The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest, most comprehensive, and rigorous international study of schools and student achievement ever conducted. During the 1995 school year, the study tested the mathematics and science knowledge of a half-million students from 41 nations at five different grade levels. This…

The purpose of this study was to determine parent/caregiver effectiveness at finding out their child's ideas about sinking, floating, and displacement. The quality and richness of responses obtained by the parent/caregiver were compared with responses from interviews of the same fourth grade students conducted by project staff. Twenty four…

The notion of a linguistic "register" is useful in posing questions about how the ways language is used differ from one kind of human activity to another. This paper analyzes a videotaped segment of male grade 4/5 students (n=3) who are talking as they work to build a tower from plastic drinking straws and pins. Discussion of the…

Starting from a science project on flight, art students discussed and investigated various means of moving in space. Then they made acetate illustrations which could be used as transparencies. The projection phenomenon made the illustrations look airborne. (CS)

Reports on the results of research examining the ability of fourth and fifth grade science and social science students to use Dublin Core metadata elements to describe image resources for inclusion in a digital archive. Describes networked learning environments called Digital Portfolio Archives and discusses metadata for historical primary…

Describes a year-long process of inquiry and scientific learning with a class of fourth-grade students. Describes how the students observed, questioned, and wondered their way to new understandings of the life of birds and the nature of inquiry learning. (SR)

This study examined the effects of animated presentations on intentional and incidental learning and the degree to which computer practice activities contained intrinsically motivating characteristics as measured by continuing motivation. A total of 70 fourth graders participated in an introductory lesson on Newton's laws of motion. Two levels of…

This paper explores the effects of infusing writing-to-learn strategies into an inquiry-oriented science unit on simple machines, inventions and inventors. This study used an intact group pretest and posttest design to capture the ecological validity of a classroom of grade 4 students and teacher. The design incorporated quantitative research…

To make elementary science students grasp the scientific concepts being taught, teachers must not ignore their preconceived ideas. Instead, teachers must identify misconceptions then help the students test them. The article presents a step-by-step approach that can serve as a model for teaching any science concept. (SM)

Examined the complex interactions among student engagement, scientific-thinking practices, and student role taking and social interaction in the context of school-based science lessons. Found that students in an intellectual-roles plus audience-roles condition were more active in initiating engagement episodes than those in intellectual roles only…

This document presents a sample of the Arkansas science curriculum and identifies the content standards for physical science systems, life science systems, and Earth science/space science systems for fourth grade students. Each content standard is explained and includes student learning expectations, fourth grade benchmarks, assessments, and…

Determines how science and social studies textbooks were used by teachers and students in 12 fourth grade lessons and what kinds of questions the teachers asked during the lessons. Finds that students do not get much practice reading informational text, and instruction often fails to promote conceptual understanding and meaningful learning from…

An analysis was conducted of 12 fourth-grade science and social studies lessons in which a textbook was used as a focus of instruction. The purpose was to determine how the textbook was used by teachers and students, and in particular, to determine what kinds of questions the teachers asked during the textbook-based lessons. The results replicate…

A study of fourth- and fifth-grade students who were taught science in Spanish as a second language is reported. The primary issues studied were: (1) the role of first-language skills in learning science in a second language, and (2) whether hands-on instruction, seen as effective by many for science teaching, is appropriate for…

Trends for third- and fourth-grade students were identified from data collected in a longitudinal study of how children learn science concepts. Approximately 325 children from three school districts participated in this study from their first week in kindergarten through the end of sixth grade. A heuristic model of science learning was developed…