The results of a STEM educational program named "The air we breathe" implemented in a primary rural school in Greece as part of a National Research Project entitled "Diffusion of STEM (DI-STEM)" are presented in this paper. The educational program deepened in air pollution and intended to foster students' eight scientific…

This paper investigates whether and how primary school students improve their epistemic understanding about a particular aspect of the nature of inquiry (NOSI), namely, the 'non-linear nature of inquiry' through an explicit-reflective or implicit instruction. The sample consisted of 30 5th grade students, who were randomly divided into two groups:…

It is widely argued that Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NST) is going to affect several aspects of our life. Therefore, students need to develop their nanoliteracy to cope with the everyday issues related to NST. Although there is an increasing interest in introducing NST content to primary school students, the theoretical frameworks for…

Science process skills play an essential role in science education. The research assessing these skills in school science textbooks is limited. The aim of the current study was to examine the involvement of science process skills in the content of science school textbooks of the last two primary school grades in Greece. A specific analysis…

The research that studies the development of the structure of primary school students' written arguments on science issues is particularly limited. The present paper aimed to study the effect of a teaching intervention for electric circuits on the structure of primary school students' written arguments. Instructional material was developed based…

The research that studies the improvement of elementary school students' science knowledge and the development of elementary students' abilities to use the scientific and engineering practices is restricted. The purpose of this research is to study the effects of an instructional intervention on the knowledge of the students of elementary school…

In this article, a series of activities on explicit teaching of specific aspects of the 'nature of science' are presented. The authors explore teaching the nature of science through inquiry-based activities on electric circuits. The activities concern classification of objects as conductors or insulators and took place in three classes of 4th…

Although international school systems and resources can differ from those in the UK, it is always useful to have an informed worldview of practice in primary science. The COVID-19 pandemic has inevitably changed the ways in which pupils around the world have access to knowledge. Furthermore, it has changed the ways in which teachers globally…

The study explored the possibilities to improve students' argumentation ability concerning factors that affect dissolving, through the implementation of two versions of a teaching scheme, with and without particle theory. The participants (age range 10-11, n = 27) belonged to two fifth-grade classes of a primary school in Northern Greece. Data…

This research is a study about the possibility to promote experimental design skills to elementary school pupils. Experimental design and the experiment process are foundational elements in current approaches to Science Teaching, as they provide learners with profound understanding about knowledge construction and science inquiry. The research was…

In the light of the European Union's interest in creativity and innovation, this paper, drawing on data from the EU project Creative Little Scientists (2011-2014), explores the teaching and learning of science and creativity in Early Years education. The project's conceptual framework, developed from detailed analysis of relevant literatures,…

Thirty-six pupils from three sixth-grade classes (ages 11/12, n = 75) in Greece were interviewed pre- and post-intervention in a piece of research on explanations of chemical phenomena. Software concerning chemical phenomena was incorporated in a teaching scheme, where the particle theory was used. After a 13 hour intervention, pupils'…

In this paper, the development of sixth grade students' critical thinking skills in science courses is discussed relatively to the contribution of the integration of aspects of History of Science into instruction. Towards this direction a project on electromagnetism was designed and implemented aiming to engage primary school students in a…

The present paper aims at investigating the structure and the content of the written explanations produced by primary school pupils' aged 11-12) during teaching sequences focused on the didactic elaboration of obstacles regarding temperature and heat. At first, teaching sequences targeted at the pupils' destabilising, restructuring, and…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends 2014, taking place in Porto, Portugal, from 4 to 6 of April. Psychology, in our time, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and behavioral…