The past century has yielded a plethora of advancements in the science of learning, from expansions in the theoretical frames that undergird education research to cultural and contextual considerations in educational practice. The overarching purpose of this chapter is to explore and document the growth and development of the science of learning…

This paper explores the relationship between epistemology, sociology, and learning and teaching in physics based on an examination of literature from research in science studies, history and philosophy of science, and physics pedagogic research. It reveals a mismatch between the positivist epistemological foundation which seems to underpin the…

Background: Incorporating student voice into the science classroom has the potential to positively impact science teaching and learning. However, students are rarely consulted on school and classroom matters. This literature review examines the effects of including student voice in the science classroom. Purpose: The purpose of this literature…

The move from learning science from representations to learning science with representations has many potential and undocumented complexities. This thematic analysis partially explores the trends of representational uses in science instruction, examining 80 research studies on diagram use in science. These studies, published during 2000-2014, were…

The National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) have been one of the leading reformed documents in the U.S. since its release. It has served as a foundation for all state standards and has supported the development of the newest standards documents recently released in the U.S. (i.e., Achieve Inc., 2013; NRC 2012). One of the most important…

For a little over 40 years, what we label now physics education research has been conducted. As a result, a new type of theme in the research and in physics education has emerged. Some of these themes are cognitivism, research as qualitative, learning as construction of knowledge, theoretical underpinnings that are not realist, student-centered…

If our chosen aim in science education is to be inclusive and to improve students' learning achievements, then we must identify teaching methodologies that are appropriate for teaching and learning specific knowledge. Karagiorgi and Symeo (2005) remind us that instructional designers are thus challenged to translate the philosophy of…

The very first edition of "Primary Science Review" included an article entitled "Teaching primary science--how research can help" (Harlen, 1986), which announced that a section of the journal would be for reports of research and particularly for teachers reporting their classroom research. The intervening 24 years have seen…

Examines the claims of contemporary sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) and the bearing of these claims upon the rationale and practice of science teaching. (ZWH)

Introduces a study investigating the social constructivist role on teacher confidence in science teaching. Focuses on cooperation between teachers and researchers on instructional strategies and explores the impacts on student learning, children's' oral and written skill development, and attitudes. (YDS)

Argues that, by not considering examples drawn from students' everyday lives, a teacher is detracting from science itself. A challenge is made to Conceptual Change Learning Model advocates and users to embrace the idea of conceptual fitting based upon context as well as conceptual change when considering how students learn. (ZWH)

A study involving elementary teachers was conducted to investigate whether the conditions of the accommodation of a science conception could be applied to pedagogical conceptions of science and, using this application, determine whether a group of elementary teacher candidates in a conceptual change methods course accommodated their didactic…

Examines the impact of a specially designed in-service model on teacher understanding of selected science concepts. From an analysis of 42 teachers' concept maps, there was significant growth in the number of valid propositions expressed by teachers between the initial and final mappings in all topic groups.(PR)

Dissemination of educational research and effective practice has burgeoned in the past two decades. This report reviews the research on knowledge use in science and mathematics education and highlights approaches and strategies for dissemination which might be particularly useful to the National Science Foundation. In particular, the influence of…

This document tackles issues in science education through the perspective of classroom practitioners and the philosophy of constructivism to attempt to provide a reasonable, positive rationale and description of current science education reform. Case studies are presented to provide an account of the ways that some primary classrooms function and…