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We utilize excited state density functional theory (eDFT) to study Rydberg states in atoms. We show both analytically and numerically that semilocal functionals can give quite reasonable Rydberg energies from eDFT, even in cases where time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) fails catastrophically. We trace these findings to the fact that in eDFT the Kohn–Sham potential for each state is computed using the appropriate excited state density. Unlike the ground state potential, which typically falls off exponentially, the sequence of excited state potentials has a component that falls off polynomially with distance, leading to a Rydberg-type series. We also address the rigorous basis of eDFT for these systems. Perdew and Levy have shown using the constrained search formalism that every stationary density corresponds, in principle, to an exact stationary state of the full many-body Hamiltonian. In the present context, this means that the excited state DFT solutions are rigorous as long as they deliver the minimum noninteracting kinetic energy for the given density. We use optimized effective potential techniques to show that, in some cases, the eDFT Rydberg solutions appear to deliver the minimum kinetic energy because the associated density is not pure state v-representable. We thus find that eDFT plays a complementary role to constrained DFT: The former works only if the excited state density is not the ground state of some potential while the latter applies only when the density is a ground state density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The finite deformation theory of rubber and related materials is based on energy functions that describe the macroscopic response of these materials under deformation. Energy functions and elastic constants are here derived from a simple microscopic (ball-and-spring) model. Exact uniaxial force-extension relationships are given for Hooke’s Law and for the thermodynamic entropy-based microscopic model using the Gaussian and the inverse Langevin statistical approximations. Methods are given for finding the energy functions as expansions of tensor invariants of deformation, with exact solutions for functions that can be expressed as expansions in even powers of the extension. Comparison with experiment shows good agreement with the neo-Hookean energy function and we show how this derives directly from the simple Gaussian statistical model with a small modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a lesson plan for teaching physics in early childhood programs, which teaches concepts such as the way objects like toys move, and how forces affect position, motion, and shape of objects.

Copyright of Necatibey Faculty of Education Electronic Journal of Science & Mathematics Education is the property of Balikesir University, Necatibey Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Should entropy and energy be emphasised as relevant concepts for biology education? This question will be discussed, highlighting the ways in which the concepts of entropy and energy can contribute to a better understanding of biological processes. Organisms are open systems. Therefore, the chosen perspective is different from the traditional viewpoint, which is mainly dealing with closed systems. Based on this standpoint, dynamic conceptions for teaching about energy and entropy in biology education can be formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents activity programs for K-12 science education that teach the concepts of force, energy and motion.

The concept of energy serves biologists as a powerful analytical model to describe phenomena that occurs in the natural world. Due to the concept’s relevance, educational standards of different countries identify energy as a core idea for the teaching and learning of biology and other science subjects. However, previous research on students’ energy understanding has mostly focused on physics contexts. This cross-sectional study extends insight to the field by providing a systematic analysis of students’ (N = 30, grades 5, 7, 9, 11) conceptions about energy in biological contexts. In order to connect the findings to previous research, the study analyses conceptions about four energy aspects that are regarded as central for understanding the concept in different disciplinary contexts, i.e. (1) energy forms/sources, (2) transfer/transformation, (3) degradation/dissipation and (4) energy conservation. The findings identify substantial changes in students’ conceptions about energy between the different grade levels, but also highlight conceptions that students consistently employed across age groups. The results are discussed in the light of previous research on students’ progressing energy understanding and the connection of their energy understanding across different disciplinary contexts. Lastly, the article provides implications for the further development of energy teaching in biological contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a revised learning progression for the energy concept and initial findings on diverse progressions among subgroups of sample students. The revised learning progression describes how students progress towards an understanding of the energy concept along two progress variables identified from previous studies – key ideas about energy and levels of conceptual development. To assess students understanding with respect to the revised learning progression, we created a specific instrument, the Energy Concept Progression Assessment (ECPA) based on previous work on assessing students’ understanding of energy. After iteratively refining the instrument in two pilot studies, the ECPA was administered to a total of 4550 students (Grades 8–12) from schools in two districts in a major city in Mainland China. Rasch analysis was used to examine the validity of the revised learning progression and explore factors explaining different progressions. Our results confirm the validity of the four conceptual development levels. In addition, we found that although following a similar progression pattern, students’ progression rate was significantly influenced by environmental factors such as school type. In the discussion of our findings, we address the non-linear and complex nature of students’ progression in understanding energy. We conclude with illuminating our research's implication for curriculum design and energy teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: This study aimed to ascertain misconceptions of students about basic physical concepts in the "Force and Motion" unit of secondary school seventh class curriculum, to eliminate the misconceptions with created argument environment and traditional approaches after evaluated, and categorize these misconceptions in an ontological sense. Research Methods: Considered fundamental problems and sub-problems for which answers are sought. A semi-experimental model with pre-test and post-test control groups was utilized. Detected ontological categories were analyzed and discussed for each question located in the "Force and Motion" concept test. Findings: Before and after applications after physical concepts about the Force and Motion unit were examined and categorized ontologically. 