful way. Yet, when taught…

Nature of Scientific Knowledge (NOSK) and Nature of Scientific Inquiry (NOSI) are important components of scientific literacy and important educational objectives in science education. Recent literature theorizes that understanding both NOSK and NOSI increases students' understanding of science content knowledge. However, this assumption has yet…

This project introduces green chemistry to the undergraduate laboratory through two pedagogical techniques: undergraduate research and guided-inquiry. Through these two learning activities, an efficient synthetic procedure for the PRINS cyclization of citronellal into isopulegol, focused on minimizing negative environmental impact, was developed.…

Data from PISA and TIMSS have recently fuelled the debate on the efficacy of Inquiry-Based Science Teaching (IBST). Some analyses of these data show that the effects of different scientific activities related to IBST carried out with students vary according to the frequency of their implementation. Extending this research, the present study…

A robust knowledge of physics entails deeply understanding electricity concepts such as conductivity and resistance. Understanding how circuits work is also critical for ensuring the safe use of electrical technology such as car batteries and downed powerlines. Curricular materials covering these content ideas are readily available for teachers.…

An important goal of science education is for students to understand the nature of science. Science education has raised the question of what science is, how scientific knowledge is developed and how people participate in this process under the conceptual umbrella of 'nature of science' (NOS). This study aims to look at the effectiveness of the…

The nature of scientific inquiry is a concept associated with the nature of science and is an important product of inquiry-based teaching. Inquiry-based teaching is an important method proposed in science education all over the world. The aim of this study is to determine the pre-service science teacher's views about nature of scientific inquiry.…

The importance of enabling student-teachers to acquire informed conceptions of the Nature of Science (NOS) is widely emphasised. Hence, this study investigated the effectiveness of a science pre-service teacher education programme of one university in Tanzania in enabling student-teachers to acquire informed conceptions of NOS as stages in a…

Teaching science through inquiry-based methodologies has been advocated by several governmental and professional organizations (National Research Council [NRC], 2000; NGSS Lead States, 2013); however, their use is not widespread. Why is this? What science teachers do in their classrooms is shaped by their beliefs, especially their beliefs about…

One of today's challenges in science education involves the development of appropriate conceptions of inquiry teaching and realizing how these experiences can support students' understanding of the nature of science and inquiry (NOS and NOSI). To meet this challenge, we developed a course for in-service science teachers, in which…

This paper explores the effect teachers' participation in a targeted inquiry-based/nature of science (NoS) continuing professional development programme had on Irish primary children's experiences of scientific inquiry and developing conceptions of NoS. Data were gathered from 459 children from 10 Dublin schools. The findings revealed that their…

Integrating authentic research practices into introductory laboratory courses to prepare tomorrow's scientists has become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. However, an incomplete understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and authentic scientific inquiry (SI) precludes higher-level learning in undergraduate research experiences. In…

We have argued that science in general, and scientific inquiry in particular, is a human activity and that current models to describe science (either as Scientific Method or as a Body of Knowledge) tend to underestimate the significance of human beings in the phenomenon. Our earlier paper (Bevins & Price, 2016) suggests a model to correct this…

This study systematically analysed, evaluated and synthesised published studies on 21stcentury skills and science achievement among secondary school students. By scouring 17 well-known online journal databases, 684 related studies were found. After the three-stage screening process, only 17 research papers were included in the study, which were…