How do children begin to make the transition from seeing the natural world to scientifically observing the natural world? This study explored how differences in parent conversational strategies and disciplinary knowledge impact children's experience observing biological phenomena during shared informal learning. A total of 79 parent-child pairs…

A review of research on outdoor learning by Rickinson "et al." (2004) highlights the demonstrable educational benefits and provides a source of support, justification and an evidence base for educators looking to undertake more learning outside the classroom. Bird (2004) also reviewed the widely reported health benefits of outdoor…

Although nature of science (NOS) and nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI) are related to each other, they are differentiated as NOS is being more related to the product of scientific inquiry (SI) which is scientific knowledge whereas NOSI is more related to the process of SI (Schwartz et al. 2008). Lederman et al. ("Journal of Research in…

For more than 50,000 years of Papua New Guinea's human history, Papua New Guineans have been making significant contributions to Science, particularly in the fields of Chemistry and Medicine. However, because of the absence of any written language for over 800 dialects, the information has not been recorded and the contributions of ancient Papua…

This article looks at the potential of bioenergy as a replacement for fossil fuels, the cutting-edge research being undertaken by scientists, and classroom resources available for teaching this topic. There is currently a large programme of scientific research aiming to develop advanced biofuels (replenishable liquid biofuels from non-food plants,…

This study is an attempt to examine the use of linguistic resources by primary science students so as to understand the conceptual and language demands encountered by them when constructing written explanations. The students' written explanations and the instructional language (whole-class discussion and textbook) employed over the topic, the life…

Plants, to many, are simply not as interesting as animals. Students typically prefer to study animals rather than plants and recall plants more poorly, and plants are underrepresented in the classroom. The observed paucity of interest for plants has been described as "plant blindness," a term that is meant to encapsulate both the…

Teachers can find opportunities to incorporate design thinking and scientific inquiry within any lesson where a constraint of the design can be connected to a scientific experiment. Within a lesson, this connection establishes context between engineering and science and can positively impact students' learning and interest in these subjects. The…

Young children love to draw, and should be encouraged to explore drawing as a communication tool. Drawing is a means by which children can express their thoughts, interests and feelings, long before they learn to write. We know that: "children's drawings are vehicles for expression and communication" (Chang, 2012, p. 187). This form of…

This article will explore the intersection between "literature" and "science" in one key area, the botanical poem with scientific notes. It reveals significant aspects of the way knowledge was gendered in the Enlightenment, which is relevant to the present-day education of girls in science. It aims to illustrate how members of…

This randomized controlled trial or "true experiment" examines the effects of a school garden intervention on the science knowledge of elementary school children. Schools were randomly assigned to a group that received the garden intervention (n?=?25) or to a waitlist control group that received the garden intervention at the end of the…

Invasive species are one of the main threats to biodiversity worldwide. Even though they are identified and recognized as such by the Portuguese law, the majority of the population is not yet aware of this problem. Aiming to increase awareness about biological invasions among young students, a workshop on Invasive Plant Species was organized at…

The sugar maple, "Acer saccharum," is projected to decline and die in 88 to 100 percent of its current range in the United States. An iconic symbol of the northeastern temperate forest and a dominant species in this forest, the sugar maple is identified as the most sensitive tree in its ecosystem to rising temperatures and a warming…

Informal participation in science is being recognized as an important way of developing science learning both for children and adults. Mobile learning has particular properties that have potential in informal science settings, particularly outside traditional educational settings. Mobile technologies provide new opportunities for learners to…

Recent research has identified a karrikin (a butenolide derative) known as 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3-c]pyran-2-one, formed from burning cellulose, that stimulates seed germination. Here, I present ideas on how to investigate the influence of karrikins on seed germination in the laboratory.