301 examined misconceptions from students in the experimental group arose from placement in the higher category. 150 misconceptions that arose from the placement in the lateral category were identified before application. 252 misconceptions of the 301 misconceptions (83.72%) that arose from placement in the higher category were corrected due to argumentation works that were executed. 128 misconceptions out of 150 (85.33%) misconceptions that were placed in the lateral category were corrected after an argumentation analysis. Implications for Research and Practice: Studies such as determination, evaluation, and correction of misconceptions should be performed by using ontological categories. This study shows that the implementation of argumentation works is more successful in the elimination of misconceptions placed in constraint-based interaction- natural, random-event, and matter categories. In this way, learning environments can be designed to be more efficient and infallible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A first person narrative is presented that explores the author's experience of building a strong foundation and excitement toward the concept of energy and matter at an early age.

The article presents a lesson plan for sixth - eighth grade physics education that teaches the way of contextualizing a unit on energy by designing and building a Rube Goldberg machine that can complete simple tasks such as lighting a bulb.

Patterns of Change: Forces and Motion is an integrated science lesson that uses the 5E lesson cycle to tie together science with language arts, mathematics, literature, technology, engineering and social studies in an engaging format applicable for young learners. This lesson has been uniquely designed for the purpose of providing elementary teachers with ideas for using hands-on minds-on activities to foster inquiry and discussion, while engaging their students to use technology as a learning tool. This lesson has been used on the elementary level to teach students about the forces that have an effect on motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes an activity program for middle school education which help students understand the relationship between gravity and air resistance.

Copyright of Journal of Theory & Practice in Education (JTPE) / Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama is the property of Journal of Theory & Practice in Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There is an increasing interest in conducting reading-related studies in science education using a self-regulated learning (SRL) lens. This exploration involved a content analysis of 34 articles (38 studies in total) in highly regarded journals from 1998 to 2012 using an SRL interpretative framework to reveal critical features and relationships in the science reading research. A cross-study comparison revealed that most researchers had applied mixed methods approaches (68 %), used instructional cues as an intervention (47 %), and collected both performance and process data (50 %). The summary figures indicated that a variety of instructional cues had different effects on science reading and SRL strategies and that there were interactions between task conditions and cognitive conditions. Customized or personalized metacognitive prompts are especially useful for comprehending hypertexts and conducting online information searches. Based on the findings, it was suggested that future research should apply the COPES model for SRL to design instructional cues for learners and to investigate how external task conditions influence cognitive conditions, self-regulated processes, and reading performance across different science text genres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common core standards, interdisciplinary education, and discipline-specific literacy are common international education reforms. The constructive-interpretative language arts pairs (speaking-listening, writing-reading, representing-viewing) and the communication, construction, and persuasion functions of language are central in these movements. This research developed and validated a communication progression in science education for elementary-secondary schooling in Taiwan. The framework for the communication progression was based on relevant literature, international curricula, and focus-group deliberations; it consisted of three dimensions: presentation, reaction, and negotiation. Delphi deliberations with questionnaires were applied to experts to evaluate the theoretical considerations and to experienced science teachers to evaluate the practical considerations. Results confirmed the importance of communications in science learning and the developmental nature of communications across elementary, middle, and secondary schools and validated the proposed framework and progression. The communication progression has application to other international education systems as they address common core standards and curricula in language and science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the validity of 2 proposed learning progressions on the force concept when tested using items from the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). This is the first study to compare students' performance with respect to learning progressions both for force and motion and for Newton's third law in parallel. It is also among the first studies on learning progressions within an East Asian context. Data come from 174 Singaporean secondary students who completed the FCI during regular school time. FCI questions are coded as ordered multiple choice items based on the respective learning progressions, and responses are analyzed using a rating scale Rasch measurement model. Results