Our focus is on the effects that dated ideas about the nature of science (NOS) have on curriculum, instruction and assessments. First we examine historical developments in teaching about NOS, beginning with the seminal ideas of James Conant. Next we provide an overview of recent developments in philosophy and cognitive sciences that have shifted…

The nature of science (NOS) has become a central goal of science education in many countries. This study sought an understanding of the extent to which a nature of science course (NOSC), designed according to the conceptualization of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching nature of science (NOS), affects in-service science teachers'…

We report the effect of different sequences of high vs low levels of instructional guidance on children's immediate learning and long-term transfer of simple experimental design procedures and concepts, often called "CVS" (Control of Variables Strategy). Third-grade children (N = 57) received instruction in CVS via one of four possible orderings…

When higher education leaders give little thought or offer little mentoring to their faculty members, there is risk of driving faculty members from teaching online and of them having a poor experience in online teaching. Without mentoring support, faculty members may feel disconnected and unsupported. The purpose of the study was to examine the…

Hands-on activities with live organisms allow students to actively explore scientific investigation. Here, I present activities that combine guided inquiry with direct instruction and relate how nutrition affects the physiology and behavior of the common housefly. These experiments encourage student involvement in the formulation of experimental…

Though research on effective instruction in math word problem solving is prominent at the middle and secondary levels, much less work has been done in elementary grades. In this article, we review the research on varied problem-solving instructional interventions at the third-grade level for students across ability levels. Third grade was chosen…

Achieving communicative competency in English classes has been a key goal in contexts where English is taught as a foreign language (EFL). During this process, however, integrating the difficulty and complexity of real life tasks into classroom teaching has often been disregarded. Lack of opportunities for authentic language use often results in…

Although memory performance benefits from the spacing of information at encoding, judgments of learning (JOLs) are often not sensitive to the benefits of spacing. The present research examines how practice, feedback, and instruction influence JOLs for spaced and massed items. In Experiment 1, in which JOLs were made after the presentation of each…

Many studies have shown that small-group direct instruction is effective and efficient for teaching students with and without disabilities, although relatively few studies have been conducted with heterogeneous groups of preschool participants. In addition, previous studies have primarily assessed whether observational learning occurred for…

We examined the role child factors on the acquisition and transfer of learning the control of variables strategy (CVS) via instruction or self-discovery. Seventy-six fourth graders and 43 sixth graders were randomly assigned to a group receiving direct CVS instruction or a discovery learning group. Prior to the intervention, cognitive, scientific,…

In designing the lesson teachers have to adapt the method or learning model with the material to be taught. In the teaching of measuring concept, students frequently faced with measuring instruments, micrometer, screw, scale, and so on. Direct Instruction Model would be suitable for teaching the measurement concepts specifically the skill of using…

This article summarizes the findings of research studies focusing on number sense instruction to improve mathematics competence of school going children. Twenty-three studies were located that met the inclusion criteria. Interventions gleaned from the review were categorized based on type of instruction (i.e., constructivist, explicit or a…

This study is related to one of the teaching models, peer teaching which is used in physical education courses. The fundamental feature of peer teaching is defined "to structure a learning environment in which some students assume and carry out many of the key operations of instruction to assist other students in the learning process".…

This research study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of direct instructional strategies regarding the achievement of students with ED. High school teachers with significant years of teaching experience in an urban setting support the effectiveness of direct instructional strategies. Teachers with 11-20 and 21-30 years of teaching…

This replication study focused on the effectiveness of two different intervention approaches, activity-based intervention and embedded direct instruction, on the acquisition, generalization, and maintenance of phonological awareness, a key area of emergent literacy, by preschool children with language delays. Five male preschool participants with…