The study aimed at exploring whether a "Science-Technology-Social Change" course improved pre-service social studies teachers' (PST) scientific habits of mind and attitudes towards socio-scientific issues. Within a pre- and post-course experimental design, the study was conducted with 135 second-year PST (68 males and 67 females) from…

Maintaining undergraduate interest in STEM is a formidable challenge. Numerous studies have reported that structured, authentic research experiences in the classroom increase retention rates and introduce students to the skills needed to conduct independent research as upperclassmen and beyond. Most importantly, these strategies are inclusive,…

It has been argued that for novice students to acquire a full understanding of scientific texts, they also need to pursue a recurrent construction of their comprehension of scientific concepts. The course dossier method has students examine concepts in multiple passes: (a) through reflective writing on text before it is considered in the…

Teaching students to use and interpret different representational tools is critically important if they are to be scientifically literate, to understand how scientific ideas and concepts are represented and to appreciate how scientists think and act. Moreover, students not only need to be competent at using and explaining representations and…

Points out that man and his institutions must be far-sighted and make sacrifices now to benefit future species and to preserve the environment. (LS)

The purpose of this study was to identify factors responsible for the perceived decline in attitudes toward science observed in an intervention study designed to enhance scientific literacy. The literacy study focuses on a new freshman course in an urban Catholic high school. Negative attitudes toward science were found to be related to the demand…

This book contains selected refereed papers from the 21st Annual Conference of the Australasian Science Education Research Association. The papers are as follows: "A Learning Model for Science Education: Developing Teaching Strategies" (Appleton); "Researching Balance between Cognition and Affect in Science Teaching" (Baird et…