The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has declared in an advertising campaign that "you can't start young enough" in science. However, there is no long-term data evaluating the effect of early exposure to original scientific research on producing career scientists. To address this issue, we examined a hands-on summer…

This study examined teachers' and students' initial conceptions of computer-based models--Flash and NetLogo models--and documented how teachers and students reconciled notions of multiple representations featuring macroscopic, submicroscopic and symbolic representations prior to actual intervention in eight high school chemistry…

Providing learners with opportunities to engage in activities similar to those carried out by scientists was addressed in a web-based research simulation in genetics developed for high school biology students. The research simulation enables learners to apply their genetics knowledge while giving them an opportunity to participate in an authentic…

Inquiry is seen as an integral part of science education in the USA; however, few American science programs explicitly focus on the higher order thinking skills that are the precursors to inquiry. In this paper, Australian researchers report the result of using a version of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) program in a…

Traditional multiple-choice concept inventories measure students' critical conceptual understanding and are designed to reveal students' naive or alternate ideas. The overall scores, however, give little information about the state of students' knowledge and the consistency of reasoning. This study investigates whether students have consistent…

In recent times there has been an enormous interest in Vygotsky's writing on conceptual development, particularly his insights on the differences between everyday and scientific thinking. In drawing upon cultural-historical theory, this paper seeks to examine the relations between everyday concepts and scientific concepts within playful contexts,…

Climate change is a complex environmental problem that can be used to examine students' understanding, gained through classroom communication, of climate change and its interactions. The present study examines a series of four science sessions given to a group of primary school student teachers (n?=?20). This includes analysis of the…

Learners' ability in dealing with socio-scientific issues has been highlighted in contemporary science education. This study explored the effects of different on-line searching activities on high school students' cognitive structure outcomes and informal reasoning outcomes. By using a quasi-experimental research approach, thirty-three students…

This paper explores the occurrence of conceptual incoherence in upper secondary school textbooks resulting from the use of multiple historical models. Swedish biology and chemistry textbooks, as well as a selection of books from English speaking countries, were examined. The purpose of the study was to identify which models are used to represent…

Introductory thermodynamics is a topic which is covered in a wide variety of science and engineering educations. However, very different teaching traditions have evolved within different scientific specialties. In this study we examine three courses in introductory thermodynamics within three different scientific specialties: physics, chemical…

Socio-scientific issues in class have been proposed in an effort to democratise science in society. A micro-ethnographic approach has been used to explore how students elaborate arguments on a socio-scientific controversy in the context of small group discussions. Several processes of group argumentation have been identified. Students' arguments…

The concept of the atom is one of the building blocks of science education. Although the concept is a foundation for students' subsequent learning experiences, it is difficult for students to comprehend because of common misconceptions and its abstractness. The purpose of this study is to examine junior high school students' (ages 12-13) ideas…

The transgenic mouse model is useful for studying the causes and potential cures for human genetic diseases. Exposing high school biology students to laboratory experience in developing transgenic animal models is logistically prohibitive. Computer-based simulation, however, offers this potential in addition to advantages of fidelity and reach.…

Investigation of scientists' actual processes of conducting research can provide us with more realistic aspects of scientific inquiry. This study was performed to identify three aspects of scientists' actual research: their motivations for scientific inquiry, the scientific inquiry skills they used, and the main types of results obtained from…

This article is situated in contemporary debates about the ways to achieve a scientific literacy that encourages a greater lay participation in public debates and political decision making. Drawing on the notion of "relationship to scientific experts" (in French, "rapport aux experts scientifiques"), I explore the ways in which…