Recent studies on active learning classrooms (ACLs) have demonstrated their positive influence on student learning. However, most of the research evidence is derived from a few subject-specific courses or limited student enrolment. Empirical studies on this topic involving large student populations are rare. The present work involved a large-scale…

A traditional science notebook is an official record of a scientist's research. Even in today's digital world, it is still common practice for scientists to record their experimental procedures, data, analysis, results, notes, and other thoughts on the right pages of a bound notebook in permanent ink with nothing written on the left side or back…

Keeping a log of scientific investigations, discoveries, and notes is a process that scientists have used throughout history. Elementary-age children engage in similar types of documentation when they perform investigations and sketch, label, or provide details about their work and findings. This column includes activities inspired by children's…

This research details surveys of current Finnish college students and their study habits. In the current project, we surveyed two distinct sets of students in the spring of 2012 (n = 74), and in the spring of 2014 (n = 119). We found that the students studied less than 9 hours per week. We found significant differences between students' study…

A novel smartphone microscope can be used to observe the dissolution and crystallization of sodium chloride at a microscopic level. Observation of these seemingly simple phenomena through the microscope at 100× magnification can actually reveal some surprising behavior. These experiments offer the opportunity to discuss some basic concepts such as…

This article focuses on the experiences of individuals organizing at All Stars Project Inc. in New York City. Interview and observation were employed to understand individuals' involvement and commitment to the organization. Results show that the perceived successes of the organization can be attributed to strong leadership, fostering community,…

Web allows learners to investigate any question with a great variety of Web resources, in which they could construct a wider, and deeper knowledge. In such investigative learning process, it is important for them to deepen and widen the question, which involves decomposing the question into the sub-questions to be further investigated. This…

The present study examined to what extent inquiry-based investigation as an instructional approach associated with students' overall science achievement and achievement in cognitive domains, including knowing science facts, applying scientific principles, and reasoning with scientific concepts to solve problems. Using TIMSS 2007 science…

In 2011, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) conducted a compliance review of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to examine the district's provision of resources and opportunities to schools with predominantly African American students as compared with schools with predominantly White students. The purpose of this study is to examine the…

This article reports the results of a randomized control trial of a semester-long intervention designed to promote ninth-grade science students' use of text-based investigation to create explanatory models of biological phenomena. The main research question was whether the student participants in the intervention outperformed the students in the…

One of the factors influencing teachers' and pre-service teachers' self-efficacy beliefs is the use of innovations and research in education (scientific articles, thesis, and new teaching materials). This study aims to examine to what extent pre-service science teachers follow the innovations in the field of education and use these innovations in…

Communication theory courses are among the most difficult courses in communication curricula. The breadth and complexity of the discipline requires instructors to confront material with which they may have limited familiarity. Such courses are crucial, however, because learning communication theories cultivates critical thinking, helps students to…

Chemistry in high school is often presented as a jumbled mass of topics drawn from inorganic, analytical, and physical sub-disciplines. With no central theme to build on, students may have trouble grasping the chemical sciences as a coherent field. In this article, Stowe and Elvey describe an activity that integrates different facets of chemistry…

This article describes a second grade science enrichment unit with a focus on human impact, both positive and negative, on the living and nonliving components of the local watershed. Investigating the local watershed gave the unit a personal and pragmatic connection to students' lives because they depend on the local watershed for what they need…

When children actively engage with classroom content, they are generally more interested and better invested in what they are learning, and better learning outcomes will likely ensue. However, it is challenging to design classroom activities that scaffold scientific reasoning while meaningfully and significantly involving students. In this…