Background: The Next Generation Science Standards (2013) put a special emphasis on engineering for K-12 science education. However, a significant number of elementary teachers still feel unprepared to integrate engineering into their science programs. It is, therefore, incumbent upon science educators to update their elementary science methods…

Philosophy is concerned with fundamental questions about knowledge, truth, reality, experience, justice and what is right and wrong. In this article, the authors discuss how philosophy and science can be taught together in the primary classroom.

The NGSS [Next Generation Science Standards] reconceptualize science instruction by redefining the teacher as someone who helps students construct their own knowledge by "thinking like scientists" and engaging in discrete science practices. However, with STEM teachers in short supply and generalists often feeling underprepared to teach…

Are you interested in helping your elementary students learn the practices of science, including constructing explanations and engaging in argument from evidence? "Argument-Driven Inquiry in Fifth-Grade Science" will provide you with both the information and instructional materials you need to get started right away. The book is a…

This study examined the effects of a teacher-led learning-strategy intervention program on fourth-grade students' reported use and perceived effectiveness of rehearsal and comprehension-oriented learning strategies. During 18 program units, teachers taught about learning and various learning strategies, including visualisation, elaboration and…

Previous research suggests that everyday expressions are commonly used in students' descriptions of nutrient uptake. This study investigate a classroom context in year 5 with a focus on signs of scientific meaning-making about nutrient uptake with an animation as a resource in two different schools. In one of the schools there was also a teacher…

We are interested in how whiteness shaped one teacher's abilities to engage his elementary school students in culturally responsive pedagogy, especially his abilities to engage or avoid conversations about race-based inequities in an integrated technology unit focused on NGSS disciplinary practices. We draw upon culturally responsive pedagogy,…

This study aims for students to comprehend the beneficial functions of bacteria with the traditional home yogurt leavening activity. Also, it aims to identify alternative concepts related to leavening and contribute to students' home yogurt consumption habits. The study is a case study. The study was conducted with 29 fifth-grade students studying…

A previous study mentioned that students' action responses towards water pollution are incongruent with the training they received in schools. Conducting a course of two weeks with elementary students (N = 22) aged 9-10 in Hong Kong, the study aims to connect primary students' perceptions of the causes, consequences and responsive actions on water…

In recent decades a body of research has emerged supporting the effectiveness of a plethora of science teaching practices in improving learners' science achievement and scientific literacy. However, if the benefits of evidence-based science practice are to be realised consistently and at scale we need to improve our understanding of how teachers…

The research aimed to 1) build and assess suitability of the learning management plan of the predictive-observation-explanatory (POE) technology based learning approach to promote scientific explanation making about the change of the substance for primary school students, 2) to distill the lesson learnt of the predictive-observation-explanatory…

This study aimed to develop a specialized rule-based AI chatbot tailored for a sixth-grade optics unit and to evaluate the impact of the implementation of the chatbot on students' cognitive and affective outcomes related to science within the classroom setting. Specifically, this study explored how factors such as gender and achievement levels…

Artificial photosynthesis is a promising approach to generate commodity chemicals using abundant chemical feedstocks and renewable energy sources. Despite its importance, affordable and effective hands-on classroom activities that demonstrate artificial photosynthesis and teach key concepts, especially for primary school students, are lacking.…

A great deal has been written about the huge benefits to children of learning through the context of stories. Some scientific concepts can be difficult for children to understand if they cannot see or experience them. Stories help bring the concepts to life, making them more meaningful, increasing engagement and often providing a more fun…

Children often have very stereotyped views of science and scientists, far removed from their own lives. Getting children to 'become' scientists and feel that they are actually "doing" science, being involved in something pertinent to them and their environment, is a goal of modern science teaching. This article aims to illustrate how…