This study aims to develop context-based teaching materials and examine their effects on students' scientific literacy skills. This study adopted the developmental research model by Borg & Gall (1983), which was modified into four stages: needs analysis, model development, model validation and implementation. Experts validated the draft of the…

In 1752, the American polymath Benjamin Franklin supposedly flew a kite near the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to confirm that lightning had the same properties of common electricity that electrical machines produced and Leyden jars served to store. Illustrations, vignettes and paintings frequently portray the famous experiment, showing…

Learning media is a tool that makes it easier for educators to convey material to students effectively and efficiently to improve the quality of learning. Biology subjects in the essential enzymes and cell metabolism competencies require precision and accuracy, so appropriate learning media are needed. Booklets are a medium that can make it easier…

Jenna Scaramanga and Michael Reiss, in their article, "Evolutionary Stasis: Creationism, Evolution and Climate Change in the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum," examine multiple editions of science materials produced by Accelerated Christian Education, ranging from the 1980s to the 2010s. They find that the materials offer a…

A key goal of science learning today is to support students in posing and answering questions about phenomena that matter to them while establishing a need to grapple with disciplinary ideas and practices reflected in standards. To be successful in this endeavor, teachers need to learn to partner with students on the direction of their learning…

Though science teachers use curricular materials from a range of sources, the nature of the science education materials that exist in the public domain or that are licensed for free use has not been the focus of much prior research. In this study, Open Educational Resources (OER) that can be accessed through the OER Commons platform were examined…

Plastination, a permanent preservation method for human tissues and organs, is increasingly being used in anatomy education. However, there is a paucity of systematic reviews and meta-analyses summarizing the educational efficacy of plastinated specimens. This meta-analysis compared the assessment scores of students exposed to plastinated…

This paper investigated the effect of outdoor teaching activities on secondary school students' acquisition of science process skills in science. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided this study. This study adopted a single-group pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design. This study was conducted in the Mangalore North cluster…

Recent work in science education has emphasized the importance of the conceptual, social, and epistemic dimensions in science learning. But what about the material dimension--the actual physical materials that students use? The way their characteristics and affordances limit or determine instruction has thus far not been as thoroughly explored.…

Many science educators have argued in favour of including socioscientific issues (SSI) in general, and ethical issues in particular, in school science. However, there have been a number of objections to this proposal, and it is widely acknowledged that such teaching places additional demands on science teachers. This study examined the curricula,…

Local biodiversity can help students develop conservation attitudes regarding biodiversity. However, studies reveal students' preferences regarding exotic than local biodiversity. Therefore, more research can permit an improved understanding of the reasons for their interest in these organisms. This research aimed to investigate São Paulo state…

Memory retrieval is well known to modify retention of not only retrieved material, but also related, non-retrieved material. This dissertation consists of two manuscripts that investigated retrieval phenomena in the learning of foreign language vocabulary and science education material. The testing effect--the retention benefit of practicing…

Visualizations are an integral part of education, and the features of visualizations have been associated with differences in learning and generalization. I propose that students use the features of visualizations, such as their perceptual richness, as cues to infer the generality of the information presented in lessons. I test this proposal in 10…

Here's a fresh way to help your students learn life science by determining how you can help them learn best. "Uncovering Student Ideas in Life Science, Volume 2," offers 30 new formative assessment probes--engaging questions that can reveal what students already know (or think they know) about a core science topic. Armed with that…

Students with learning disabilities have difficulty in science literacy because of the extensive amount of abstract concepts in comprehending science content. An adapted alternating treatments design with an extended baseline was used to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of graphic organizers (GOs) enhanced with…