In August 2003 over 400 researchers in the field of science education from all over the world met at the 4th ESERA conference in Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands. During the conference 300 papers about actual issues in the field, such as the learning of scientific concepts and skills, scientific literacy, informal science learning, science teacher education, modeling in science education were presented. The book contains 40 of the most outstanding papers presented during the conference. These papers reflect the quality and variety of the conference and represent the state of the art in the field of research in science education.

Working in an interdisciplinary manner is long pursued but a difficult goal of science and mathematics education. The interdisciplinarity of science and mathematics can occur when connections between those disciplines are identified and developed. These connections could be expressed in the educational policies, curriculum, or in the science and mathematics teachers’ educational practices. Sometimes those connections are scarce, but in other moments, full integration is achieved. The Handbook of Research on Interdisciplinarity Between Science and Mathematics in Education presents results of good practices and interdisciplinary educational approaches in science and mathematics. It presents a broad range of approaches for all educational levels, from kindergarten to university. Covering topics such as computer programming, mathematics in environmental issues, and simple machines, this major reference work is an excellent resource for administrators and educators of both K-12 and higher education, government officials, pre-service teachers, teacher educators, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

This book offers a global presentation of issues under study for improving science education research in the context of the knowledge-based society at a European and international level. It includes discussions of several theoretical approaches, research overviews, research methodologies, and the teaching and learning of science. It is based on papers presented at the Third International Conference of the European Science Education Research Association (Thessaloniki, Greece, August 2001).

This book addresses a very important aspect of science education and science education research respectively: The research-based development of Teaching Learning Sequences. The authors elaborate on important theoretical issues as well as aspects of the design and iterative evolution of a several Teaching Learning Sequences in a modern scientific and technological field which is socially relevant and educationally significant. The book is divided into two parts. The first part includes a collection of papers discussing the theoretical foundations and characteristics of selected theoretical frameworks related to designing Teaching Learning Sequences, elaborate on common issues and draw on the wider perspective of design research in education. The second part contains a collection of papers presenting case studies concerning the design, implementation, iterative evolution and evaluation of Teaching and Learning Sequences in a variety of educational context. The case studies deal with a more or less new subject matter, a part of modern interdisciplinary science, material science, which enhances the connections between science and technology. From a wider perspective the case studies draw on existing theoretical ideas on inquiry in various contexts and provide powerful suggestions for contextualized innovation in a variety of school systems and existing practices.

Educational researchers are bound to see this as a timely work. It brings together the work of leading experts in argumentation in science education. It presents research combining theoretical and empirical perspectives relevant for secondary science classrooms. Since the 1990s, argumentation studies have increased at a rapid pace, from stray papers to a wealth of research exploring ever more sophisticated issues. It is this fact that makes this volume so crucial.