In their research, scientists generate, test, and modify scientific models. These models can be shared with others and demonstrate a scientist's understanding of how the natural world works. Similarly, students can generate and modify models to gain a better understanding of the content, process, and nature of science (Kenyon, Schwarz, and Hug…

It is exciting to see children display an interest in discovering the world through their actions. Those actions are the beginning of science inquiry, the process children use to develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, including an understanding of how scientists study the natural world. This month's column features an activity…

The purposes of this study are to explore fifth graders' epistemological views regarding their own experiences of constructing scientific knowledge through inquiry activities (i.e., practical epistemologies) and to investigate possible interactions between students' practical epistemologies and their inquiry skills to construct scientific…

This paper describes the methodology and implementation of a case study introducing the scientific literature and creative experiment design to honors general chemistry laboratory students. The purpose of this study is to determine whether first-year chemistry students can develop information literacy skills while they engage with the primary…

Argumentation is highlighted as one of the most important activities of science education by many researchers. The main aim of this research is to examine primary school students' nature of science classes and argumentation skills in terms of their academic success in primary science classes. Thus, the main interest of the study is centered on the…

The onager is a throwing weapon of classical antiquity, familiar to both the ancient Greeks and Romans. Here we analyze the dynamics of onager operation and derive the optimum angle for launching a projectile to its maximum range. There is plenty of scope for further considerations about increasing onager range, and so by thinking about how this…

Some simple copper compounds have unusual crystal structures. Cu[subscript 3]N is cubic with N atoms at centers of octahedra formed by 6 Cu atoms. Cu[subscript 2]O (cuprite) is also cubic; O atoms are in tetrahedra formed by 4 Cu atoms. These tetrahedra are linked by sharing vertices forming two independent networks without linkages between them.…

Two systems were evaluated for drawing Lewis structures of period 2 and 3 non-metallic compounds: the octet rule and minimization of formal charge. The test set of molecules consisted of the oxides, halides, oxohalides, oxoanions, and oxoacids of B, N, O, F, Al, P, S, and Cl. Bond orders were quantified using experimental data, including bond…

Suppose we had a brand new world to study--a world that possibly works with a different set of principles, a non-Newtonian world. Maybe this world is Newtonian, maybe it isn't. This world exists in video games, and it is open for exploration. Most video games try to incorporate realistic physics, but sometimes this does not happen. The obvious…

This study investigated how the different discussion approaches in Facebook influenced students' scientific knowledge acquisition and the nature of science (NOS) views. Two eighth- and two ninth-grade classes in a Taiwanese junior high school participated in the study. In two of the classes students engaged in synchronous discussion, and in the…

The challenges and priorities of defining and achieving Earth System Science (ESS) literacy are examined through surveys of geoscience educators attending a professional geological meeting. Two surveys with Likert-style and free-response questions were distributed to geoscientists and K-12 teachers to elicit what instructors think are important…

Consideration of a possible use of virtual reality technologies in school contexts requires gathering together the suggestions of many scientific domains aimed at "understanding" the features of these same tools that let them offer valid support to the teaching-learning processes in educational settings. Specifically, the present study is aimed at…

Background and purpose: Chemistry examinations can favour the deployment of algorithmic procedures like Le Chatelier's Principle (LCP) rather than reasoning using chemical principles. This study investigated the explanatory resources which high school students use to answer equilibrium problems and whether the marks given for examination answers…

This article deals with a pioneering project currently being developed, namely, the Exhibition on Testing and Measurement. This interactive traveling exhibition will be presented in science museums in Israel, the United States, and other countries. It has been conceived as an innovative means of familiarizing the public with educational…

The burgeoning knowledge of the human brain generated by the proliferation of new brain imaging technology from in recent decades has posed questions about the potential for this new knowledge of neural processing to be translated into "usable knowledge" that teachers can employ in their practical curriculum work. The application of the findings…