The study presents the design and implementation of team teaching in high school geography classes and analyzes the students' opinions regarding this type of teaching approach. The didactic activity was carried out in the 9th grade, at the Earth's Atmosphere learning unit. The participants in this activity were high school students, a geography…

Affective and cognitive outcomes of science teaching in schools may be enhanced by science outreach labs (SOLs). Particularly interesting is whether and how to connect SOL visits to in-school science learning. Recent studies--among others, in this journal--have confirmed SOLs' positive affective effects. However, research remains inconclusive…

We examined the use and effectiveness of an incentive system--one of the five elements of a theory-based motivational architecture in educational games that we proposed--in a computer-based physics game on students' learning and performance. The incentive system's purpose was to motivate students to access learning supports designed to facilitate…

There is growing interest in the introduction of Einsteinian concepts of space, time, light and gravity across the entire school curriculum. We have developed an educational programme named 'Einstein-First', which focuses on teaching Einsteinian concepts by using simple models and analogies. To test the effectiveness of these models and analogies…

This dissertation is a case study of a school district in the Pacific Northwest that developed three-year high school science curricula using a Physics First course sequence (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), with the crosscutting concept "Patterns" as the central theme of the courses. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of…

This article examines the process of shifting to a "Physics First" sequence in science course offerings in three school districts in the United States. This curricular sequence reverses the more common U.S. high school sequence of biology/chemistry/physics, and has gained substantial support in the physics education community over the…

Physical sciences teachers in low-quintile South African schools avoid the use of inquiry on the grounds of inefficiency and ineffectiveness for test preparation. This avoidance is consistent with the view that the high cognitive load inquiry offers to extreme novices such as these learners may be prohibitive. Given the purported benefits of…

An instructional program using four simulation applets was used to facilitate understanding of gas and liquid pressure concepts among twenty-two students in a Year 9 class from an independent secondary school in Singapore. A comparison group consisting of twenty-two students was taught using traditional didactic, chalk-and-talk instruction.…

This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of hands-on and minds-on activities on ninth grade students' achievement in and attitudes towards simple electric circuits. The study was conducted with 130 students, 70 of which were assigned as experimental group and instructed by hands-on/minds-on activities, while the 60 were assigned as…

The use of handheld computers in educational contexts has increased considerably in recent years and their value as a teaching tool has been confirmed by many positive experiences, particular within collaborative learning systems (Mobile Computer Supported Collaborative Learning [MCSCL]). The cost of the devices has hindered widespread use in…