In South Africa and in many other parts of the world, decolonising the curriculum has become a valued goal, while frameworks that would systematically support the decolonising project through "instructional design" are not broadly available. In this conceptual paper we bring readers to consider one framework for instructional design, the…

This paper outlines the design of an interactive simulation of Stokes' law, which is used frequently in the study of particle sedimentation and flotation. The software application includes dynamic visualizations and statistical outputs. Descriptions of how the simulation can be used in a teaching context are provided. The application and its…

The vast majority of well-informed philosophers of science and scientists who are clearly (uncontroversially) scientists are able to extensionally differentiate between almost all scientific and non-scientific practices, disciplines, theories, attitudes, modes of procedure, etc., and do so or would do so in much the same way. This legitimately…

This paper examines the technologisation of the pedagogical space "classroom". We will discuss the development and establishment of the subject-specific classroom system in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany, 1949-1989) by taking a closer look at organisational-structural conditions and responsibilities, as well as at the…

Recent work in science education has emphasized the importance of the conceptual, social, and epistemic dimensions in science learning. But what about the material dimension--the actual physical materials that students use? The way their characteristics and affordances limit or determine instruction has thus far not been as thoroughly explored.…

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unpredictable and stressful situation for both students and instructors. With current instruction largely occurring in an online environment, we propose that increased flexibility in course structure will best support student learning. Flexible course structure offers a trauma-aware approach to teaching, is in line…

Chemical reasoning, and in particular structure--property reasoning, is an important goal of chemistry education. Johnstone's triangle (1982, 1991) is often used to explicate this type of reasoning. This triangle describes the multilevel thought chemical reasoning requires and shows why students find chemistry so difficult. However, this model…

"The Framework for K-12 Science Education" and the Next Generation Science Standards require teachers to integrate engineering design into K-12 science teaching. However, many teachers have no formal preparation in engineering design and how to integrate it into science instruction. Furthermore, few models exist for preparing teachers in…

U.S. education generally portrays science from the Western perspective. As a result, students from different cultures, also referred to as nonmajority students, often struggle to relate material learned in class to their own cultures and lived experiences. Cultural relevance is gaining momentum in broader education reform movements to relate…

In "Making Sense of Sensemaking," readers will learn how to navigate the journey from traditional teaching to a dynamic, student-centered approach that emphasizes understanding over rote learning. Grounded in the latest educational research and aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), this book provides practical…

Quantum physics is the basis for many technologies that are a fundamental part of our daily lives (e.g., lasers) or that may become so in the future (e.g., quantum cryptography and quantum computing). Because of this, quantum physics is now a central aspect of many countries' secondary school curricula. In this article, we present the design and…

Despite longstanding calls to integrate school science and mathematics, concerns remain about how to achieve high-quality learning in both subjects. In reporting on a teaching approach that aimed to achieve this outcome, the authors focus particularly on the teacher's role. The Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science project (IMS), an Australian…

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) who run independent sections for larger lecture courses typically receive insufficient feedback. Course evaluations, already flawed by numerous biases, offer an amalgam of student reactions to lecture and section, even when comments specifically laud or criticize section instructors. Course designs also vary…

Biology education research provides important guidance for educators aiming to ensure access for disabled students. However, there is still work to be done in developing similar guidelines for research settings. By using critical frameworks that amplify the voices of people facing multiple forms of marginalization, there is potential to transform…

Personalized educational interventions have been shown to facilitate successful and inclusive statistics, mathematics, and data science (SMDS) in higher education through timely and targeted reduction of heterogeneous training disparities caused by years of cumulative, structural challenges in contemporary educational systems. However, the burden…