Both professional and classroom-based scientific communities develop and test explanatory models of the natural world. For students to take up models as tools for sensemaking, practice must be agentive (where students use and revise models "for" specific purposes) and conceptually productive (where students make progress on their ideas).…

This study aims to develop and validate a Constructivist Learning Environment Model to address secondary students' misconceptions in learning Science. Employing a Design and Development approach (Richey & Klein, 2007), the research is conducted in two phases. Phase 1 focuses on model design, drawing from an extensive literature review to…

Science is the activity of studying the natural world in various ways to construct theories and models to explain phenomena. Windschitl et al. reported that model-based inquiry includes the connection between observable aspects of the target phenomenon and conjectured underlying causal processes. In addition, they insisted that learners are…

Modeling is a core practice in science and is a meaningful way to learn the subject. This article introduces a modeling-based approach that highlights the idea that modeling is an iterative process and integrates the fundamental parts of scientists' work and key suggestions for teaching through modeling. The lesson "The Structure and Function…

Atomic-level visualizations serve as pivotal instructional tools in chemistry education, providing insights into the particulate level of matter, a dimension fundamental, yet typically invisible, in the study of chemistry. This research investigates how students' engagement with these visualizations influences their conceptual understanding of…

A drama model can be helpful to support children's understanding of some of the more abstract parts of the science curriculum. The drama models can usefully enhance children's understanding of scientific processes and concepts. They can help to link the practical activities with the conceptual understanding. The use of more than one way of…

Idealizations are omnipresent in science. However, to date, science education research has paid surprisingly little attention to the use of idealizations in fostering students' model competence and understanding of the nature of science (NOS). The starting point for the theoretical reflection in this paper is that insufficient consideration of…

Understanding the general ideas and methods of detecting molecular structures is essential in high school chemistry. However, there is a need for more practical activities in teaching. A hands-on activity was designed in this study, which uses flexible foam balls and long sticks such as knitting needles to imitate how scientists construct the 3D…

When learning about scientific phenomena, students are expected to "mechanistically" explain how underlying interactions produce the observable phenomenon and "conceptually" connect the observed phenomenon to canonical scientific knowledge. This paper investigates how the integration of the complementary processes of designing…

While research on the understanding of physics concepts in individuals with autism remains scarce, the ever-increasing number of these students in inclusive education nowadays makes their systematic education in all fields of learning necessary. For this purpose, an experimental investigation was conducted to compare 19 autistic adolescents with a…

Many studies have researched students' ideas about air pollution, basically focusing on nature and impact of gaseous pollutants on human health. However, recent research has highlighted the importance of the role of particulate matter air pollution for a good air quality in cities. This phenomenon is especially interesting for exploring the limits…

The digestive system (DS) is a fundamental topic in biological science teaching. However, the literature indicates that students have difficulties in learning about it. In the present work, we focus on how early childhood Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) develop their understanding of the DS regarding the CMP (Components-Mechanisms-Phenomena) framework…

An ability to engage in system thinking is necessary to understand complex problems. While many pre-college students use system modeling tools, there is limited evidence of student reasoning about causal relationships that interact in diverging and converging chains, and how these affect system behavior. A chemistry unit on gas phenomena was…

Proteins are essential for cell function, and their biological performance depends on three-dimensional (3D) structures. Insulin is made up of 51 amino acids and is a critical hormone involved in glycaemia regulation. In basic education, concepts involving proteins (synthesis, structure, interactions, and function) are abstract and difficult for…

The 21st-century skills seek to develop learners who will be problem solvers in society. This paradigm shift requires the use of learner-centered strategies that emphasize collaborative problem-solving. To explore the effectiveness of such approaches, this study sought to determine how effective Wheatley's problem-centered approach would be in the…