This study analyze data from three national contexts in which teachers worked with the same teaching materials and inquiry classroom activities, investigating teachers' use of strategies to promote interaction and scaffolding when participating in a professional development program. The data material is collected from three case studies from the…

The nature of science (NOS) is a primary goal in school science. Most teachers are not well-prepared for teaching NOS, but a sophisticated and in-depth understanding of NOS is necessary for effective teaching. Some authors emphasize the need for teaching NOS in context. Species, a central concept in biology, is proposed in this article as a…

Student engagement when learning outdoors was the focus of a study visit to Northern Norway for two members of the primary science team in an English University. The University College that was visited in Northern Norway has a well-established reputation for its outdoor learning provision. The visit focussed on the structured observation of…

Electricity from osmotic pressure might seem a far-fetched idea but this article describes a prototype in Norway where the osmotic pressure generated between salt and fresh water drives a turbine. This idea was applied in a student investigation, where they were tasked with researching which alternative materials could be used for the…

We report on research that explores students' literacy practices in six Norwegian primary school science classrooms during integrated science-literacy instruction. The study combines observational video data and interview data to examine students' encounters with and use of text, along with their views and experiences related to science and…

This longitudinal study aims to provide greater insight into how students' understanding of matter and chemical reactions develops over time and how their knowledge structures are restructured. Four case-study students in a Norwegian primary school were followed for two years from age 10-11 to age 12-13. Researchers were responsible for…

Formative assessment, and especially feedback, is considered essential to student learning. To provide effective feedback, however, teachers must act upon the information that students reveal during instruction. In this study, we apply a framework of formative assessment to explore how sensitive teachers are to students' thoughts and ideas when…

In the Budding Science and Literacy project, we explored how working with an integrated inquiry-based science and literacy approach may challenge and support the teaching and learning of science at the classroom level. By studying the inter-relationship between multiple learning modalities and phases of inquiry, we wished to illuminate possible…

How can young pupils get "An effective introduction" to technology and design at the primary level in the Norwegian context? This question is highlighted with examples based on case studies at five classes in two schools doing their first technology and design project at grades 1 or 2 (age 6-8 years). The project was about air rockets.…

Accompanying the rise in the number of working parents is a growing demand for after-school care schemes for children. After-school care schemes, in addition to school, provide pupils with more learning opportunities than the experiences that school provides. The hypothesis is that after-school care schemes offer a better knowledge-basis for…

Papers from the proceedings of the 14th Annual Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society were submitted in two volumes. Volume 1 contains papers submitted at the conference held in Sofia, Bulgaria, June 14-17, 2016. Volume 2 contains papers submitted at the 4th International Partner Conference of the International Research Centre…