This research is a systematic literature review study that aims to explore the evidence in publications that report on the types of misconceptions experienced by students in learning chemistry by providing types of students' chemical misconceptions based on levels and obtaining the correct formulation of misconceptions so that they can be used as…

Food, cooking, and eating are commonly used as contexts or legitimations to teach and communicate science. However, for teaching to have contextual credibility, the relationship between subject and context is a relevant area of study. The present contribution describes an analysis of curricula from three Nordic countries shedding light on…

We explored chemical engineering students' approaches to learning, study-related burnout, and perceptions of peer and self-assessment in a challenging physical chemistry thermodynamics course. Cluster analysis revealed three learning profiles based on students' approaches to learning: students who scored high in both organised studying and the…

Higher education continually seeks new approaches to support students with various learning needs. At present, Finland attempts to provide such support through accessibility and reasonable accommodation efforts, but students with learning disabilities may still encounter many barriers in their studies. One approach suggested to meet the needs of a…

This dissertation focuses on three manuscripts all related to bolstering science achievement through recommendations from the National Research Council (NRC) regarding the teaching and learning of science. The manuscripts address meeting the NRC's call to incorporate curriculum and assessment that lead to more in-depth knowledge that can be…

Understanding chemical models can be challenging for many university students studying chemistry. This study analysed students' understanding of molecular structures using the Lewis structure as a model, and examined what hinders their understanding. We conducted pre- and post-tests to analyse students' conceptions and changes in them. The…

This study explores prospective primary school teachers' misconceptions concerning basic concepts in chemistry. The data was gathered during the years 2012-2016 among first-year primary school teachers in Finland (N = 389). The results show that every year, as many as 40%-80% of teachers share the same kinds of misconceptions as children ages 5-12…

The aim of this study is to provide an understanding of context-based inquiry teaching within a humanistic perspective on science education by studying pre-service teachers' beliefs about inquiry and their implementations of inquiry in their context-based teaching sequences. Therefore, five pre-service teachers enrolled in a university…

Changing majors or dropping out are of great concern to universities worldwide, but the role of learning approaches in terms of students' persistence has not been previously studied. Changing majors, especially in chemistry, is a severe problem in Finland. Here, learning approach data were collected with the ChemApproach questionnaire from 733…

Gender disparities in STEM fields have been under extensive study, the focus of which has been on future career aspirations. However, the primary phases in gender differences are still ambiguous when examined from this perspective, possibly due to the fact that most of the studies have targeted samples of upper secondary school or college…

The aim of this case-study was to understand how chemistry teachers experience their work in diverse classes where the needs of differentiated teaching practices are constantly growing. The deeper intention was to perceive new information in order to develop supportive methods that could better correspond to teachers' reality. Eight voluntary…

Non-formal science education means goal-oriented learning outside of school. The use of out of school learning environments (e.g. science camps) has been found to increase motivation and interest in natural sciences. In this study, the relevance of non-formal science education in science camps has been analyzed from the perspectives of children…

The role of motivation and emotions in learning has been extensively studied in recent years; however, research on the role of the physical environment still remains scarce. This study examined the role of the physical environment in the learning process from the perspective of basic psychological needs. Although self-determination theory stresses…

The theory of learning approaches has proven to be one of the most powerful theories explaining university students' learning. However, learning approaches are sensitive to the situation and the content of learning. Chemistry has its own specific features that should be considered when exploring chemistry students' learning habits, specifically…

Teaching chemical bonding using the octet rule as an explanatory principle is problematic in many ways. The aim of this case study is to understand the learning and teaching of chemical bonding using a research-informed teaching model in which chemical bonding is introduced as an electrostatic phenomenon. The study posed two main questions: (i)…