show that FCI items have moderate data-model fit and demonstrate the expected pattern of difficulty among levels of the learning progressions. However, scale reliability and fit for the thresholds between levels showed limitations. The students' ability estimates for Newton's third law were higher than for force and motion, contrary to expectation about the relationship between the 2 aspects of force. The paper discusses the connection of these results with the curriculum and implications for learning progressions for the force concept. Directions for future research on instruments for use with learning progressions are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curricular coherence is an indication of the alignment of content ideas, the depth at which they are studied, and the sequencing of ideas within and across grade levels and has been identified as an important predictor of student performance. This study examined the contribution of inter-unit coherence on energy to the learning of this concept over time. The concept of energy was interwoven as a core disciplinary idea and as a cross-cutting theme in six different units in a reform-based middle school curriculum. The unit posttests of students from a national field test of the curriculum were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling to identify ways in which ideas learned in some units supported the learning in other units. Results indicate that inter-unit coherence enabled students to develop a deeper understanding of energy by providing repeated exposure over years rather than weeks, enabling knowledge constructed in one unit to become the prior knowledge to be built upon in subsequent units, and offering a broader range of contexts in which students could apply their ideas than could be accomplished in stand-alone units. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 1408-1425, 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to compare layered curriculum and creative drama methods on 'Force and Motion' unit of Science and Technology at 6th grade course, for the academic achievement, attitude towards Science and Technology courses and the effects of retention of knowledge; and to determine which method is more effective experimentally. The other aim of this study was to reveal students' opinions related to both methods. In this sense, mixed method strategy with combination of quantitative and qualitative data was used in this study. The research was conducted on 44 students who were attending on 6th classrooms in a primary school placed in south Antalya, in 2011-2012 academic year. In this study, one experimental and one comparison group was constructed. The subjects were taught with creative drama method in I. and with layered curriculum method in II. comparison group. In this research, the quantitative data was collected by using achievement test, the attitude scale and learning scale inventory; qualitative data was collected by using observation forms, process evaluation and semi-structured interviews. Data were collected on both quantitative and qualitative methods, and analyzed by using SPSS program (frequency and percentage calculations, ANCOVA) and qualitative analysis method (coding, thematization) respectively. According to results of the study, both of creative drama and layered curriculum methods have positive effects on academic achievement and retention of knowledge. It was determined that the academic achievement of experimental group of creative drama was higher than the comparison group of layered curriculum. However, it was concluded that both of these methods hadn't any statistically significant effect on the students attitude towards Science and Technology course, it had seen an significant increase in interest of students, according to information obtained from qualitative data collection tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve students' physics problem solving skills, the points which students have difficulty in during the problem solving process must be identified. In this study, It is aimed to determine the points in which students have difficulty in by using clinic interview method with the help of hint cards. 17 different problems related to 10th class "Force and Motion" unit have been designated and 9-11 different hint cards which have the same titles for each problem have been prepared. 17 problems have been solved by 21 students studying at 2 different schools in Trabzon. Firstly, all students have been asked to solve the given problems by thinking out loud, then, students who were able to solve the problem have been asked to tell the process in details and clearly; the students who have failed to solve the problems were asked to retry solving the same problem by using hint cards. Students have come up with the correct solution for some problems without using hint cards, while for some other problems; they have needed to use the hint cards. Whereas these students, despite using hint cards, could not come up with the correct solution to some problems. It was clearly seen that students have used the hint cards which include formulas and steps of solution mostly. It was determined that there ought to be a hint card about unit conversions and the "sample solution" hint should be expressed more clearly. It was retained that some students have had superficial problem solving approach and they have difficulty in making plan, an important step in problem solving; some students have little awareness about their own problem solving process and that proposing hints can help to solve the problem only to a certain extent. Teachers have been suggested to teach the simplest steps of the problems in a clear way, to give students enough time to solve the problems by themselves, to help students find their own wrong steps in the solution process. Accordingly, researchers have been suggested to determine the difficulties that students who are at different levels have while problem solving on different topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers commentary on the issue articles "An Analysis of Metaphors Used by Students to Describe Energy in an Interdisciplinary General Science Course" by Rachael Lancor, "Understanding Starts in the Mesocosm: Conceptual Metaphor As a Framework for External Representations in Science Teaching" by Kai Niebert and Harald Gropengiesser, and "From Stories to Scientific Models and Back: Narrative Framing in Modern Macroscopic Physics" by Hans U. Fuchs. Conceptual metaphors are addressed.

