This paper attempts to establish a conceptual basis on which beginning teachers may be introduced to investigative science teaching in a way that accommodates the teacher voice. It draws mainly on preliminary theory from the shared reflections of 20 science teachers, augmented by a more general interview-based study of the experience of early…

Science education reforms consistently maintain the goal that students develop an understanding of the nature of science, including both the nature of scientific knowledge and methods for making it. This paper articulates a framework for scaffolding epistemic aspects of inquiry that can help students understand inquiry processes in relation to the…

The objective of this study was to examine middle school students' developing understanding of the nature of matter and to compare middle school students' ideas to those of elementary schools students, as was done by Nakhleh and Samarapungavan ["J Res Sci Teach" 36(7):777-805, 1999]. Nine middle school students were interviewed using a scripted,…

Many traditional classroom science and technology activities often ask students to complete prepackaged labs that ensure that everyone arrives at the same "scientifically accurate" solution or theory, which ignores the important problem-solving and creative aspects of scientific research and technological design. Students rarely have the…

While many states are facing challenges to the teaching of evolution in their science classrooms, the University of California Museum of Paleontology, working with the National Center for Science Education, has developed a useful web-based resource for science teachers of all grade- and experience-levels. Understanding Evolution (UE) was developed…

In this extended biology, ecology, and earth science activity, students construct hands-on models of natural wastewater treatment and wastewater treatment facilities to achieve an understanding of wastewater treatment process in nature and wastewater treatment facilities. During this simulation activity, students have opportunities to learn…

This article presents a review of the literature on multimedia learning in science. It is no small matter that teachers value using technology, more specifically multimedia, in teaching. But this interest falls far short when it comes to application. Why is it so? This article tries to find the reasons behind this dichotomy. Then, research from…

This paper addresses Lawson's puzzlement about the absence of prediction in William Harvey's and Marcello Malpighi's views on capillaries. In addressing the context of that enquiry, it also addresses historiographic versus philosophical models of science, contexts of discovery versus justification, normative versus descriptive interpretations of…

This paper describes life-span development of understanding about pendulum motion and effects of school science. The subjects were 2,766 people ranging from kindergartners up to 88 years senior citizens. The conflict and consensus between children and their parent's understanding of pendulum motion were also analyzed. The kindergartner's…

This article presents the full version of "Views on Science and Education (VOSE)" in both Chinese and English for assessing college students' and adults' views about nature of science and attitudes toward teaching issues in nature of science. The development of VOSE has been delineated in the September issue of "Science Education." The results of…

The purpose of this article is to discuss evidence-based practice (EBP) from the perspective of a self-identified evidence-based practitioner. Discussion of EBP includes choosing an initial intervention and evaluation procedures, the iterative process of rechoosing and refining an intervention over the treatment life span, and the importance of…

It is customary for engineering syllabuses to include a substantial amount of mathematics, a fact traditionally justified through their usefulness in the analysis and resolution of many technological problems. In other words, usually the role of mathematics in engineering is emphasized. Nevertheless, the opposite viewpoint could be considered as…

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of three science teachers attempting to transform their practice by conducting action research on feminist science teaching. The teachers engaged in systematic, self-critical inquiry of their own practice and joined 8 other science teachers to engage in collaborative conversations about the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' conceptions of the nature of science and their reactions to evidence that challenged their beliefs about socio-scientific issues. This study used 248 students from 9th and 10th grade general science classes, 11th and 12th grade honors biology, honors science, and…

There is a growing need for a workforce that can apply engineering principles to molecular based discovery and product development in the biological sciences. To this end, Tulane University established a degree program that incorporates molecular and cellular biology into the chemical engineering curriculum. In celebration of the tenth anniversary…