Educators advocate that science education can help the development of more responsible worldviews when students learn not only scientific concepts, but also about science, or "nature of science". Cosmology can help the formation of worldviews because this topic is embedded in socio-cultural and religious issues. Indeed, during the Cold…

In this activity, science education and modern technology are bridged to teach students at the high school and undergraduate levels about protein folding and to strengthen their model building skills. Students are guided from a textbook picture of a protein as a rigid crystal structure to a more realistic view: proteins are highly dynamic…

Background: This exploratory study is part of a larger-scale research project aimed at building theoretical and practical knowledge of complex systems in students and teachers with the goal of improving high school biology learning through professional development and a classroom intervention. Purpose: We propose a model of adaptive expertise to…

The purpose of this study was to examine science teachers' level of using computers in teaching and the impact of a teacher professional development program (TPDP) on their views regarding utilizing computers in science education. Forty-three in-service science teachers from different regions of Turkey attended a 5 day TPDP. The TPDP was…

This study investigates whether Virtual Manipulatives (VM) within a Physical Manipulatives (PM)-oriented curriculum affect conceptual understanding of electric circuits and related experimentation processes. A pre-post comparison study randomly assigned 194 undergraduates in an introductory physics course to one of five conditions: three…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)--now in development--will be based on "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" released by the National Research Council last summer. The "Framework" identifies seven scientific and engineering practices that should be used in science classrooms. These practices reflect the multiple ways in which…

The way in which the Internet and related technologies have exploded in the last few years is something that no one in education can ignore. Primary school pupils are already more technologically savvy than their parents and they expect their lessons to be exciting, interactive and driven by some aspect of technology. And so they should be. These…

The Virtual Genetics Lab II (VGLII) is an improved version of the highly successful genetics simulation software, the Virtual Genetics Lab (VGL). The software allows students to use the techniques of genetic analysis to design crosses and interpret data to solve realistic genetics problems involving a hypothetical diploid insect. This is a brief…

Drawing upon the literature in computational modeling, multivariable reasoning, and causal attribution, this study aims at characterizing multivariable reasoning practices in computational modeling and revealing the nature of understanding about multivariable causality. We recruited two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors, two seniors, four…

The study examined the effects of two different instructional interventions as support for scientific discovery learning using computer simulations. In two well-known categories of difficulty, data interpretation and self-regulation, instructional interventions for learning with computer simulations on the topic "ecosystem water" were developed…

Student access to technology is no longer a privilege: it is a prerequisite for full participation in high-quality education opportunities. While this fundamental right to technology access for learning is nonnegotiable, it is also just the first step to equitable learning opportunities. Society must continue to ask questions about the…

In this study we present the structure and implementation of a model-based inquiry teaching-learning sequence (TLS) integrating expressive, experimental and exploratory modelling pedagogies in a cyclic manner, with the aim of enhancing primary education student teachers' epistemological beliefs about the aspects, nature, purpose and change of…

Guided by the Next Generation Science Standards and elements of problem-based learning, four human-environment systems simulations are described in brief--carbon, energy, water, and watershed--and a fifth simulation on nitrogen is described in more depth. These science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education simulations illustrate…

Abstraction is a key concept in CS, one of the most fundamental ideas underlying CS and its practice. However, teaching this soft concept to novices is a very difficult task, as discussed by many CSE experts. This paper discusses this issue, and suggests a general framework for teaching abstraction in CS to novices, a framework that would fit into…

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of computer animation technique on academic achievement of students in the "Solar System and Beyond" unit lecture as part of the Science and Technology course of the seventh grade in primary education. The sample of the study consists of 60 students attending to the 7th grade of primary school…