Science actions represent specific initiatives and demarches that involve investigation, experimentation, and even research, for raising the interest of the young generation in science, through particular approaches of STEM education. Important topics are promoted to students in various approaches, addressing nowadays problems, answering…

This article discusses a study carried out to investigate scientific reasoning skills among 82 science pre-service teachers at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), one of the public universities in Malaysia. Undeniably, the development of general scientific abilities is critical to enable students of science, technology,…

This study presents our attempt to elicit students' progression in understanding the matter concept. Past work has identified the big ideas about matter students need to understand, the many everyday understandings students hold about these ideas, and levels of understanding through which students progress in developing understanding of the big…

In the present study we used the technique of word association tests to assess students' cognitive structures during the learning period. In particular, we tried to investigate what students living near a protected area in Greece (Dadia forest) knew about the phenomenon of decomposition. Decomposition was chosen as a stimulus word because it…

In this paper we describe student use of a series of connected online problem-solving activities to remediate atmospheric carbon budget misconceptions held by undergraduate university students. In particular, activities were designed to address a common misconception about conservation of mass when students assume a simplistic, direct relationship…

Many experimenters, starting with Ernst Mach in 1883, have reported that if a device alternately sucks in and then expels a surrounding fluid, it moves in the same direction as if it only expelled fluid. This surprising phenomenon, which we call "Machian propulsion", is explained by conservation of momentum: the outflow efficiently transfers…

This paper describes a set of studies carried out as part of a larger project on the development of children's concepts of matter and its changes. In this paper, the impact of visibility and familiarity of the process of dissolving on children's concepts is analyzed. Two different studies with kindergarten and third grade students were carried…

Discussed is the physical concept of conservation as it is framed within the laws of conservation of mass, of momentum, and of energy. The derivation of Ohm's Law as a generalization of the relationship between the observed measurements of voltage and current serves as the exemplar of how conservation theories are formed. (JJK)

Clarifies the difference between the Piagetian Conservation of Liquid Quantity task and the Conservation of Volume task and provides an alternative test for the presence of formal operational thought. (JR)

The Piagetian operations of multiple classification, multiple attributes, seriation and reversibility were used to develop an "equilibrated methodology" to help preschool children conserve quantity. Randomly assigned experimental and control groups within morning and afternoon classes at a nursery school were used to evaluate the…

Urges a detailed analysis of the structure of some of the fundamental conceptual schemes of science. Suggests that a logical explication of this analysis would serve the needs of both science curriculum designers and researchers of conept formation in children. (LC)

Twenty-three high school biology students using the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Blue Textbook were administered a weight conservation and two volume conservation tasks. A majority performed below formal-operational level, indicating that these students would be likely to encounter difficuluty with BSCS Blue Version materials. (MLH)

Reported is a study of 1555 students, grades 4-12, regarding understanding the concept of controlling variables. Subjects were examined on a task involving spheres rolling down an incline and striking a target sphere; they were evaluated upon their explanations of answers, not their choice of answers. Findings indicated that the Piagetian stage of…

Examines which conservation type (identity or equivalence), if any, is attained at an earlier age. Findings support Piaget's position that identity and equivalence are concomitant developments. (CP)

The authors gave a series of simple demonstrations followed by questions to which ninth grade students provided written answers to assess their ability to perform tasks for conservation of amount, weight and volume. Responses were varied. The paper includes the test form and a few typical answers. (AJ)