This study aims to evaluate students' ability to process the context information embedded in chemistry problems. To achieve this goal, a diagnostic measurement instrument was developed, comprising 28 short-answer items embedded in seven context-based chemistry tasks. Four hundred and ninety-three ninth-graders took part in the testing in Jiangsu,…

Scientific models and modeling play an important role in science, and students' understanding of scientific models is essential for their understanding of scientific concepts. The measurement instrument of "Students' Understanding of Models in Science" (SUMS), developed by Treagust, Chittleborough & Mamiala ("International…

This exploratory study applied a proposed force and motion learning progression (LP) to high-school and university students and to content involving both one- and two-dimensional force and motion situations. The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was adapted, based on a previous content analysis and coding of the questions in the FCI in terms of the…