Competency levels around scientific literacy for high school students in the United States are insufficient for students' future ability to be competent consumers and voters. The purpose of this action research study was to explore how students were being exposed to scientific literacy concepts in high school science courses in the United States.…

This study aimed to develop alternative laboratory experiments (ALEs) in Chemistry 8 and evaluate the perceived improvement of the students' basic science process skills after utilizing the material. This employed a mixed method of research. Initially, a self-assessment survey questionnaire was used to determine the basic science process skills of…

This qualitative study examines the semiotic meanings communicated through multiple representations in the teaching of an advanced undergraduate course in biology. Scientific discourse is intrinsically multimodal in nature; in other words, science is discussed and researched using multiple modes that convey meaning (Lemke, 1998). Therefore, to…

The expansion of information and communication technology (ICT), combined with the recent changes in education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to new pedagogical practices. These technological advances provide new and enhanced learning opportunities for students but present both challenges and opportunities for educators. This…

Soft rot diseases cause crop losses all over the world. These losses can have large economic impacts and threaten international food security. Soft rot bacterial pathogens produce pectolytic enzymes that attack the pectin around plant cells resulting in smelly, wet, and mushy tissue maceration. Once symptoms are visible, the crop cannot be used or…

Students do their best work when they have a sense of agency around science and science learning. Scientific practices like argumentation and critique are areas in which students' agency is especially visible, as they require many points of decision-making and evaluation. While argumentation and critique are fundamental practices in both classroom…

The pivot to remote and hybrid learning during the Covid-19 pandemic presented a challenge for many in academia. Most institutions were not prepared to support this rapid change, and instructors were left with the burden of converting a traditional face-to-face course into multiple modalities with very limited preparation time. When institutional…

With the rapid emergence of educational technology in learning environments, instructors' development of technology knowledge is necessary to select educational technologies for effective instruction. Online courses have also shown steady growth in higher education institutions over the past two decades. More recently, the rapid shift to online…

Current studies on group work illustrate the importance of student collaboration for enhancing conceptual understanding and participation in science. Research also documents the roles students adopt within group work, with some studies illustrating the underlying power relations. This study sought to expand on prior research literature to…

Metals enable numerous physiological processes ranging from respiration to nitrogen fixation. However, the role of metals in biology and biocatalysis is not appreciated by the general public. This lack of knowledge around biological metals can lead to misinformation, especially regarding vaccines and health products. Here, we present a series of…

The laboratory course in organic chemistry for preservice chemistry teachers has been designed anew. For the course, only 2 weeks (8 h a day) are available. Therefore, we wanted to use this time effectively, which led to the following main goals: the students should achieve practical skills, understand the practical procedures they had to conduct,…

Citizen Science is emerging as an innovative strategy to engage K-12 students in authentic science practices and relevant, real world phenomena. Citizen science is traditionally an informal science experience, with members of the public choosing to participate in the scientific research process through contributing data or other related efforts.…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges to human beings, related to not only health and way of life but also teaching because of the interruption of the standard training at universities imposed by lockdowns. Concerning the latter, the academic community had to reinvent itself, in many ways, to carry on with prepandemic education. This…

Environmental content is becoming increasingly important in schools, but teachers may have difficulty grasping accurate knowledge. This study investigated how student teachers construct a conceptual understanding of biodiversity loss in an online environment. Sixty-five first-semester primary student teachers at a Finnish university were given the…

Scientific inquiry ability is closely related to the process of hands-on inquiry practice. However, its assessment is often separated from this practice due to the limitation of technical basis and labor cost. The development of multimodal data analysis provides a new opportunity to realize automated assessment based on hands-on practice.…