The processes of curricula, textbooks and student resources development have been broadly surveyed and studied while teachers' guides have received comparatively little consideration throughout recent reforms in science education. Ideal curriculum materials align instruction with the goals of reform. Well-designed teachers' guides contribute to…

A context-aware ubiquitous learning environment is an authentic learning environment with personalized digital supports. While showing the potential of applying such a learning environment, researchers have also indicated the challenges of providing adaptive and dynamic support to individual students. In this paper, a decision-tree-oriented…

The goal of this study is to develop a virtual farm for educational applications. Users can play the role of a farmer by planting vegetables and raising poultry on the virtual farm to observe their growth through online learning activities. The virtual farm possesses educational and entertaining functions, and it is designed by simulating the real…

The relative positions of the sun, moon, and earth, their movements, and their relationships are abstract and difficult to understand astronomical concepts in elementary school science. This study proposes a three-dimensional (3-D) virtual reality (VR) model named the "Sun and Moon System." This e-learning resource was designed by…

Researchers have conducted various studies on applying wireless communication and ubiquitous computing technologies to education, so that the technologies can provide learners and educators with more active and adaptive support. This study proposes a Ubiquitous Performance-support System (UPSS) that can facilitate the seamless use of powerful new…

This paper presents the results of a case study involving 282 Taiwanese elementary science teachers at the elementary level. These teachers provided responses to the science efficacy instrument (STEBI-A) and also provided personal data regarding how their years of general (YTE) and science (YTS) teaching experience may have influenced student…

The purpose of the study was to describe the development and application of an instrument to identify various dimensions of the learning environment, as perceived by elementary and middle school students in Taiwan. The instrument, the New Constructivist Learning Environment Scales, includes four dimensions: attitude concerning instruction,…

Ubiquitous computing and mobile technologies provide a new perspective for designing innovative outdoor learning experiences. The purpose of this study is to propose a formative assessment design for integrating PDAs into ecology observations. Three learning activities were conducted in this study. An action research approach was applied to…

Scientific literacy is the ultimate goal in science education world-wide; especially in this modern society of science and technology. How to help individuals to make good judgments and promote their skills of argumentation becomes an important issue. Meanwhile, in the Information Age, visual image is an important medium for conveying information.…

This paper presents the results of a case study involving Taiwanese elementary teachers who teach science at the elementary grade school level. It advocates the position that a teacher's personal science efficacy belief influences his or her science teaching outcome expectations. It also points to an important metamorphosis that is taking place…

In 1972, the Ministry of Education in the Republic of China gave the Taiwan Provincial Institute for Elementary School Teachers Inservice Education primary responsibility for research and development (R&D) for all elementary school curricula. The project in science and mathematics was carried out in two phases. Phase I, R&D, has five…

The paper reports a cross-cultural investigation conducted in 2001-2002 that seeks to reveal students' alternative ideas in two countries, Taiwan and Germany. It was carried out by means of semi-structured interviews in a story form. The targeted students were arbitrarily selected from grades 3 to 6 in both countries and amounted to 64. The…

This paper compares the old and new curricula of elementary mathematics and natural science in the Republic of China. This study, as the second phase of an evaluation period, tested a sample of the students while they were in the ninth grade and compared them to students who received the old curricula during their elementary studies. The data were…

This study identifies the most common biological concepts presented in elementary science textbooks in Taiwan. The concepts focus on living things, animals, and plants in grades one through four. Three major areas of concern are: attributes of the three related concepts; development of the concepts focusing on content organization and their…

This study aimed to help the teachers clarify and understand the nature of science (NOS), as well as classroom practice through the implementation of the constructivist teaching model. Ten elementary science teachers were involved in a year-long in-service program that included a series of intervention courses. Following the intervention courses,…