As a result of human beings' activities to dominate nature and transform it for their own benefit as they continue to advance in science and technology, environmental problems such as climate change have become the biggest threat faced by the biosphere in the current century. One of the biggest problems of humanity today is the scarcity of water…

Understanding the photosynthesis concepts is challenging due to its abstract nature, often leading to student misconceptions. This study aims to identify and analyze misconceptions among science and social studies students using the image analysis method. A total of 78 students (32 science, 46 social studies) participated, selected through a…

This study aimed to develop a comprehensive diagnostic tool for assessing upper-secondary school students' understanding of isomers, expanding upon existing two- and three-tier conceptual diagnostic methods. By incorporating 'Confidence Rating Factor' tiers within the answer and reason sections, a four-tier test was designed and developed. This…

This study provides insights into the use of metaphors in protein synthesis descriptions in upper secondary chemistry and biology textbooks. Data were collected from seven Swedish textbooks and analyzed with the Metaphor Identification Protocol and categorized within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The results reveal two main parallel…

Most chemistry instruction and assessment lie in the symbolic domain of Johnstone's representational levels, despite years of chemistry education researchers calling for increased emphasis to be placed on the molecular or particulate level of chemistry. Without a deep understanding of the particulate nature of matter and molecular-level…

The purpose of this article is to provide teachers of science scientific definitions and illustrations to facilitate the teaching of cosmology. Secondary school science teachers can use the illustrations and their citations to pose questions to their students and to guide their students to accessible digital sites where the students can explore…

Quantum science is in the news daily and engages students' interest and curiosity. A fundamental quantum science concept that underpins medical imaging, quantum computing and many future technologies is quantum spin. Quantum spin can explain many physical phenomena that are in the lower secondary school curriculum, such as magnetism and light,…

As a rule, an experiment carried out at school or in undergraduate study courses is rather simple and not very informative. However, when the experiments are to be performed using modern methods, they are often abstract and difficult to understand. Here, we describe a quick and simple experiment, namely the enzymatic characterization of ptyalin…

Especially within the light of the current loss of biodiversity, we want our students to gain a better understanding of the issues at stake in order to take action and support plants and their pollinators. Many educational approaches focus on honeybees, disregarding the vast diversity in the context of pollination systems and the complex…

Most students enter college without any exposure to polymer science, which leads to the poor understanding and slow implementation of plastic recycling programs in the United States. To address the knowledge gap in chemical recycling, we introduce a 2-part laboratory experiment that was conducted in multiple high schools and public outreach events…

In this laboratory experiment, a guided inquiry exploring the physicochemical principles of the dissolution of Ca(OH)[subscript 2](s) in water is proposed for laboratory classes in university and high school. As part of students' inquiry, two experimental approaches are used. One is the change in solubility with temperature revealed by measuring…

Experiments serve different purposes in chemistry education ranging from illustrating a certain subject matter to providing data for school-based research projects. When students use these experiments to collect data and draw conclusions, it is important that these experiments are valid. In this study, a new experiment for the determination of the…

A solenoid is a coil wound many times on a cylinder of length greater than its diameter. Solenoids are mainly used as electromagnets, because a magnetic field is formed when current flows through a solenoid. The solenoid described in secondary school and university textbooks is a single-layered solenoid. Further, textbooks and papers focusing on…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now a major driver of societal acceleration making a significant impact on science and science education. AI is used by scientists to generate hypotheses, design experiments, collect and interpret data in ways that were not previously possible with traditional methods alone. Science education research is…

In this paper, a self-created analogy is presented based on comparing the process of osmosis with a situation recreated in a train carriage. It was implemented with upper-secondary education students at a secondary school in Chiclana de la Frontera (Cádiz, Spain). To assess the progression of the students' models on osmosis, their activities…