This research took place within the context of ongoing educational reforms to promote inquiry-based science instruction and a desire to draw evidence to inform adoptions of western pedagogical practices in a high-context culture like Qatar. We report on the outcomes from Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) in a foundation chemistry…

Student-generated drawing is a useful strategy to construct students' scientific ideas. For exploring ways to support student-generated drawing, we focused on the perspective of 'Norms' -- shared behaviour patterns desirable in a community. We investigated what norms were formed and how they emerged when students made drawings to explain…

Using a quantitative case study design, the "Acids-Bases Chemistry Achievement Test" ("ABCAT") was developed to evaluate the extent to which students in Malaysian secondary schools achieved the intended curriculum on acid-base concepts. Responses were obtained from 260 Form 5 (Grade 11) students from five schools to initially…

The purpose of this study was to understand how students utilized multiple representations to learn and explain science concepts, in this case the human breathing mechanism. The study was conducted with Grade 11 students in a human biology class. Semistructured interviews and a two-tier diagnostic test were administered to evaluate students'…

This study documented the teaching practices of 2 exemplary biology teachers of grades 11 and 12 by means of an interpretive research methodology. Teaching practices are identified that may be considered exemplary and worthy of attention and analysis by other science teachers and science teacher educators. (PR)

In a response to lower test scores in science and mathematics in Australia, the Western Australian Institute of Technology conducted a study to identify high quality science and mathematics teachers in Western Australian schools. This paper describes the teaching practices of one male and one female teacher of biology from two different schools.…

This case study describes 1 teacher's implementation of a modified version of Glynn's Teaching-with-Analogies model with a grade-10 optics class on refraction of light. (PR)

Examines the work of one teacher who taught the topic of sound to grade 8 students over a period of three weeks. Presents the findings of the study as five assertions using interpretive research methodology. Concludes with a discussion on the current reforms, which support that the integration of teaching with assessment leads to improvement of…

With increasing numbers of students learning science through a second language in many school contexts, there is a need for research to focus on the impact language has on students' understanding of science concepts. Like other countries, Brunei has adopted a bilingual system of education that incorporates two languages in imparting its…

Focuses on cognitive and affective changes that occurred in one student during the study of heat and temperature. Initially the student's conceptual framework was undifferentiated with regard to heat and temperature; however, course activities and concomitant use of concept substitution helped the student differentiate these concepts and integrate…

Explores the conceptual change of two classes of grade 10 students (n=48) in their genetics learning in an Australian girls' school that uses laptop computers. The study used an interpretive, case-based design with multiple data collection methods and a multidimensional conceptual change framework. Over seven weeks, the students learned genetics…

Argues that conceptual change is best understood when multiple perspectives are used to interpret chemistry learning. Case studies of two secondary school students show that personal factors and differing interests and purposes for studying science can influence learning outcomes, and that high scores on achievement tests are unreliable indicators…

Explores a case study of a class of 10th grade students whose learning of genetics involved activities using BioLogica, a computer program that features multiple external representations (MERs). Findings indicate that the MERs in BioLogica contributed to students' development of genetics reasoning by engendering their motivation and interest but…