Informal learning environments can be a fun and effective means of introducing visitors to a variety of topics in evolution. Our study examined 120 sixth-grade students' conceptualisation of evolutionary ideas following three evolution-themed "Science Days" at 'Nature Campus'--an informal learning environment in Central Israel comprised…

Fostering technology-enhanced science learning in elementary schools is an ongoing challenge as young students are not always motivated to engage with science lessons. The use of technology, such as digital sensors and data recorders, has been found to result in higher engagement with science. However, the association between technology-enhanced…

A qualitative study adopting a phenomenological approach examined the feedback of 53 sixth-grade students (aged 11-12) who participated in an annual educational program on climate change and environmental activism. The program was structured around instilling hope while utilizing the 'head,' 'heart,' and 'hands' pedagogical framework. Research…

Toward the end of 6th grade, some bright and highly motivated science-oriented Israeli students and their parents are required to make a decision: whether or not to enrol in a non-mandatory advanced science programme for 7th graders ([almost equal to] 12 year olds) upon entering middle-school. In other words, for many students, entry into the STEM…

This study examines attitudes to school science classes amongst primary school children, based on the assumption that these will influence their attitudes and choices later in life. 1298 primary school students in grades 4-6 were given a Likert-type questionnaire and asked to provide verbal explanations for their agreement/disagreement with each…

Continuing motivation for science learning may be manifested through engagement in extracurricular science-related activities, which are not the result of school or other external requirements. Very few articles have appeared in the last decade on this important aspect of science learning. This article presents a survey based on seven Likert-type…

The development and application of a framework that captures main characteristics of learning in nature--the Field Trip in Natural Environments (FiNE) framework--is the main outcome of this study that followed up 22 daily field trips of 4-6th grade students to nature parks. The theoretical and practical framework, which was developed based on the…

Achievement goal theory distinguishes between mastery goals (the goals of developing competence) and performance goals (the goals of demonstrating competence) [Ames [1992] "Journal of Educational Psychology" 84: 261-271]. In this study, we employed this theory aiming to better understand why adolescents' motivation to learn science…

This is a mix methods follow-up study in which we reconfirm the findings from an earlier study [Vedder-Weiss & Fortus [2011] "Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(2)", 199-216]. The findings indicate that adolescents' declining motivation to learn science, which was found in many previous studies [Galton [2009] "Moving to…

There is a growing awareness that science education should center not just on knowledge acquisition but developing the foundation for lifelong learning. However, for intentional learning of science to occur in school, out of school, and after school, there needs to be a motivation to learn science. Prior research had shown that students'…