Spatial abilities (SAs) are cognitive resources used to mentally manipulate representations of objects to solve problems. Haptic abilities (HAs) represent tactile interactions with real-world objects transforming somatic information into mental representations. Both are proposed to be factors in anatomy education, yet relationships between SAs and…

The central focus of my dissertation concerns the issue of representation. The issue of representation is important for science education research for two reasons: (1) the use of external representation in science teaching and learning, particularly in chemistry education, is ubiquitous as microscopic entities are not directly visible, and (2) the…

The central focus of my dissertation concerns the issue of representation. The issue of representation is important for science education research for two reasons: (1) the use of external representation in science teaching and learning, particularly in chemistry education, is ubiquitous as microscopic entities are not directly visible, and (2) the…

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is widely used for editing genes in various organisms and is a very useful tool due to its versatility, simplicity, and efficiency. To teach its principles to post-graduate students we designed a laboratory activity to obtain and analyze PDS3 mutants in "Arabidopsis thaliana" plants consisting of: 1) Design of…

Background: Photomicrographs are major biological representations which help students understand more about the structures of cells and tissues. Owing to their abstract nature, students often rely on representations in textbooks to develop their understanding of photomicrographs. Purpose: This study investigated how students with low, medium and…

Background: The goal of this research was to determine students' perceived self-efficacy in science classes through involving students in expanding disciplinary core idea (DCI) and interdisciplinary core idea (ICI) maps, as a method to visualize knowledge (utilizing mind mapping and concept mapping) to support students to integrate…

Infrared (IR) technologies have been universally acknowledged as a valuable pedagogical tool for exploring novel and abstract scientific subjects in science education. This study explores the roles of IR images played in middle school students' Evidence-based Reasoning (EBR) process in support of the understanding of the heat radiation process.…

The advanced visualisation and interactive capabilities make immersive virtual reality (IVR) attractive for educators to investigate its educational benefits. This research reviewed 64 studies published in 2016-2020 to understand how science educators designed, implemented, and evaluated IVR-based learning. The immersive design features (sensory,…

Chemistry teaching learning is considered as difficult and boring. The definition of play, based on authors such as Freud, Piaget and Vigotsky, is presented as a stimulating, pleasant and voluntary activity that in the student facilitates his learning and encompasses the different facets of his physical, psychic, social and emotional development.…

Central to evolution is the concept of a common ancestry from which all life has emerged over immense time scales, but learning and teaching temporal aspects of evolution remain challenging. This study investigated students' interpretation of evolutionary time when engaging with a multi-touch tabletop application called DeepTree, a dynamic…

This article presents the results of exploratory research with community college students from non-dominant linguistic backgrounds (NDLB) in an introductory astronomy class as they collaborated to reconstruct dynamic cosmology visualizations through drawing. Data included student discourse during the drawing activity, post-activity interviews, and…

This study investigated ways to foster positive science attitudes among newcomer first-year middle school English learners (n = 79) under two conditions: (1) "Extended Science + Extended Literacy" (planetarium-based visualisations + vocabulary + comic and trade books) and (2) "Extended Science + Literacy" (planetarium-based…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) on which they are based, describe a new vision for science education that includes having students learn science in a way that more closely aligns to how scientists and engineers work and think. Accomplishing this goal will require teacher…

Modern evolutionary theory is both a central theory and an integrative framework of the life sciences. This is reflected in the common references to evolution in modern science education curricula and contexts. In fact, evolution is a core idea that is supposed to support biology learning by facilitating the organization of relevant knowledge. In…

One of the topics that chemistry teachers have a great challenge introducing is chemical equilibrium. When being introduced to chemical equilibrium, many students have difficulties in understanding that some reactions do not go to completion, as this contrasts most of their supposed prior experiences in chemistry lessons. Students may also…