The periodic table is a fundamental tool used in chemistry classes that allows students to systematically understand different types of elements and their physical and chemical properties. While many textbooks emphasize the historical process of classifying substances, they often superficially elucidate the achievements of chemists such as Dmitry…

The question of how to create a common framework for teaching (a science of the art of teaching) has often been a topic of discussion. As a result of Lesson Study, such a framework has emerged in Japan for science education. Outside Japan, however, creating a common framework for teaching has appeared to be far from easy. This article focuses on…

Every substance is associated to emission of electromagnetic radiation whose peaks are essentially influenced by temperature. Hot bodies (i.e., at T >700 °C) emit electromagnetic radiation in the field of visible light (incandescent light). The radiation emitted by cold bodies (i.e., at normal ambient conditions) in the visible light range is…

In this paper, the question is explored of what policies, standards and practices are desirable to ensure that hardware, software and publications in the sciences and associated disciplines are created from the outset to be accessible to people with disabilities. Insight into this question can be obtained by considering the unique accessibility…

To support reading comprehension and content acquisition among middle school students with reading disabilities and difficulties, content area teachers must employ evidence-based literacy instruction. This type of instruction is especially crucial in the content areas because the majority of students with disabilities--those who typically struggle…

This review surveys Femi Otulaja and Meshach Ogunniyi's, "Handbook of research in science education in sub-Saharan Africa," Sense, Rotterdam, 2017, noting the significance of the theoretically rich content and how this book contributes to the field of education as well as to the humanities more broadly. The volume usefully outlines the…

Natural history collections are an irreplaceable and extensive record of life, and form the basis of our understanding of biodiversity on our planet. Broad-scale educational accessibility to these vast specimen collections, specimen images, and their associated data is currently severely hampered. With emerging technologies and massive efforts…

This article supports critical, social justice oriented science education research by providing a theoretical and methodological basis for examining how subjectivities may be constituted through discourses found in science education texts. Such research explores how discourses orient teachers and students to the world, others, and themselves, as…

In this article, the authors consider whether children's trade books promote an authentic understanding of the nature of science. They begin by discussing the characteristics of the nature of science and then examine existing research in children's science books for evidence of the visibility of these features. They describe the problems…

The graphic organizer called here heuristic diagram as an improvement of Gowin's Vee heuristic is proposed as a tool to teach history of science. Heuristic diagrams have the purpose of helping students (or teachers, or researchers) to understand their own research considering that asks and problem-solving are central to scientific activity. The…

In "The Secret Identity of a Biology Textbook: straight and naturally sexed," Jesse Bazzul and Heather Sykes conduct a case study of a biology textbook as an oppressive instructional material. Using queer theory they explore how the text of the biology textbook produces "truths" about sex, gender, and sexuality. Their analysis is complemented by…

Despite the expressed need for high-quality science education, very little research has been conducted on what middle school science learning opportunities look like in practice. This study was conducted in support of "Strengthening Science Education in California", a research, policy, and communications initiative. Partners in this…

Models and modeling are considered integral parts of scientific literacy, reflecting educators' efforts to introduce and engage students in authentic scientific inquiry through Modeling-based Learning (MbL) approaches in science. Over the years research has developed a considerable amount of knowledge concerning MbL. Our purpose in this paper was…

"Monitoring Progress Toward Successful K-12 STEM Education: A Nation Advancing?" (National Research Council, 2013) describes a set of 14 indicators for assessing and tracking the health of pre-college STEM education in the United States. This 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education (NSSME), is the fifth in a series of…

Between 1880 and 1920 the way science was taught in American High Schools changed dramatically. The old "lecture/demonstration" method, where information was presented to essentially passive students, was replaced by the "laboratory" method, where students performed their own experiments in specially constructed student laboratories. National…