The ultimate aim of this research was to explore the contribution of teacher preparedness or readiness (in terms of their academic background, confidence in teaching science and career satisfaction) towards the achievement in science among Malaysian and Singaporean eighth-graders. The TIMSS 2011 international assessment of student achievement at…

Modeling is a core practice in science and is a meaningful way to learn the subject. This article introduces a modeling-based approach that highlights the idea that modeling is an iterative process and integrates the fundamental parts of scientists' work and key suggestions for teaching through modeling. The lesson "The Structure and Function…

The Earth's oceans are home to a diverse array of life, from large marine mammals to microscopic organisms. Among the most important are the marine phytoplankton, which comprise the basis of marine food webs, and also produce a large percentage of the Earth's oxygen through photosynthesis. Although the vast majority of phytoplankton are essential…

Investigating stars can be difficult. The five-day unit presented in this article is designed for fifth graders to work toward Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) performance expectation 5-ESS1-1, with each lesson lasting about 30 minutes. Students investigate the relationship between the brightness of light and distance, apply their…

This article demonstrates how the authors used a 5E lesson about food webs as a context to embed speaking and listening standards. This 5E lesson partially addresses 5-LS2-1 in the "Next Generation Science Standards" and focuses primarily on predator/prey relationships. Future lessons focus on decomposition and other relationships. To…

This research investigates the Models of eighth-grade students in Turkey pertaining to magnets and magnetic interactions, while also examining the consistency of these models within themselves. Additionally, a comparative assessment is conducted by comparing the current data with data collected from eighth-grade students a decade earlier. The…

Ocean acidification (OA) has been called climate change's evil twin for a reason. Increased levels of carbon dioxide, caused by humans burning fossil fuels, are not only causing a rise in global temperature but are also having adverse impacts on marine ecosystems. In the lesson presented in this article, students conduct investigations using…

Social connections are crucial for today's middle and high school students. We address this social need through a 3-H Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Cycle. Through the Three Sisters Garden activity presented here, we teach secondary school students about biodiversity and sustainability as we integrate the arts into STEM (STEAM). Students…

Over the past several decades it has become increasingly important to understand nature of science (NOS) for scientific literacy in science education. Science education researchers have suggested using socio-scientific issues to create a context for that purpose. The present fast-moving coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic as a socio-scientific issue…

This paper highlights learning supports associated with genetics lessons that were implemented in a urban high school biology classroom. The supports provided access to science content for ELLs [English language learners], students with IEPs [individualized education programs], and struggling readers during an introductory unit on genetics. Due to…

"Instructional Sequence Matters, Grades 9-12" is the one-stop resource that will inspire you to reimagine your approach to high school physical science. The book discusses the 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) as a specific pathway for teaching and learning. It also shows how simple shifts in the way you arrange and…

This article describes a project that integrates English Language Arts (ELA) and coding into environmental science. For this project, students researched science content about human impact on the environment, communicated their findings through a traditionally formatted narrative story, and then used a coding program called Scratch to create an…

Germinating a seed is presumably the first experiment made by a child in his life. So, it has an important place both in child's scientific experience and understanding. Despite the significance of the experiment, the literature indicates that students possess various misconceptions related to the concepts of seed and seed germination. So, it is…

Martin Wagenschein's ideas of prioritising phenomena in making sense of science processes have influenced the German "Lehrkunstdidaktik" (art of teaching) approach. This article sketches a "Lehrkunstdidaktik" teaching unit inspired by Michael Faraday's "Chemical History of a Candle." It shows how primary and lower…

Are you interested in helping your elementary students learn the practices of science, including constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence? "Argument-Driven Inquiry in Fifth-Grade Science" will provide you with both the information and instructional materials you need to get started right away. The book is a…