The Framework for Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards in the USA emphasize learning progressions (LPs) that support conceptual coherence and the gradual building of knowledge over time. In the domain of genetics there are two independently developed alternative LPs. In essence, the difference between the two progressions…

Despite its promise to help teachers meet the needs of diverse learners, district usage of Achieve3000® among most students with access to it remains far below the optimal level necessary for them to realize literacy growth and college and career readiness. Only a tiny minority of students (402 out of about 111,000) seem to be engaging Achieve3000…

Science education researchers have turned their attention to the use of images in textbooks, both because pages are heavily illustrated and because visual literacy is an important aptitude for science students. Text-image integration in the textbook is described here as composition schemes in increasing degrees of integration: prose primary (PP),…

We examined the use of balance and inverse methods in equation solving. The main difference between the balance and inverse methods lies in the operational line (e.g. +2 on both sides vs -2 becomes +2). Differential element interactivity favours the inverse method because the interaction between elements occurs on both sides of the equation for…

Background: The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of a national comprehensive teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) intervention to a national abstinence-only TPP intervention on middle school students' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to teen sexual behaviors in a state with high teen birth rates. Methods: Pre- and…

This study investigated the effect of drama-based science teaching on students' understanding of scientific concepts and their attitudes towards science learning. The study also aimed to examine if there is an interaction between students' achievement level in science and drama-based instruction. The sample consisted of (87) of 7th grade students…

Despite the importance of understanding how the human reproductive system works, adolescents worldwide exhibit weak conceptual understanding, which leads to serious risks, such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Studies focusing on the development and evaluation of inquiry-based learning interventions, promoting the…

This study analyzes the development of percentages knowledge by seventh graders given a sequence of activities starting with a realistic modeling task, in which students were expected to create a model that would facilitate the reinvention of percentages. In the first two activities, students constructed their own pricing model using fractions and…

Immersion has been an acclaimed approach for second-language acquisition, but is not available to most students. The idea of this study was to create a mobile immersion environment on a smartphone using a mobile instant messenger, WhatsApp™. Forty-five Form-1 (7th grade) students divided into the Mobile Group and Control Group participated in a…

Inquiry-based learning approaches have been promoted as an instructional method for students at all levels. An inquiry approach requires students to discover or construct knowledge through relevant activities and personal investigations. Due to the student driven nature of inquiry learning, it is reasonable to believe that students will become…

Besides viewing knowledge about the nature of science (NOS) as important for its own value with respect to scientific literacy, an adequate understanding of NOS is expected to improve science content learning by fostering the ability to interrelate scientific concepts and, thus, coherently acquire scientific content knowledge. However, there is a…

Promoting student understanding of ecosystem processes is critical to biological education. Yet, teaching complex life systems can be difficult because systems are dynamic and often behave in a non-linear manner. In this paper, we discuss assessment results from a middle school classroom intervention in which a conceptual representation framework…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of scientific studies on students' scientific literacy and attitude towards science course. For the study, a middle school science study group was established by randomly selecting 30 students from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Participating students were given information about the…

This study used multigroup structural equations to evaluate the possibility that a theory-driven, evidence-based, yearlong reading program for sixth-grade struggling readers moderates the interrelationships among elements of the simple model of reading (i.e., listening comprehension, word reading, and reading comprehension; Hoover & Gough,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of middle school student science achievement and attitudes about science with student-reported frequency of teacher lecture demonstrations and student-centered learning. The student sample was composed of 602 seventh- and eighth-grade students enrolled in middle school science. Multiple…