Although teaching science outdoors is well established in global circles, its pedagogical value in Australia is less understood. This paper addresses this gap through its investigation of outdoor science teaching in a science method course in a teacher education program at an Australian regional university. As part of their coursework, pre-service…

The present study examines the pedagogical use of reading aloud of science trade books as an effective tool for teaching nature of science (NOS) to elementary students. To this end, we explore elementary teachers' and students' dialogic negotiation of NOS during interactive science read-alouds, as well as potential interactions between their…

This article describes a project that integrates English Language Arts (ELA) and coding into environmental science. For this project, students researched science content about human impact on the environment, communicated their findings through a traditionally formatted narrative story, and then used a coding program called Scratch to create an…

This study aims at analyzing the learning outcomes of the 2018 science education curricula in Turkey according to science process skills. Learning outcomes are statements that describe what a learner will know, understand, and/or be able to do after completing a learning process. Learning outcomes were evaluated using document analysis which is a…

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…

For years, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in New Mexico has led an outreach effort called "Mission to Mars" to engage fifth grade students in applying science and mathematics concepts related to building a colony on Mars. Many organizations across the US canceled similar events due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.…

Learning outdoors can be a powerful pedagogical tool in a teachers science arsenal and one that can be exploited throughout the year to teach a variety of science topics. In his first article on outdoor learning in science, the author considered which areas of science could be taught outdoors and the resources that can be used; in this follow-up…

Open ended and multiple choice questions are commonly placed on the same tests; however, there is a discussion on the effects of using different item types on the test and item statistics. This study aims to compare model and item fit statistics in a mixed format test where multiple choice and constructed response items are used together. In this…

This paper provides a report of a case study on the professional agency of an experienced early years teacher, Sarah, who successfully embedded a chemical science program of teaching-learning for her students aged between 6 and 8. Interactive ethnography informs the research design, and discursive psychology provides the tools for the analysis of…

This study investigated the effect of using activities based on the Montessori approach in science academic achievement of the fourth grade students. A quasi-experimental design was used wherein the students were equally divided into two groups: the experimental and the control group. Both groups consisted of 31 students. To achieve the aim of the…

Developing scientific literacy about water systems is critical for K-12 students. However, even with opportunities to build knowledge about the hydrosphere in elementary classrooms, early learners may struggle to understand the water cycle (Forbes et al., [Forbes, C. T., 2015]; Gunckel et al., [Gunckel, K. L., 2012]; Zangori et al., [Forbes, C.…

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of STEM-based activities conducted in fourth-grade primary school science classes on students' scientific process skills, problem-solving skills and academic success. The study used the experimental model and was carried out according to the pretest-posttest experimental design with a control group.…

Understanding the nature of science (NoS) is perplexing for young children because it is concerned with not only understanding how evidence is generated but also what kind of meanings can be made from information collected. However, acting as a scientist-in-role, making independent decisions about what information to collect and deciding how to go…

This study investigates how elementary students were able to construct a human respiratory system model and, in particular, how the process of reasoning contributed to their model through the use of analogy model activities. For this study, modeling activities that included the use of analogy models were designed and implemented. Over 4 class…

While curriculum designed as project-based learning is not suitable for use with every science standard, this methodology can be used when teaching concepts that naturally contain some flexibility. With small adaptations, teachers can implement these practices into the classroom regardless of the grade level. This article provides a detailed…