This work presents a proposal for the teaching-learning of the concept map technique applied to the Natural Sciences course in the second year of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO, according to its initials in Spanish). Two sessions have been designed, one of which is an instructor-led session to learn the technique and another is a session in…

We present a plausible causal analysis of the impact of playing after school on academic performance and investigate parental support as a potential channel. We exploit the data from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey to evaluate the effects by using a propensity score matching approach. The results show that playing…

In Sweden, the policy of national testing was expanded in 2013 by introducing national tests in science in the sixth grade. The aim of this study is to contribute knowledge about the enactment of this policy of national testing by investigating students' experiences of taking the tests. Students were interviewed about their experiences of taking…

This paper presents a revised learning progression for the energy concept and initial findings on diverse progressions among subgroups of sample students. The revised learning progression describes how students progress towards an understanding of the energy concept along two progress variables identified from previous studies--key ideas about…

This article provides an overview of the main findings for the countries of the UK from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015, where science was the major focus. The nature of the tests, the key findings and how they might be interpreted are discussed--in…

Outdoor, hands-on and experiential learning, as opposed to instruction-based learning in classroom, increases student satisfaction and motivation leading to a deeper understanding of the subject. However, the use of outdoor exercises in undergraduate biology courses is declining due to a variety of constraints. Thus, the goal of this paper is to…

Reforms in K-12 science education are global. New national science curricula were introduced in the United States (NRC, 1996), in Canada (CEMC, 1997), and in Europe (European Commission 2007). In this article, the impact of these reforms on college students in Quebec is studied. Articulation between high school and college sectors is viewed…

The Teacher Academy in the Natural Sciences (TANS) provided middle school (U.S. Grades 6-8) teachers (N = 81) with intensive professional development in chemistry, geosciences, and physics through 13 days of face-to-face instruction that was extended with 2 online science modules per discipline. Because we administered online module assessments…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of REACT strategy developed in relation to "Particulate nature of the matter" subject on academic achievement and conceptual change. This study was accompanied by pre-test-post-test control group design. The academic achievement and concept test, which were developed, was distributed…

So far, there has been no evaluation of the 'STEM potential' (i.e., the potential to engage in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics professions) of Swiss students at the end of their compulsory education. In the current study we use data from the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment study to assess the STEM potential…

A non-experimental descriptive and correlational design was used to examine the "notion of the nature of scientific model, atom achievement and correlation between the two" held by a total sample of 76 prospective science teachers. "Students' Understanding of Models in Science" scale was utilized to evaluate the views of the…

In this study, it was tried to investigate the effect of the augmented reality cards on teaching. For this purpose, the effect of the reality cards designed for astronomy subjects on students' attitudes towards astronomy, the effect on academic achievement and the opinions of students about reality cards were evaluated. Mixed method was used as…

This research focuses on students' tactic assessments of 3 correlations with illustrated 2-step strategic map and animated presentations in stoichiometry. The participants were divided into 2 learning groups: the experimental and the control group by quasi-experimental approach. Most of all, experimental group participants have been contingent on…

This study developed a computer-simulated science inquiry environment, called the Science Detective Squad, to engage students in investigating an electricity problem that may happen in daily life. The environment combined the simulation of scientific instruments and a virtual environment, including gamified elements, such as points and a story for…

The overarching purpose of our study was to compare performances of treatment and control condition students who completed a literacy-infused, inquiry-based science intervention through sixth grade as measured by a big idea assessment tool which we refer to as the Big Ideas in Science Assessment (BISA). First, we determine the concurrent validity…