The meaning of the termenergyvaries widely in scientific and colloquial discourse. Teasing apart the different connotations of the term can be especially challenging for non-science majors. In this study, undergraduate students taking an interdisciplinary, general science course (n = 49) were asked to explain the role of energy in five contexts: radiation, transportation, generating electricity, earthquakes, and the big bang theory. The responses were qualitatively analyzed under the framework of conceptual metaphor theory. This study presents evidence that non-science major students spontaneously use metaphorical language that is consistent with the conceptual metaphors of energy previously identified in the discourse of students in introductory physics, biology, and chemistry courses. Furthermore, most students used multiple coherent metaphors to explain the role of energy in these complex topics. This demonstrates that these conceptual metaphors for energy have broader applicability than just traditional scientific contexts. Implications for this work as a formative assessment tool in instruction will also be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We demonstrate that a particular blended learning space is especially productive in developing understanding of energy transfers and transformations. In this blended space, naturally occurring learner interactions like body movement, gesture, and metaphorical speech are blended with a conceptual metaphor of energy as a substance in a class of activities called Energy Theater. We illustrate several mechanisms by which the blended aspect of the learning environment promotes productive intellectual engagement with key conceptual issues in the learning of energy, including distinguishing among energy processes, disambiguating matter and energy, identifying energy transfer, and representing energy as a conserved quantity. Conceptual advancement appears to be promoted especially by the symbolic material and social structure of the Energy Theater environment, in which energy is represented by participants and objects are represented by areas demarcated by loops of rope, and by Energy Theater's embodied action, including body locomotion, gesture, and coordination of speech with symbolic spaces in the Energy Theater arena. Our conclusions are (1) that specific conceptual metaphors can be leveraged to benefit science instruction via the blending of an abstract space of ideas with multiple modes of concrete human action, and (2) that participants’ structured improvisation plays an important role in leveraging the blend for their intellectual development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Energy is an abstract science concept, so the ways that we think and talk about energy rely heavily on ontological metaphors: metaphors for what kind of thing energy is. Two commonly used ontological metaphors for energy are energy as a substance and energy as a vertical location. Our previous work has demonstrated that students and experts can productively use both the substance and location ontologies for energy. In this paper, we use Fauconnier and Turner's conceptual blending framework to demonstrate that experts and novices can successfully blend the substance and location ontologies into a coherent mental model in order to reason about energy. Our data come from classroom recordings of a physics professor teaching a physics course for the life sciences, and from an interview with an undergraduate student in that course. We analyze these data using predicate analysis and gesture analysis, looking at verbal utterances, gestures, and the interaction between them. This analysis yields evidence that the speakers are blending the substance and location ontologies into a single blended mental space. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this study is to explore the problems encountered while teaching force and motion unit in 8th grade science and technology course from teachers' perspectives and offer solutions to eliminate these problems. The study was conducted with 248 science and technology teachers working in 7 regions in Turkey in 2012-2013 academic year. Descriptive method was used in the research. The data of the research was obtained with a questionnaire developed by the researchers. Content analysis, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation were used for the analysis of the data. The teachers stated that the problems and solutions in force and motion unit in science and technology course