This quasi-experimental study was conducted in two secondary schools in a major city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to examine the impact of Computer Simulations (CSs) on students' learning of Newton's Second Law of Motion (NSLOM) in grade 11 compared to traditional face-to-face education. The study used Newton's Second Law of Motion…

Epistemology plays an important role in detecting learning difficulties in a given field of knowledge and in directing strategies to eliminate them. This quantitative study aimed to get to know the perceptions of 624 students, related to the nature of science and science teaching and learning. The cross-sectional survey, based on the Inventory of…

This article reports on the explicit introduction of metacognitive strategies by an early career science teacher to support the application of mathematics skills. The research investigated the effectiveness of these strategies with three Year 11 physics students using an action research approach. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected…

This case study explores students' physics-related personal epistemologies in school science practices. The school science practices of nine eleventh grade students in a physics class were audio-taped over 6 weeks. The students were also interviewed to find out their ideas on the nature of scientific knowledge after each activity. Analysis of…

This paper reports the results of a research exploring the mathematical connections of pre-university students while they solving tasks which involving rates of change. We assume mathematical connections as a cognitive process through which a person finds real relationships between two or more ideas, concepts, definitions, theorems, procedures,…

Background: The development of context-based science curricula has been identified as one of the most effective curricular innovations to develop interest and better conceptual understanding of many areas in science. However, such a curriculum can be more fruitful if it starts with the assessment of learners' contextualized knowledge about the…

The authors examined whether students' epistemic and learning beliefs varied across different knowledge types in physics. On the basis of various beliefs frameworks, the authors predicted that individuals' beliefs would vary within a domain across the same content when presented conceptually versus procedurally. Participants were 81 high…

This study aimed at developing a module in physics based on the assessment of the learning progression of students in physics and science teachers' formative assessment practices. The participants in this study were the Grade 11 students and Junior High School science teachers for the data gathering, science teachers for the design and development…

Background: Misconceptions are major obstacles to learning physics, and the concepts of heat and temperature are some of the common misconceptions that are encountered in daily life. Therefore, it is important to develop valid and reliable tools to determine students' misconceptions about basic thermodynamics concepts. Three-tier tests are…

This study investigated the effects of analogy on the elimination of students' misconceptions about direct current circuits, students' achievement and the attitudes towards physics lessons. The sample of this study consisted of 51 11th grade students from two different classes. While one of the classes was the experimental group where analogy was…

This study documents the mental representations of magnetism constructed by students aged 15-17 and attempts to investigate whether these display the characteristics of models with an inner cohesiveness and constancy; whether they share common features with typical historical models of the Sciences; and whether they evolve through conventional…

Research in the form of a case study explores the factors that influenced physics enrollment in year 11 of a group of students taught over three consecutive years, from year 8 to year 10 in a New South Wales country school. The findings reveal that students who enjoyed their learning experiences in junior science and achieved good results in…

The purposes of this study were to determine the level of achievement of United States advanced science students in an international context and to identify school factors affecting the science achievement of the students. The Second International Science Study (SISS) Advanced Science Achievement Tests included international common items which…