This study investigated the effect of using activities based on the Montessori approach in science academic achievement of the fourth grade students. A quasi-experimental design was used wherein the students were equally divided into two groups: the experimental and the control group. Both groups consisted of 31 students. To achieve the aim of the…

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of STEM-based activities conducted in fourth-grade primary school science classes on students' scientific process skills, problem-solving skills and academic success. The study used the experimental model and was carried out according to the pretest-posttest experimental design with a control group.…

Problem-based learning (PBL) involves students solving a problem with multiple solutions over time, like scientists in real-world contexts. This fourth-grade PBL unit had students become part of an endeavor to help their state of Virginia become energy independent. It conceptualized energy independence as becoming self-sufficient for energy…

This quantitative causal-comparative study investigated the growth performance scores of English learners in grades three through five in reading, mathematics, and science in four English language educational programs: English as Second Language (ESL), Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE), Dual-Language Immersion (DLI), and No Services. I used…

This study examines and compares how developers designed two primary science curricula to support teacher adaptation and enable use of innovative materials at scale. The two cases--"Literacy Science" (a science and literacy curriculum for grades 2-5) and "Science as Inquiry" (a curriculum focused on matter for grades 3-5)--were…

Across the country, states are adopting and implementing either Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or new state standards inspired by NGSS. Educators and researchers play a key role in the reform process as we design professional development (PD) and curriculum to support teachers in transitioning to NGSS. In this time of transition, close…

Background: Further developing students' thinking about knowledge and knowing in science (epistemic beliefs) is considered a normative goal of science education in many countries around the world, even for elementary-school-aged children. Aims: The goal of the present study was to introduce and evaluate a new intervention in science education…

Martin Wagenschein's ideas of prioritising phenomena in making sense of science processes have influenced the German "Lehrkunstdidaktik" (art of teaching) approach. This article sketches a "Lehrkunstdidaktik" teaching unit inspired by Michael Faraday's "Chemical History of a Candle." It shows how primary and lower…

Our 4th grade year has become known as "the field trip year", with over 10 trips carefully aligned with learning units across the year. This article describes the first trip of the year, which in many ways sets the stage for students' effective use of field trips as engaging extensions and applications of classroom learning. The Pike's…

This article describes a self-guided, story-like game with creative drawing for grades 3-5 that teaches the evolution concepts of adaptation, natural selection, ecosystem dynamics, inheritance, and mutation following the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS"). Drawing reinforces concepts through emphasis on students'…

The purpose of the study is to explore the effect of writing to learn activities including letter, summary, and poster on academic achievement in the fourth grade science course called introduction to matter unit. The study was carried out via pre-test post-test control group design, one of the quasi experimental research designs. The achievement…

The integrated STEM activity described in this article incorporated two investigations that sought to develop children's understanding of fair-testing: (1) the first parachutes: how does the angle of a parachute frame affect the speed of descent?; and (2) modern parachutes: how does the size of the parachute canopy affect the speed of descent?…

Teaching programs based on contemporary learning-teaching approaches have been regulated since the 2005-2006 academic year in Turkey. Nevertheless, the researches conducted in Turkey suggested that teachers mostly use traditional teaching-learning approaches in their classroom activities. Therefore, this research aimed at enhancing the students'…

The Next Generation Science Standards support understanding of the nature of science as it is practiced and experienced in the real world through interconnected concepts to be imbedded within scientific practices and crosscutting concepts. This study explored how fourth and fifth grade elementary students' views of nature of science change when…

Scientific inquiry is an often misunderstood concept in many elementary classrooms. On the inquiry spectrum, teacher-directed (TD) scientific inquiry is prevalent in schools. From a critical and social constructivism framework, TD inquiry programs affect students' original/unhindered questions, called primal inquiry (PI), and processes in science…