depending on time, text book and work book, lack of connection to daily life, feature of the unit, students and implementations were examined. As a result of the study the teachers justified that abstract and complicated subject, lack of equipment and tools, and students' not being able to use scientific process skills adequately were the problems in force and motion unit in science and technology course. To solve the problems, the teachers suggested that course hours should be increased, labs should be improved, more equipment and tools should be provided and teachers should give more opportunities to the students to do more activities, link the subjects to daily life and materialise them, use technology (video, flash, presentations, sides and so on) in their classes, solve more problems about the topic and the number of activities in workbook should be increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to inquire about students' conceptualizations of the force concept in terms of ontological categories. Although some of the literature have been providing supporting evidences about the fruitfulness of ontological categories for explaining the nature of students' alternative conceptions, some others provide strong arguments against it. To tap the controversial issues in the literature, an inquiry was conducted in a classroom context with students who were seeking a degree to become physics teachers. The data consist of four students' written responses to physics problems, reflections about their own conceptualizations from the theoretical perspective of ontological categories, and video recordings of classroom discussions. The analysis of data showed that a theory-driven interpretation (ontological categories) about students' conceptualizations of the force concept did not match with the students' own interpretations about their conceptualizations. Furthermore, the students did not consider ontological category shift a fruitful instructional strategy because of the possible problems they projected for the implementation. The major problem emerged as the difficulty of situating every physics concept into the distinct ontological categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehension is a critical part of the reading process, and yet learners continue to struggle with it and teachers continue to neglect it in their teaching. Many reasons exist for the lack of focus on reading comprehension instruction, but for the most part, teachers simply do not seem to view comprehension as part of the reading process, are not able to teach the concept, and are seemingly not taught to do so during their teacher training years. In addition to this, comprehension continues to be viewed as part of 'language teaching', and is therefore viewed as the so-called 'language teacher's' domain. In support of effective comprehension instruction in the unique, multilingual South African education environment, this article proposes a framework for reading strategy instruction, aimed specifically at teachers. The framework was developed from a research study, and refined through subsequent application in a university course as well as a further study. The framework acknowledges that reading is a multifaceted and complex process, and accordingly, provides sufficient structure for teachers. It further addresses the issue of comprehension instruction through the use of selected reading strategies, designed to be applied by all teachers in all subjects in a flexible and easy manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on incorporation of science into early childhood physical education program. Topics discussed include integration of force, motion, and simple machines for teaching science during for physical education program, set up five interactive stations for students to experience different forces, motions, and simple machines including a Vernier force plate, a scooter and eyehook and pulley attached to ceiling beam; and connecting the same to the Next Generation Science Standards.

The article discusses a strategy for helping children to identify the role energy plays in a variety of phenomena. Topics discussed include studying energy in compliance to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), helping students to understand energy as a Crosscutting Concept of the NGSS, and analysis of changes in the various indicators for energy. It mentions that the main objective of the energy instruction in elementary grades is to provide information on energy flow and conversion.

