Science centers provide an engaging way for young learners to explore related concepts. The hands-on nature of each exercise secures the stimulation necessary to maintain focused attention. In this article, the authors describe a multi-day 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) lesson on nocturnal and diurnal animals with science…

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of flipped classrooms in science education through the use of systematic review and meta-analysis. A total of 64 studies were analyzed by scanning the following databases: Web of Science, Eric, Taylor & Francis, and Education Full Text (EBSCO). Of the studies analyzed, 18 were selected for…

The topic of living things is ideal for exploring the ideas of children in the early years of school. Preschool and primary school teachers are reasonably confident with the subject matter and all children will have had some life experiences that contribute to their prior knowledge. For this reason, the question 'Is it alive?' is one that…

Where does our food come from? Such a question may be difficult for some children to answer, especially those living in a city apartment devoid of a backyard with a vegie patch or fruit trees. This article describes a learning experience designed to encourage Year 1 children to think about the foods that humans obtain from plants. The learning…

The selection of a learning model is very crucial before the teacher carries out learning activities. Inquiry is a learning model that has existed for a long time and is recommended for use in learning activities. This study aims to map the results of studies related to inquiry learning in elementary schools. Bibliometrics is used as a method to…

On September 21, 1922, an eclipse of the Sun at Wallal in north-west Australia provided definitive proof that Einstein's theory of gravity is correct. By proving that space is elastic, it paved the way for the discovery of gravitational waves in 2015, in which Australia also played a major role. David Blair, Jyoti Kaur, and Anastasia Popkova are…

Energy is one of the most complex yet central concepts taught in schools and is featured in the Australian Science Curriculum, as one of the six key organising ideas (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2015). The literature portrays a multitude of complications associated with teaching energy (see Millar, 2005 for a…

This study explored how specific inquiry-related learning activities were related to student enjoyment of learning science and intended choice of future STEM career. Analysis of Taiwan and Australia PISA 2015 data revealed that three activities, namely, "debating and planning experiments, drawing conclusions and doing hands-on experiments,…

Coding is a process often associated with computers. Nevertheless, coding is a thought process that can be mastered even without a computer. In NSW, primary students are introduced to computational and algorithmic thinking as early as Stage 1. Yet, teaching coding to young students is not always easy for teachers, mostly because the process is…

During COVID-19 lockdowns, online learning activities had to be developed for the Undergraduate and Masters by Coursework Bioinformatics students at RMIT University. Therefore, we designed an integrative, industry-based research assignment, which guided the students through a drug discovery project from target identification to lead optimization.…

This research is a comparative study of Finnish and Australian science curricula in early childhood education (EC). The study aims to figure out the constructivist components of the science curriculum in two countries as well as locate the similarities and differences in the rationale and aims, contents, learning outcomes, learning activities,…

Background: The recommendation from national documents and reports to promote inquiry-related science activities has not been supported by recent studies, which have found the overall frequency of inquiry activities to be negatively associated with student learning outcomes. This study was inspired by such conflicting reports and aimed to clarify…

Water is a special substance. Not only do humans rely on water for survival, but it is also fascinating to play with and makes a great topic to investigate. Many simple investigations can be done with water, at home or at school, to guide children's science learning. This article describes a sequence of online learning experiences that were set…

Science centres generally strive to increase awareness, interest, capability and participation by citizens in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This review of Scitech's professional learning (PL) strategy was designed to analyse quantitative and qualitative feedback about the professional learning activities delivered by…

This study explored the lived expectations of second-year undergraduate science students at a large, government-funded university in Australia. The investigation made use of a mixed methods approach to inform the understanding of the second year of study expectations. Findings identified three key contributors to expected second-year experiences:…