Martin Wagenschein's ideas of prioritising phenomena in making sense of science processes have influenced the German "Lehrkunstdidaktik" (art of teaching) approach. This article sketches a "Lehrkunstdidaktik" teaching unit inspired by Michael Faraday's "Chemical History of a Candle." It shows how primary and lower…

The Chemistry Science Investigation: Dognapping Workshop was designed to (i) target and inspire fourth grade students to view themselves as "Junior Scientists" before their career decisions are solidified; (ii) enable hands-on experience in fundamental scientific concepts; (iii) increase public interaction with science, technology,…

The aim of the research is to assess the effectiveness of Virtual Lab (experimental group) compared to Physical Lab (control group) in the level of Science Process Skill mastery of topic salt experiment. This research also was done to compare the students' level of Science Process Skill mastery by gender and to find interaction effect between…

These proceedings contain papers of the 3rd International Baltic Symposium on Science and Technology Education (BalticSTE2019) held in Šiauliai, Lithuania, June 17-19, 2019. This symposium was organized by the Scientific Methodical Center "Scientia Educologica" in cooperation with the Institute of Education, Šiauliai University. The…

This article describes a chemistry/art activity that originated in an National Science Foundation--funded two-week STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) academy for grade 4-6 girls. The authors recommend using this investigation in conjunction with other activities focusing on chemical change as a step toward fulfilling the…

A qualitative pre-/post-test case study was conducted to explore the influence of inquiry-based education in eliciting learners' understanding of the particulate nature of matter in the gaseous phase. Two grade four classes (n=116) were conveniently and purposively sampled from two farm schools in Pretoria, South Africa. Data was collected through…

Chemical principles are taught in elementary education across much of the United States because the "National Science Education Standards" include concepts about the nature of matter, states of matter, and changes in matter among other science concepts within the first to fifth grade levels. "Chemicals" is a word related to the nature of matter…

Now entering into its 20th year of data collection, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, (TIMSS) is an international assessment of mathematics and science at the fourth and eighth grades. TIMSS 2015 is the most recent in the TIMSS series, which began with the first assessments in 1995 and has continued every four years--1999,…

Enactment of scientific inquiry in classroom has attracted a great attention of science educators around the world. In this study, we examined two competent teachers' (one Grade 9 chemistry teacher and one Grade 4 science teacher) enactment of scientific inquiry in selected teaching units to reveal the characteristics of enacted inquiry at…

This article explores heterogeneity as fundamental to learning. Inspired by Bakhtin's notion of heteroglossia, a design team consisting of an experienced classroom teacher and 2 researchers investigated how a class of 3rd and 4th graders came to understand disciplinary points of view on heat, heat transfer, and the particulate nature of matter.…

The results of Romanian school students in Science PISA and TIMSS testings have been and continue to be systematically slack. In the present paper we intend to do a comparative analysis of Science curriculum TIMSS 2007 and Romanian Science school curricula of 4th and 8th grades. This analysis, based on Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive domain,…

Because of the educational importance of mathematics and science, IEA's (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, widely known as TIMSS, is dedicated to providing countries with information to improve teaching and learning in these curriculum areas. Conducted…

From Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew to the countless other detectives that fill children's bookshelves and television programs, it is clear that children are fascinated with solving crimes. As a result, a chemistry professor who performs outreach activities at local elementary schools exploited this interest in mysteries as a method to spark curiosity…

Using the US national sample from the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), this study examined students' competence levels in understanding the matter concept at grades 3, 4, 7, 8 and high school graduation, and compared them to the expectations in the US national science education standards. It was found that…

In this unit students are asked to mix materials together and look closely at what happens. From this experience, plus teacher input, they are introduced to the concept that matter is made of small particles which cannot be seen, but can be manipulated. Students learn the difference between a physical and a chemical change and that there are four…