This article introduces and contextualizes the content of this theme issue of "The American Biology Teacher" (ABT), which focuses on integrating elements of the history of science (HOS) in biology instruction. Such orientations can enhance students' understanding of core biological concepts and the process of scientific discovery by…

This paper explores how the culture within a Danish university study programme affects students' aspirations of becoming a high school chemistry teacher. We draw on ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews to describe and analyse the culture of the programme. In the analysis we foreground the case of two students to understand their…

In the realm of science education, traditional teaching methods face challenges in catering to diverse learning preferences. This study investigates the efficacy of Khan Academy Videos (KAVs) in improving educational quality, specifically in rural thermodynamics instruction. The research involved 88 students and one teacher, with one group taught…

Despite institutional reform efforts to increase use of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) in undergraduate chemistry and STEM courses, didactic lecture remains the predominant mode of instruction. Research to inform these initiatives routinely focuses on drivers and barriers to EBIP adoption, with recent work investigating factors…

A goal in chemistry education research and teaching is to make chemistry education inclusive to our diverse students. Ethnography is one approach that can support this goal, because it supports researchers and educators in questioning what is considered ordinary by exploring chemistry as a culture. By exploring chemistry as a culture, we can…

The longstanding call to prioritize science education has gained momentum, particularly with the noticeable changes aligned with reform-era practices. This quantitative study explored the relationship between policy, time allocation, and teacher practices in elementary science education, guided by constructive learning theory as the theoretical…

Understanding human behavior and reasoning is essential for developing successful instruction. Discipline-based education researchers have examined how students learn, informing the development of successful instructional strategies. Researchers have also identified barriers to the successful implementation of such strategies. This work utilizes…

OpenSciEd is a set of Creative Commons licensed, standards aligned curriculum and teacher professional learning materials that will be available for grades K-12. Using a storyline model that gives students the responsibility of "figuring out" science phenomena by engaging in science practices and classroom discussion to achieve…

'A lack of prior knowledge in the other discipline' is often given by geoscience instructors to explain why students struggle to apply knowledge from other disciplines to the Earth. We examine this assumption by considering the disciplinary crossing of buoyancy (physics) to isostasy (geoscience). We investigate the teachers' perspective through…

Hands-on activities are considered to be particularly suitable for generating long-term knowledge that increases environmentally friendly behaviour. Appropriate flagship species in a respective curricular context can enable high-quality education. We have developed a teaching concept and material for hands-on activities with bumblebees. This…

This study examines the improvement of first-year students' critical thinking and self-regulation by implementing a metacognitive-based e-module. To address the challenges of learning in accordance with the demands of the higher education curriculum, metacognitive-based e-modules are required. Metacognitive strategies such as analogies, concept…

Multimodal Learning Analytics (MMLA) has emerged as a powerful approach within the computer-supported collaborative learning community, offering nuanced insights into learning processes through diverse data sources. Despite its potential, the prevalent reliance on traditional instruments such as tripod-mounted digital cameras for video capture…

In an attempt to address the need for an alternative presentation of the quantum mechanical position and momentum spaces, we provide a presentation that is more constructive and less calculative than those found in literature. Our approach is based on a simple, intuitively understood relation that expresses the physical equivalence of the quantum…

The Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) melting assay intends to evaluate the unfolding, denaturation process of DNA secondary structures, and its stabilization using compounds known as DNA binders, some of which are highly specific for G-quadruplex DNAs versus duplex DNAs. First, students determined the melting temperature (T[subscript m])…

The anomalous thermal expansion of water in the 0 °C-4 °C range is extremely important to life on Earth, but it is normally not presented experimentally in educational settings. This paper presents a simple experiment to explore the anomalous thermal expansion of water in the 0 °C-4 °C range and the heat exchange processes in natural bodies of…