This study examined the effect of design-based science instruction (DBSI) on sixth grade students' science achievement, as well as their development in relation to science process skills. 213 sixth grade students from three public schools participated in the study. A pilot was conducted in the unit of Systems of the Human Body and the main study…

When learning about scientific phenomena, students are expected to "mechanistically" explain how underlying interactions produce the observable phenomenon and "conceptually" connect the observed phenomenon to canonical scientific knowledge. This paper investigates how the integration of the complementary processes of designing…

Student participation in the science practices is more than following directions to conduct pre-determined experiments and analyze data with expected solutions. This requires classroom shifts that increase the epistemic agency of students: increase student involvement and authority in developing science knowledge and practices, rather than the…

Despite increased research interest in improving students' scientific inquiry abilities, how to conduct scientific inquiry using science textbooks that are easily accessible to primary school students remains understudied. This study developed and verified an inquiry activity model (IAM) to improve the performance of primary school students in…

Science education research has repeatedly revealed students' problems with understanding the energy concept, in particular, their understanding of potential energy. Newer research suggests that teaching students fields as a means to store potential energy may promote a more consistent understanding of the energy concept. Yet, it is presently…

Learning to teach science using engineering design is a complex endeavor for elementary preservice teachers (PSTs). This entails helping PSTs understand students as sense makers and recognizing ways to notice, respond, and leverage their students' ideas throughout the design process. In this study, we follow a cohort of elementary PSTs through a…

When it comes to biology lessons in Germany, girls generally exhibit higher levels of self-determined motivation than boys. Previous research suggests that fostering student autonomy could be a way to effectively address this gender gap. To investigate gender-related effects in biology education, a sample of 303 sixth-grade students (M[subscript…

The teachers should support students in acquiring knowledge and developing skills thus preparing them to think and learn independently. Considering this, the significance of implementing the modified Know-Want-Learn (KWL) teaching strategy, which directs students to perform metacognitive activities, becomes more evident. Quasi-experimental…

The purpose of this mixed-method action research study was to improve Black students' performance in my sixth-grade science class by improving their ability to use the claim, evidence, and reasoning (CER) framework. Using criterion-based convenient sampling, I enlisted 17 Black participants, all of whom were underperforming in my science class at…

The aim of this study is to design various instructional materials to teach biological systems in a 'Systems in Our Body' unit to 6th grade students with visual impairment (SVI) and to evaluate the effectiveness of these materials. In the study, a design-based research model was used. In the first stage, individual learning needs of SVI and their…

Background Study: Developments in science and technology, have created a need for technology-supported learning environments. Robotics is a technology widely used in science education. Collaborative learning is one of the methods used in education based on the constructivist approach. Using robotic and cooperative learning together is a new and…

Circulatory system is a challenging subject for middle school students to learn and understand conceptual relationships. To address these challenges, this study developed plugged (computational thinking activities using computer) and unplugged (computational thinking activities without using computer) teaching modules that integrated computational…

This study aimed to investigate the effects of robotic coding supported Design-Based Science Instruction (RC-DBSI) on sixth-grade students' science process skills. One-group pretest-posttest experimental design was employed in the study. Participants consisted of thirty-nine sixth-grade students enrolled in a public middle school located in the…

The teacher has an important role in making pupils skilled in inquiry, viz guiding them to carry out inquiry steps in science learning. However, there are obstacles to applying online learning at primary school level, especially inquiry-based science. The purpose of this research is to analyse the application of inquiry in science learning,…

This paper describes the construct of fascination in science, a non-cognitive trait combining interest, curiosity, and mastery skills, and the particular relevance of fascination in science for students during middle school. Grounded in the theory of "Science Learning Activation" and employing data from the longitudinal Activated…