This study used class practices to verify the applicability of a web application specially developed for the observation in general elementary school classes of the blooming of cherry blossoms with time-lapse digital images. The learning effects of class practices on children's perceptions of the connection between familiar phenomena and climate…

This research aimed to compare the effect of teaching science through-creative-drama activities and student-centred inquiry-based teaching on the cognitive structures of primary school pupils about the classification of living things. It was designed as an exploratory action research case study and the contribution of both interventions on the…

A purposive sampling was conducted with 109 students from Anding elementary school, Taiwan. First, we found perceived ease of learning, enjoyment, self-efficacy, social interaction and learning attitude have significant differences between integrated teaching approach and Spoon-feeding instruction in this study. Second, the research framework has…

The term 'Plant Blindness' describes people tending to overlook plants, even though they have an enormous importance for life on earth, especially because of their ability to photosynthesise. Many attempts have been made to counteract plant blindness in biology education. However, so far there is no comprehensive tool to assess the degree of plant…

The objective of this study was to investigate whether the class scheduling of Nature and Biology classes in blocks results in better learning success for primary school students, and whether this depends on the average student success rate (i.e., student performance categories), age, or prior knowledge. For this study, we have assumed that block…

This study presents a new technique, the "Which plant am I?" game, which helps to increase pupils' plant knowledge, while motivate them to become familiar with more plants. On the other hand pupils' plant knowledge was tested in Serbia. The "Which Plant Am I?" game was tested with two groups of pupils (in average 11 years old).…

Against a backdrop of advocacy for interdisciplinary STEM curricula, this paper explores the design principles underpinning a three-year longitudinal research project that develops and evaluates interdisciplinary mathematics and science learning sequences involving multiple teachers and student cohorts across the primary school years. The research…

Photosynthesis is one of the fundamental processes on Earth and it ranks among the most demanding science concepts for students, associated with a number of misconceptions. For improving students' understanding and learning outcomes the constructivist approach has proven to be one of the most effective. In this research the constructivist teaching…

Plants have an enormous importance for life on earth but are often overlooked. This phenomenon called plant blindness is reinforced as students prefer to spend their recreation time with modern media rather than in nature. Mobile devices have become an omnipresent part of students' everyday lives. Nevertheless, direct experiences with plants are…

This study compared the effects of effortless selection of target plants using quick respond (QR) code technology to effortful manual search and selection of target plants on learning about plants in a mobile device supported learning environment. In addition, it was investigated whether the effectiveness of the 2 selection methods was…

The purpose of this researching study was to develop a teaching proposal and investigate the conceptualizations that children make about the processes of plants (photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration). We undertook an innovative implementation on teaching living things to students of 10 to 11 years old (5th grade). The theoretical framework…

Outdoor educational programmes are generally believed to be a suitable alternative to conventional biology settings that improve participants' environmental attitudes and knowledge. Here we examine whether outdoor educational programmes focused solely on practical work with plants influence participants' knowledge of and attitudes towards plants.…

At home, children often have pets that they take care of and play with; even in the classroom it is not uncommon to find a wormery, an aquarium or an ant farm. However, children rarely have the opportunity to own and care for a plant over a lengthy period of time, let alone a tree. The authors describe a project in Portugal aimed at improving…