The implementation of video modeling examples of mathematical hands-on experimentation may provide students with authentic and, at the same time, not too cognitively overwhelming experiences. However, the effectiveness of video modeling examples can be influenced by different characteristics of the observed models. On the one hand, based on the…

Improving the education quality, its compliance with modern requirements is closely related to the assimilation of scientific concepts by schoolchildren, which is one of the most important components of the scientific knowledge element. The article aims to present a methodology for the students' formation of physical concepts. The stages of…

Research-based pedagogy was implemented to enhance high school students' learning outcomes in basic organic chemistry. Flipped learning and structured peer work have been offered to grade 10 students(N = 12) during the course with appropriate classroom facilities, supervised by two facilitators. The preclass and in-class activities were designed…

Background: Constructing knowledge through collaborative practical work is a complex process and involves the use of multiple modalities by group members. In practical work sessions, students often manipulate visual objects or textual materials but do not develop their scientific ideas. Purpose: This study illustrates (a) the challenges that…

Multitouch learning books (MLBs) are learning companions that support learning within a series, independent of the learning location. These MLBs can accompany an experiment itself or an entire learning process. In addition to providing interactive tasks, an all-in-one solution can provide pupils with additional information, supporting and…

Given that students are constantly communicating and documenting special experiences in their social and private lives with digital devices, we suggest that this behavior could be used to record and deepen learning experiences-such as visualizing reactions at the molecular level-in a chemistry class. An example would be the creation of stop-motion…

Understanding chemistry requires the interplay of several modes of representations which can be observed in the translational skills of students. This paper investigated the extent of the translational skills of students exposed to conventional lecture method (CLM) and the integrated macro-micro-symbolic approach (IMMSA). Individual interviews…

This paper describes a mini-project developed with 10th grade Portuguese students where, by using an experimental activity involving the use of natural dyes to colour wool, students acquired a better understanding of the concepts and relationship between the colour, the electromagnetic spectrum, and chemical bonding. As demonstrated by the results…

This study explores how students in a joint process of knowledge construction through the use of multilingual and multimodal resources in groups promotes the learning of scientific concepts in the context of laboratory work. Inductive qualitative discourse analysis was conducted to examine how students' translanguage in a group completing tasks in…

This study examines how two kinds of authentic research experiences related to smoking behavior--genotyping human DNA (wet lab) and using a database to test hypotheses about factors that affect smoking behavior (dry lab)--influence students' perceptions and understanding of scientific research and related science concepts. The study used pre and…

For students in biology, chemistry, or environmental science, diatoms offer excellent insight into watershed health and human impact on the environment. Diatoms are found globally in virtually every habitat that has sunlight and moisture, including polar seas, tropical streams, and on moist soils and mosses. Studying diatoms as biological…

This research revealed that metal ions with different charges could significantly affect the viscosity of aqueous sodium carboxylmethylcellulose (CMC) solution. On the basis of an Ostwald viscometer, an improvised apparatus using a dropping ball for examining the viscosity of liquids/solutions has been developed. The results indicate that the…

Three and a half centuries ago, a five-year experiment was conducted involving the growth of a willow tree in a pot which received only water. The conclusion, that a tree is therefore made solely from water, was not so ridiculous when there was still general acceptance of the Aristotelian view of only four "elements": water, earth, fire and air.…

We examined selected situational emotions (interest, well-being and anxiety) experienced by 291 secondary school tenth graders during a hands-on gene technology lesson. Two different instruction groups (I-1, I-2) participated in the same teaching unit, in which four basic gene technology experiments were performed. Using a modified…

This research investigates the influence of computer simulations (virtual experiments) on one hand and real experiments on the other hand on the conceptual understanding of electrical charging. The investigated sample consists of students in the second year (10th grade) of three gymnasiums in Macedonia. There were two experimental groups and one…