This study investigated the relationships among college students' epistemic beliefs in biology (EBB), conceptions of learning biology (COLB), and strategies of learning biology (SLB). EBB includes four dimensions, namely "multiple-source," "uncertainty," "development," and "justification." COLB is further…

The purpose of this study was to give effective assessments of three major physics animations to upgrade college students' learning achievements and attitudes. All college participants were taken from mechanical and civil engineering departments who joined this physics course during the 2011 academic year. Three prime objectives of physics…

This study aimed to investigate the factors accounting for science teaching self-efficacy and to examine the relationships among Taiwanese teachers' science teaching self-efficacy, teaching and learning conceptions, technological--pedagogical content knowledge for the Internet (TPACK-I), and attitudes toward Internet-based instruction (Attitudes)…

The main purpose of this paper was to describe how the author, Kuo-Chung Hsu, changed his teaching beliefs and science instruction through participating in a cooperative action research, which is conducted by the author, Jing-Ru Wang. Self-study was adopted to explain and interpret Kuo-Chung Hsu's experience of teaching science in Taiwan island.…

The development of constructivism has resulted in teaching modifications in the science classroom. While the majority of the literature has focused on the promising outcomes of the teaching reform, the present study reports various minor but persistent criticisms. This paper qualitatively analyzes skeptical students' criticisms regarding the…

Technology-Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) is a pedagogical innovation established in a technology-enhanced multimedia studio, emphasizing constructivist-oriented teaching and learning. In Taiwan, an increasing number of schools are adopting the TEAL notion to deliver courses. This study examines the impact of TEAL on both student performance and…

Research about the relationship between teachers' scientific epistemological views (SEVs) and science instruction is often an important issue for many science educators. This study, by collecting research data from four Taiwanese science teachers, their students, and classroom observations, was carried out to examine the coherences between…

Explores the relationships among teachers' beliefs about teaching science, learning science, and the nature of science. Investigates (n=37) Taiwanese science teachers' views on teaching, learning, and science and categorizes them into three groups--traditional, process, or constructivist. Identifies closely aligned beliefs as "nested…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of science education courses on a group of Taiwanese inservice and preservice teachers' views toward the nature of science. There were two science education courses in the study; one was for 36 inservice teachers, while the other one was for 32 preservice teachers. Both of the courses included…

The purposes of this study were to investigate changes of science teaching and to explore the factors which influenced changes of three first grade teachers when implementing an in-service project. The researcher, the leader teacher and three first grade teachers built a collaborative relationship to hold a teacher development group. The leader…

The main purpose of this study was to explore the effects of long-term constructivist-oriented science instruction on elementary school students' process of constructing cognitive structures. Furthermore, such effects on different science achievers were also investigated. The subjects of this study were 69 fifth graders in Taiwan, while they were…

This study aimed to help the teachers clarify and understand the nature of science (NOS), as well as classroom practice through the implementation of the constructivist teaching model. Ten elementary science teachers were involved in a year-long in-service program that included a series of intervention courses. Following the intervention courses,…

The primary purpose of this study was to understand what happens when some aspects of the constructivist approach, namely prediction, explanation, student-centered, and teacher-centered discussions, are applied to science teaching. The study involved 363 junior high school students in Taiwan. It combined the effectiveness of four alternative…

The purpose of this study is to analyze the perceived thought processes of several students as they learn, and then attempt to solve problems about chemical equilibrium. Four tenth grade students in Taipei, Taiwan, were audiotaped as they individually attempted to solve problems. The problems were such that they required more than mere recall or…

The purpose of this study was primarily to explore the effects of constructivist-oriented instruction on fifth graders' cognitive structures about biological reproduction. Furthermore, such effects on different science achievers were also investigated. The subjects of this study were 69 eleven year olds in Taiwan, who were assigned to either a…