This qualitative practice-based study explores the efficacy of reformed-based science teaching approaches in fostering meaningful student engagement within elementary science classrooms, framed within the science-as-practice paradigm. Utilizing three theoretical frameworks, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Ambitious Science…

A student's socioeconomic status (SES) has a significant relation to their academic achievement. Much of this work has explored this in math and reading, but less is known about how SES relates to science achievement, particularly in the early grades. Using quantile regression with nationally representative data, we explored this relation in…

Contemporary conceptions of content learning that emphasize disciplinary practices offer opportunities to see and hear multilingual learners' (MLs') participation in new ways. However, research on disciplinary practices with MLs has primarily targeted those practices traditionally considered language intensive, such as explanation and…

This study aimed to explore Cooperative Learning theories and practice by examining the relationships among three aspects: Experience, Practice and Perceptions. The data were from interview records from eight science teachers. As a student-centered active pedagogical trend, cooperative learning has become part of one of the most effective and…

Fifth-grade students applied quantitative reasoning in exploring the flow times of three simulated lavas of different viscosities down the slope of a hand-made volcano. After modeling the lava flow times for 6 km down the volcano slope, students used their quantitative models to predict the evacuation times for villagers living 10 km down.…

Interdisciplinary teaching and learning is an approach that synthesizes the curricular objectives and methods of two or more disciplines or subjects focusing on a specific topic or issue. While it is being increasingly implemented in universities, at lower levels of education there are still countries where science subjects are taught and learned…

More attention should be placed on student engagement and the teaching of lessons that promote equitable opportunities to learn science in a way that students can relate to and enjoy. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate and improve student engagement in urban elementary science classrooms. Also, to discover how best to…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have spurred renewed interest in the epistemologies that students adopt as they engage in science practices. One framework for characterizing students' epistemologies is the "epistemologies in practice" framework (Berland et al. (2016), "Journal of Research in Science Teaching,"…

Previous studies suggested that epistemically more sophisticated students learned better in a constructivist learning context than epistemically less sophisticated students did. This study further examined if students with "higher" prior epistemic beliefs (EB High) had better learning gains than students with "lower" prior…

Background: The theory of embodied cognition claims that body interaction with the environment change how we think and constitute cognition. Accordingly, active learning enriches learning experiences which in turn lead to better learning. Purpose: Although learning by moving one's body is often regarded as active learning, not all body movements…

Science education is an important component of a full education beginning in primary grades. In recent decades, research has identified young learners' rich knowledge of the natural world and their potential to connect with sophisticated science ideas. Elementary teachers face many challenges to implementing reform-based science instruction in…

As a hallmark of authentic science practices, students need to enact epistemic agency to shape/reshape the key aspects of their inquiry work as a collaborative community. This study elaborates an emergent temporal mechanism for engaging students' epistemic agency: "reflective structuration" by which members of a classroom community…

This study explored elementary students' reasoning about the life cycles of various organisms, including insects and amphibians. The study took place in a private school in Lebanon with 24 fifth-grade students. Students participated in a life cycle unit with pre and post-written assessments about what they learned and interviews to help determine…

With the 2015 change in science standards to align more closely with the Next Generation Science Standards, as the district STEM coach, I saw a need for professional development that addressed the lack of understanding and skill needed to teach the Science and Engineering Practices, specifically the practice of Scientific Augmentation. This…

Traditional teaching practices lack student-focused learning, critical thinking, interactivity, creativity and student's engagement in the classroom, which results in boredom and low motivation among students. Moreover, these practices disregard diversification or variability in learners in a classroom. To engage such learners and create better…