In order to investigate the impact of science drawing instruction in a first-grade unit on carnivorous plants (CPs), we analysed student-produced drawings after explicit instruction in drawing scientifically (n=38), as well as compared their drawings with students in a previous implementation (year 1) who did not experience explicit drawing…

Where does our food come from? Such a question may be difficult for some children to answer, especially those living in a city apartment devoid of a backyard with a vegie patch or fruit trees. This article describes a learning experience designed to encourage Year 1 children to think about the foods that humans obtain from plants. The learning…

Against a backdrop of advocacy for interdisciplinary STEM curricula, this paper explores the design principles underpinning a three-year longitudinal research project that develops and evaluates interdisciplinary mathematics and science learning sequences involving multiple teachers and student cohorts across the primary school years. The research…

Most plants are able to obtain all of the nutrients that they need from air, water, and soil; however, this is not true of carnivorous plants. Because they tend to live in boggy soils where there are small amounts of nitrogen, carnivorous plants have developed specialized structures that enable them to lure and capture insects and sometimes other…

This semi-empirical research utilises a structured interview interview approach to explore Saudi children's ideas about living things and to examine the effects of iPad use based on a socio-cultural perspective involving group work and discussion. The sample comprised 40 grade 1 children; 20 were empirically taught using iPads according to a…

In consideration of the potential of drawing and writing as assessment and learning tools, we explored how early primary students used these modes to communicate their science understandings. The context for this study was a curricular unit that incorporated multiple modes of representation in both the presentation of information and production of…