Current science education reform efforts have identified sensemaking as an important goal of science education, and science education researchers have studied what constitutes the sensemaking process in the science classroom. Because the studies of sensemaking are loosely linked to those of scientific reasoning, however, they have provided little…

Narrative texts have been advocated as tools to tackle science learning challenges, and there is even the proposal of a "narrative effect" on learning. We believe it is necessary to examine previous evidence on this effect, as well as to characterize the process of learning through science narrative texts more broadly. In this article,…

The process of thinking in and about models as a scientific practice should be integrated into science teaching and learning. Empirical studies show that students see models primarily in their role as media to facilitate content learning while rarely appreciating models as instruments of scientists which allow the deduction and the testing of…

A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to identify current practice on teaching science to students with intellectual disability (ID) and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in relation to two review questions--students' science outcomes and students' and teachers' experiences of the interventions. Six databases related to education,…

This study investigates the efficacy of an integrated science and literacy approach at the upper-elementary level. Teachers in 94 fourth grade classrooms in one Southern state participated. Half of the teachers taught the treatment unit, an integrated science-literacy unit on light and energy designed using a curriculum model that engages students…

While research has shown that elementary (K-5) students are capable of engaging in the scientific practice of explanation construction, commonly-used elementary science curriculum materials may not always afford them opportunities to do so. As a result, elementary teachers must often adapt their science curriculum materials to better support…

Because textbooks have the potential to be powerful catalysts for improving science teaching and learning, having reliable methods for analyzing important textbook features, such as their coherence, is essential. This study reports on the development of a method in which trained reviewers, following a set of guidelines defining the ideas to be…

Contextualizing science instruction involves utilizing students' prior knowledge and everyday experiences as a catalyst for understanding challenging science concepts. This study of two middle school science classrooms examined how students utilized the contextualizing aspects of project-based instruction and its relationship to their science…

The case-based computerized laboratory (CCL) is a chemistry learning environment that integrates computerized experiments with emphasis on scientific inquiry and comprehension of case studies. The research objective was to investigate chemical understanding and graphing skills of high school honors students via bidirectional visual and textual…

This article explores the conceptual change of students in Grades 10 and 12 in three Australian senior high schools when the teachers included computer multimedia to a greater or lesser extent in their teaching of a genetics course. The study, underpinned by a multidimensional conceptual-change framework, used an interpretive approach and a…

Presents data on student performance in a competency-based, multiple-opportunity format physics course, indicating that costs are related to character of examination questions and comprehensional modes of students. Compares costs for single/multiple trial formats, showing that multiple-trial opportunity has lower costs and a higher yield of…

Ascertained influence of an intervention in development of operational seriation/transitivity in kindergarten/first-grade children (N=60) who initially failed to demonstrate ability to do seriation/transitivity problems. Seriation of size was also studied. Results, interpreted in context of Piaget's equilibrium theory, indicated advancement toward…

Reports a study that examined the generalizability of selective-attention and academic-studying hypotheses to a modified science chart medium. The adjunct questions used in this study were designed to selectively focus students' attention on specific columns in a modified science chart, with the goal of improving student achievement on a test…

Effect of science instruction on young children's (N=64) concept of Piagetian physical causality was investigated. Results indicate, that pre/concrete-operational children can learn and apply a definition of living when that definition is taught through observable characteristics. Additional results and implications for elementary science…

Reports a study involving interviews with 20 physics teachers to determine their awareness of student alternate conceptions in the areas of force and gravity. (PR)