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of group investigation, learning together and readingwriting- presenting methods on students' academic achievements in teaching of the first year university students attending the classes in which the units of force and motion taught within the general physics course. The sample of this study consists of 121 undergraduates pre-service science teachers during the 2011-2012 academic years in Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University. As the data collection instruments, Graphic Test (GT), Academic Achievement Test (AAT) and Module Tests (Module A, Module B, Module C, Module D and Module E) were used. This study was carried out in four different groups. One of these groups was Group Investigation Group (GIG), the second group was Learning Together Group (LTG), the third group was Reading-Writing-Presenting Group (RWPG) and the other one was Control Group (CG) in which teacher-centered instruction was applied. The data obtained on instruments were evaluated by using ANOVA and descriptive statistics. The results of this study indicate that teaching of force and motion subjects in RWPG was more effective than the other groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors conducted a cross-national curriculum analysis as part of a European Union Comenius project regarding the implementation of an online tool to foster environmental education (EE) in primary schools. The overall goal was to determine the extent and intensity that EE is embedded in the syllabi of five European countries. To this end, the authors developed a categorical analysis framework and undertook a content analysis. In addition to the general goals and contents of EE, they researched in particular the inclusion of the topics 'waste', 'water' and 'energy' in primary school curricula. The results highlight differences and commonalities with regard to goals, contents and methodological requirements, and they confirm the relevance of EE in European school curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study applied a proposed force and motion learning progression (LP) to high-school and university students and to content involving both one- and two-dimensional force and motion situations. The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was adapted, based on a previous content analysis and coding of the questions in the FCI in terms of the level descriptors of the LP. Using a Rasch measurement model and latent class analysis, students' responses were tested for fit with the proposed LP. Results indicated that the recoded FCI response options are generally consistent with a progression of difficulties as proposed in the LP, and that the students could be organized into different groups with progressively different levels of ability. However, reliability for the ability estimates was only moderate and response options at lower levels of the LP were not well differentiated. Implications for the assessments with LPs and revisions for both the FCI and the force and motion LP are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a lesson plan for third grade science and engineering education, which aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), that teaches students about concepts of forces and interactions.

This paper is the first part of a three-part project 'How the principle of energy conservation evolved between 1842 and 1870: the view of a participant'. This paper aims at showing how the new ideas of Mayer and Joule were received, what constituted the new theory in the period under study, and how it was supported experimentally. A connection was found between the new theory and thermodynamics which benefited both of them. Some considerations are offered about the desirability of taking a historical approach to teaching energy and its conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of energy is one key component of science education curricula worldwide. While it is still being taught in many science classrooms from a mainly conceptual knowledge perspective, the need to frame the concept of energy as a socioscientific issue and implement it in the context of citizenship education and education for sustainable development, is getting more and more explicit. As we will be faced with limited fossil fuels and the consequences of global climate change in the future, students have to be supported in becoming literate citizens who are able to reach informed energy-related decisions. In this article, we focus on students’ reasoning and decision-making processes about socioscientific energy-related issues. In more detail, we developed a paper-and-pencil measurement instrument to assess secondary school students’ competencies in this domain. The functioning of the measurement instrument was analysed with a sample of 850 students from grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 using item response theory. Findings show that the measurement instrument functions in terms of reliability and validity. Concerning student ability, elaborate reasoning and decision-making was characterised by the use of trade-offs and the ability to weigh arguments and to reflect on the structure of reasoning and decision-making processes. The developed measurement instrument provides a complement for existing test instruments on conceptual knowledge about the concept of energy. It aims to contribute to a change in teaching about energy, especially in physics education in the sense of education for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article describes how energy issues and education for sustainable development (ESD) are part of the agenda for two current European projects, CoDeS and SUSTAIN. The latter is mainly concerned with the development of inquiry-based primary and lower secondary science education while the former is a network that aims to learn more about collaborations within schools and communities that foster sustainable development. Even though the words 'sustainability' and 'global warming' are not mentioned in the 2014 key stage 3 (ages 11-14) science and geography National Curriculum in England, it is suggested that teaching the difficult concept of energy within the framework of sustainability will increase the engagement and curiosity of pupils and their motivation to study science using different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article outlines a couple of the most recent resources developed by the Centre for Alternative Technology for teaching about energy. The key elements are providing sound information on all the significant sources and inspiring pupils to make their own decisions about energy futures based on evidence. Our experience is that engaging pupils in this way counteracts the 'doom and gloom' that knowledge of climate change can lead to and leaves them feeling positive about the future. It certainly also draws some of them into careers in science and engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Energy ideas' run through much of secondary school biology teaching. These ideas are not always consistent with each other or with the ideas used by other science disciplines. Would a change in terminology help avoid confusion or do we need to review the use of 'energy' in science teaching? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]