This study investigates preschool teachers' considerations for including digital tools in science teaching to develop children's learning of science content. Due to the ongoing digitalisation and demands in society, the utilisation of digital tools has increased significantly in educational settings. Recent research about digital tools in early…

Though job opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) continue to expand in the United States, people on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) while in school are continually disadvantaged in future STEM-based career possibilities. Studies have shown that students on IEPs are far less likely to major in a STEM degree…

The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to investigate science teachers' views about the nature of science (NOS); and second, to examine science teachers' views about their NOS integration into instruction. Reconceptualized family resemblance approach to nature of science (RFN) is used as a theoretical and analytical framework. The…

Most primary school students, although they grasp the scientific concepts of heat convection at the macroscopic level, commonly fail to visualize those concepts. Therefore, our research aims to enact a constructivist teaching sequence (CTS) to restructure students' visualization changes, ultimately enabling them to synergize macroscopic and…

Evolutionary medicine is a growing area of research and practice; however, it is not widely discussed in introductory biology courses. Because of the interest in human biology, using evolutionary medicine is a great way to hold students' interest, placing topics in context, making the subject of evolution relevant. Too often students lose interest…

Despite its crucial importance in physics, there are not many studies focusing on student difficulties and teaching strategies related to the (1D) wave equation in the PER literature. In order to contribute to fill this gap, we conducted a study with university students which focused on specific aspects that are crucial for understanding this…

Chemical thinking has been widely recognized as a core competence for supporting students' problem solving in chemistry education. Disciplinary essential questions and perspectives are two critical aspects of chemical thinking. This study connects essential questions with such perspectives to develop a new framework for restructuring chemical…

Students with disabilities (SWDs) are being educated in the general education classroom more than ever before. As the nation moves toward increasing science education, more must be understood about how science teachers are supporting SWDs in their classrooms. The present study analyzed the responses of five middle school science teachers on how…

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance ([superscript 1]H NMR) spectroscopy is an essential characterization tool for organic chemists widely taught in the undergraduate chemistry curricula. Previous work has focused on how students advance from novice to expert in interpreting [superscript 1]H NMR spectra. However, we need to know more about how…

This study explored K-12 teachers' understanding and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) during and after participation in a professional development (PD) program that included the development of science teachers' conceptual understanding of science. We add to the literature with our focus on a multi-year PD program…

Peer-led team learning is a socially mediated pedagogy where trained peer leaders, students who have completed a course, return to lead students in groups within a targeted course. The effect of peer-led team learning to improve student success in chemistry has been extensively documented but it is unclear if it is just as effective at…

Involving undergraduate STEM majors in authentic research has been cited as being an imperative goal in advancing the field of science and preparing students for careers and post-graduate educational programs. An important component of authentic research that is often overlooked is student understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) and how this…

We developed a curriculum for an upper-level molecular biology course-based undergraduate research laboratory class funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant that focuses on identifying new small proteins in the bacterium, "Escherichia coli." Our CURE class has been continually offered each semester for the last 10 years, with…

This design case chronicles the efforts of an interdisciplinary team of researchers as they collaborated with middle grades science teachers and students to build and refine an epidemic disease curriculum module. The initial five-day design was delivered in five science classrooms at three nearby schools where researcher classroom observations and…

The aim of this study is to design various instructional materials to teach biological systems in a 'Systems in Our Body' unit to 6th grade students with visual impairment (SVI) and to evaluate the effectiveness of these materials. In the study, a design-based research model was used. In the first stage, individual learning needs of SVI and their…