Inquiry-based approaches to science education are central to recent South African primary and secondary school curricula, but have been found challenging to adopt in disadvantaged township contexts. It is therefore important to find ways of introducing inquiry-based approaches, where pupils are encouraged to investigate phenomena they are…

Homes have remarkable possibilities to act as science learning environments for young children (3 - 6 years old). This qualitative case study investigated what kind of support parents need to do online science activities with their children at home. Data consisted of parent's theme interviews (n=7). As a main result, a model of parents' need for…

A research project for senior undergraduates of chemistry has been developed to introduce syntheses of a series of monodispersed semiconductor PbS quantum dots (QDs) and their characterization methodologies. In this paper, we report the preparation of monodispersed semiconductor PbS QDs with sizes smaller than the exciton Bohr radius using a…

Model-Based Inquiry (MBI) is an emergent instructional strategy that is gaining acceptance among science educators. This approach to learning realistically mirrors the work of scientists, who develop and test hypotheses to construct more sophisticated understandings of the natural world. This article details how the authors collaboratively taught…

Natural selection is the mechanism of evolution caused by the environmental selection of organisms most fit to reproduce, sometimes explained as "survival of the fittest." An example of evolution by natural selection is the development of bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobial agents as a result of exposure to these agents. Triclosan, which…

Based on a three-year-long ethnography of the hobby of model rocketry, I present a practice-centered theory of interest relationships--that is, the pattern of long-term, self-motivated engagement in open-ended practices that has been theorized under the concept of "individual interests". In contrast to extant theories of individual interests, in…

This book presents essential learning approaches. It introduces educational and training activities, as well as various innovative methods aiming at the development of practical skills, in order to strengthen the continuous process of environmental education, and in particular the education for sustainable development (ESD). In doing so, it…

Provides an example of the integration of science and mathematics learning of one high school physics student in a constructivist classroom. Discusses the student's integration of mathematical and nonmathematical representations and of different mathematical representations in a nonuniform acceleration experiment. Describes a model for integrating…