One tried-and-true way to hook students' attention and promote long-lasting understanding is to sequence science instruction in an explore-before-explain instructional sequence. In these lessons for the second through sixth grade band, elementary students investigate the interaction between "cold" and "hot" substances and…

This study of three science teachers' lessons on heat and temperature seeks to characterise classroom talk that highlighted the ways language is used and to examine the nature of the language demands revealed in constructing, negotiating, arguing and communicating science ideas. The transcripts from the entire instructional units for these…

Integration of technology, social learning and scientific models offers pedagogical opportunities for science education. A particularly interesting area is thermal science, where students often struggle with abstract concepts, such as heat. In taking on this conceptual obstacle, we explore how hand-held infrared (IR) visualization technology can…

The purpose of this study was to explore how examples used in teaching may influence elementary school students' conceptions of evaporation and boiling. To this end, the examples traditionally used to explain evaporation and boiling in Korean 4th grade science textbooks were analyzed. The functions of these published examples were explanation…

This study examines the existing knowledge that pre-service elementary teachers (PSETs) have regarding heat energy, heat transfer and insulation. The PSETs' knowledge of heat energy was initially assessed by using an activity: determining which container would be best to keep hot water warm for the longest period of time. Results showed that PSETs…

Thermal cameras offer real-time visual access to otherwise invisible thermal phenomena, which are conceptually demanding for learners during traditional teaching. We present three studies of students' conduction of laboratory activities that employ thermal cameras to teach challenging thermal concepts in grades 4, 7 and 10-12. Visualization of…