Visual comparisons are pervasive in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction and practice. In previous work, adults' visual comparisons of simple stimuli were faster and more accurate when the layout of a display facilitated alignment of corresponding elements--the "spatial alignment principle" (Matlen et al.,…

The goal of the study was to compare how visual representations were integrated into the contents of the U.S. and Turkish textbooks used in life science. Data was collected from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade middle school topics common to both countries. Content analysis was used to analyse visual representations in textbooks. The visual representations…

This quasi-experimental study aimed to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in student test scores when a modified instructional sequence in middle school science is used versus the instructional sequence suggested by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Grade 8 science cumulative Standards of Learning (SOL) test results from…

Images, such as photographs and diagrams, play an important role in the teaching and learning of science. To optimize student learning, educational science images should be designed to facilitate the cognitive processes relevant to comprehension. One such process is comparison, which involves aligning multiple representations on the basis of their…

Images, such as photographs and diagrams, play an important role in the teaching and learning of science. To optimize student learning, educational science images should be designed to facilitate the cognitive processes relevant to comprehension. One such process is comparison, which involves aligning multiple representations on the basis of their…

This qualitative study examined the building of a beloved community in a seventh grade life science classroom while teaching and learning in a constricting institutional context (U.S. public school). Guided by a Critical Race Praxis for Educational Research lens (CRP-Ed), the findings demonstrated how building a beloved community while situated…

A student's middle school science experience strongly impacts their future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics interest. The Japanese lesson study (JLS) model strengthens the student's experience through a research-based, collaborative, multistep, teaching-centered process focused on transforming local instructional practices. The…

Teachers are highly reliant on textbooks for teaching. In the Republic of Korea, science textbooks help students to understand scientific terms through inquiry activities. However, there is a lack of analysis on whether the inquiry activities suggested in these textbooks appropriately cover the terms included in the main text. Therefore, this…

While fungi play a vital role in Earth's ecosystems, they are not highlighted in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This article contains a unit plan to introduce students to the fungal kingdom, characteristics of fungi, and their role as decomposers. The unit plan is written in a 5E model format and can be adjusted for any type of…

This article considers student analogical reasoning associated with learning practice in creating bio-inspired robots. The study was in the framework of an outreach course for middle school students. Fifty eighth and ninth graders performed inquiries into behavior and locomotion of snakes and designed robotic models using the BIOLOID robot…

Research findings show that inquiry-based science education has positive effects in improving learning of both science content knowledge and scientific inquiry (SI) skills. As a result, various science curricula, including that of Namibia, recommend the use of an inquiry-based approach in science teaching. However, the implementation of an…

Mechanistic reasoning, or reasoning systematically through underlying factors and relationships that give rise to phenomena, is a powerful thinking strategy that allows one to explain and make predictions about phenomena. This article synthesizes and builds on existing frameworks to identify essential characteristics of students' mechanistic…

Large numbers of U.S. students lack proficiency in science, and students from different ethnic and socioeconomic groups show disparities in science achievement. Science knowledge and skills are important for both academic and workplace success, and a variety of interventions have been developed to improve student achievement in science. The…

The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to describe a middle-level science teacher's transition to an inquiry-based, progressivist, student-centered model from a traditional, teacher-centered model as well to document the student-participants' perceptions of the new model. The study population consisted of one-hundred…

The emphasis of reform-oriented science education today focuses on engineering integration in K-12 science classrooms. However, there is little research, particularly longitudinal research, on how different approaches to engineering integration influence student learning and interest. To address this gap in the literature, this study analyzed a…