Active learning approaches to biology teaching, including simulation-based activities, are known to enhance student learning, especially of higher-order skills; nonetheless, there are still many open questions about what features of an activity promote optimal learning. Here we designed three versions of a simulation-based tutorial called…

Providing hands-on practical education without access to laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic has required creativity and innovation. In this paper, co-authored by academic staff and students, we describe an at-home mobile phone-based 'spectrophotometer' experiment used in an introductory undergraduate biology course. Using colour picker…

Background: Science teaching and learning, as discursive practices, occur through the utilization of various semiotic modes. Gestures play a pivotal role as an embodied mode that acts in conjunction with speech in oral communication settings, such as classrooms. Previous research on gestures in chemistry and science education has illuminated how…

This paper explores the use of comics as an integrated tool for introducing socioscientific issues (SSI) in elementary school classrooms. To illustrate this, we provide implementation examples from two teachers who facilitated introducing SSI to students using comics. These case studies depict how teachers integrated comics into their classroom…

The relation between learners' metacognitive skills and conceptual understanding is often portrayed as an input-output relation when dealing with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and non-STEM disciplines. However, studies indicate that not all pedagogies yield positive correlations between learners' metacognitive skills and…

The (STEM)[superscript 2] Network (Sustainable, Transformative Engagement across a Multi-Institution/Multidisciplinary STEM Network) is a National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network-Undergraduate Biology Education funded project intended to bridge disciplinary and institutional silos that function as barriers to systemic change in…

The Framework for K-12 Science Education set an ambitious goal of broadening participation in science learning for all students. Meeting this vision will involve supporting teachers in making meaningful connections with the cultural and linguistic resources their students bring to school; in essence, developing pedagogies that frame these…

Application of modern technologies, including virtual reality (VR) and eye-tracking (ET), to educational practice has been vigorously researched over the past decade with a focus on enhancing and improving school and university educational process and students' results. The main aim of this technological report is to describe an implementation of…

Technology has become an integral part of the teaching and learning process in the current educational landscape, revolutionizing students' learning experiences in alternative and traditional educational settings. However, despite having access to various tech tools that support student learning, an achievement gap still exists, and many students…

Technological tools, like virtual assistants (aka chatbots), have been ubiquitous in people's day to day. The challenge becomes how educators leverage digital omnipresence to benefit the learning environment. Using a curated chatbot allows educators to reach more students with instructor-approved information, particularly in large classrooms.…

The time frame of this article covers the Portuguese transition to democracy in the 1970s until the 1990s, when democratic institutions operated fully. The focus lies on the way in which changes in the conceptualization of nature and society and their mutual relationship were reflected in secondary education textbooks. We explore whether and how…

Science learning takes place not only in the context of science class but also after class. Students' internal forms of motivation, such as curiosity and interest, affect the entire science learning process in both in-class and after-class contexts. In addition, both stable existing learner characteristics, such as science curiosity and interest…

A hydroponics experiment growing microgreens was piloted by seniors where trials were conducted over 9-day growth periods and designed to test 12 different growth conditions in triplicate, including varying nutrient supply, nutrient flow rate, and seed density. Plant growth was assessed through changes in daily mass, height, and final dry weight.…

Purpose: The aim of this research is to determine the impact of hands-on science activities on preschool children's motivation for science. Design/Approach/Methods: The study group of the research, in which the quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group was used, consists of 25 children aged 60-72 months who are continuing their…

This dissertation examined the relationship between elementary school science teachers' epistemic orientation and classroom learning environment type--generative or replicative--they established for science knowledge development. Drawing on the theory of epistemological development and understanding, the influence of teacher epistemic beliefs on…