This is the third special issue of "Primary Science," and it is one that offers primary school teachers an insight into an initiative that does wonders for primary science leadership, learning, and teaching -- the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM). Hub leaders are the heart and expertise of PSQM, working with groups of local science…

In the present study, atmospheric pressure, an abstract concept that learners generally have difficulty understanding and explaining, was presented to pre-service elementary teachers (PSTs) with the method of argumentation. The argument levels of the PSTs were examined using the Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) experiments in teaching the subject of…

Through a meta-analysis, this study examines how effective particulate nature of matter (PNM)-based intervention studies are at improving academic performance. Well-known databases (e.g., ERIC, Springer Link, Taylor & Francis, and ScienceDirect) were used to look for the PNM-based intervention studies via specific keyword patterns. Also, a…

There is a need for robust, empirically-validated conceptualisations of teachers' attitudes towards teaching science, with a view to understand how these might explain their intention to teach science. The "Dimensions of Attitudes Toward Science" (DAS) theoretical framework suggests that cognitive, affective and perceived control…

This study provided a phenomenological account of 22 pre-service elementary teachers' experiences transitioning from being pre-service teachers learning the knowledge base about science instruction to teaching a physical science topic in a microteaching activity. This transition within a phase of the professional teacher continuum is just as…

During a 10-week professional physical science professional development (PD) course, elementary inservice teachers (n = 18) in a large urban district were engaged in explicit-reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction. Teachers were also explicitly engaged in reflection concerning NOS pedagogy (e.g., explicit-reflective, role of context).…

In many countries, individuals have started to gain 21stcentury skills from an early age. In Turkey, the education of gifted students is supported with activities enriched in parallel with these skills in science and art centers. The LEGO® Education® BricQ Motion Essential Set reinforces achievements with hands-on activities in science subjects,…

This study investigated the effect of the Jigsaw and Team-Pair Solo cooperative learning strategies on interest in Basic Science of primary school children with visual impairment. This is a pretest-posttest control group with a follow-up design study. A total of 56 students in Enugu State of Nigeria were randomized into one of two groups, n = 27…

Science is part of the educational curricula, and its teaching is the responsibility of teachers. Since 2000, scholars from The Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) countries have been tested in science by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), despite the diversity in national higher education systems. This requires a…

This longitudinal study examines elementary teachers' self-efficacy for science teaching in the years after professional development (PD) ended and during a subsequent 3-year period of follow-up support. Self-efficacy is important because teachers make decisions about classroom activities based, in part, on how confident they are in their…

In this article the authors provide an overview of the Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science project conducted in Grades 1 to 6 in four Australian schools. The project teachers implemented an enquiry-based pedagogical model through 12 interrelated topics. This paper details how a range of mathematics and science concepts can be effectively…

This article presents the evaluation of a two-year action research project in biology and mathematics teaching involving a primary school and a university in Sweden. The aim of the study was to contribute knowledge about a school-university intersection as a professional learning arena. The teachers' conceptions about the project implementation,…

The TAPS pyramid was developed in late 2014 and has been available as a download on the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) website since August 2015. But where has it gone since then? Who is using it? And how is it being used in schools to change primary science assessment practice? This article attempts to answer these questions with data from…

Science learning takes place not only in the context of science class but also after class. Students' internal forms of motivation, such as curiosity and interest, affect the entire science learning process in both in-class and after-class contexts. In addition, both stable existing learner characteristics, such as science curiosity and interest…

This dissertation examined the relationship between elementary school science teachers' epistemic orientation and classroom learning environment type--generative or replicative--they established for science knowledge development. Drawing on the theory of epistemological development and understanding, the influence of teacher epistemic beliefs on…