This article is a version of the talk given by Jonathan Osborne as the Association for Science Education (ASE) invited lecturer at the National Science Teachers' Association Annual Convention in San Francisco, USA, in April 2011. The article provides an explanatory justification for teaching about the practices of science in school science that…

We present results of a pseudolongitudinal study of attitudes and beliefs about physics from different cohort groups ranging from final-year high school students in the UK to physics faculty (N=637), using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) instrument. In terms of overall degree of expertlike thinking, we find little…

The purpose of this cluster-randomized control field trial was to examine whether kindergarten teachers could learn to differentiate classroom reading instruction using Individualized Student Instruction for Kindergarten (ISI-K) and to test the efficacy of differentiation on reading outcomes. The study involved 14 schools, 23 ISI-K (n = 305…

Background: Negative biases in the interpretation of ambiguous material have been linked to anxiety and mood problems. Accumulating data from adults show that positive and negative interpretation styles can be induced through cognitive bias modification (CBM) paradigms with accompanying changes in mood. Despite the therapeutic potential of…

State coordinators of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs completed a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, or SWOT, analysis that examined 12 areas within state EHDI programs. For the early intervention focus question, 48 coordinators listed 273 items, and themes were identified within each SWOT category. A…

Preservice general education classroom teachers in an inclusion course were asked to describe their own earliest memories of students with disabilities in school. Substantial literature links early memories to subsequent thoughts and attitudes. Subjects also completed the Opinions Relative to Integration of Students with Disabilities attitude…

The main purpose of this study was to develop a Rasch Measurement Physical Fitness Scale (RMPFS) based on physical fitness indicators routinely used in Hong Kong primary schools. A total of 9,439 records of students' performances on physical fitness indicators, retrieved from the database of a Hong Kong primary school, were used to develop the…

Imitative compatibility, or automatic imitation, has been used as a measure of imitative performance and as a behavioral index of the functioning of the human mirror system (e.g., Brass, Bekkering, Wohlschlager, & Prinz, 2000; Heyes, Bird, Johnson, & Haggard, 2005; Kilner, Paulignan, & Blakemore, 2003). However, the use of imitative…

It is common practice in university faculties of education to second teachers for limited periods. However, few recent studies have examined how secondees perceive themselves in this role, particularly in relation to the increased demands to assume research as well as teaching duties. Three seconded school personnel were interviewed to explore…

This article explores Vygtosky's (1978) notion of the imaginary situation through analysis of interaction and activity in a Fifth Dimension after-school setting, one of a network of programs designed with an aim to realize developmental concepts proposed by Vygotsky and others in the cultural-historical tradition (see, e.g., Cole & the…

Contemporary behavior analytic research is making headway in analyzing analogy as the establishment of a relation of coordination among common types of trained or derived relations. Previous studies have been focused on within-domain analogy. The current study expands previous research by analyzing cross-domain analogy as relating relations among…

Individuals' thoughts and attitudes towards biotechnology have been investigated in many countries. A Likert-type scale is the most commonly used scale to measure attitude. However, the weak side of a likert-type scale is that different responses may produce the same score. The Rough set method has been regarded to address this shortcoming. A…

In this paper, we present the design and application of a teaching scenario appropriate for 12-years-old pupils in the primary school aiming to a better understanding of scientific concepts and scientific methods, linking the development of individual thinking with the development of scientific ideas and facilitating a better understanding of the…

Case studies of students enrolled in a specialized secondary school in Singapore describe the experiences of flow among 14 teacher-nominated adolescents talented both in the arts and in academics. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with the respondents to discern whether they experience flow as they each engage in their respective art…

The Bercow Report (Bercow, 2008) commissioned by the UK government provided a high status impetus to improve services for children and young people with the full range of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). A research study commissioned to provide evidence to Bercow (2008) identified both limitations and potential benefits regarding…