The integration of computational modelling in science classrooms provides a unique opportunity to promote key 21st century skills including computational thinking (CT) and collaboration. The open-ended, problem-solving nature of the task requires groups to grapple with the combination of two domains (science and computing) as they collaboratively…

Today, individuals need a solid understanding of how earth as a system works in order to understand and develop solutions for science-based issues affecting societies on a global scale such as natural disasters, global warming or COVID-19 pandemic. Humans also deliberate space investigations, such as interplanetary travels and life in space.…

This paper analyses the phenomena of co-existence of competing moral principles in a university merger. In doing so, the paper builds on Boltanski and Thévenot's theoretical framework of orders of worth to account for the ways in which different social actors, both inside and outside academia, actively engage in justification work to solve…

This research aimed to design an instructional module to teach light diffraction by a grating to secondary students applying a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-integrated approach. Based on this approach, instructional management integrated the disciplines of physics and mathematics with engineering design process…

Communities develop social languages in which utterances take on culturally specific situated meanings. As physics students interact in their classroom, they can learn the broader physics community's social language by co-constructing meanings with their instructors. We provide an exposition of a systematic and productive use of idiosyncratic,…

The purpose of this study is to validate the physics affective characteristics scale (PACS) by investigating its psychometric properties. The PACS is a revised version of the affective characteristics scale (ACS), which was developed for Turkish students following introductory physics courses. The questionnaire includes 51 items in 11 subscales:…

This paper explored the teaching experiences of physics teachers in integrating computer simulations in their pedagogy to promote a constructivist learning environment. Its objectives are to determine how physics teachers describe computer simulations based on how they are used, how these are embedded in the teaching-learning process, their impact…

Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara Province, has started a transitional period, including in the world of education. The transition to the new normal requires adjusting the learning process to prepare students to learn normally. This study aims to describe students' physics learning outcomes using a blended learning model. This research is a type of…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] We discuss the theoretical underpinnings that informed the considerations and decisions that shaped the design of a curriculum unit entitled "Electromagnetic radiation--principles, applications, and decisions". This unit is part (45 h) of the…

The first women in Greek academia appeared during the period in question (1922-1967) and entered the ivory tower by overcoming difficult conditions and circumstances, often with many restrictions and setbacks. This essay focuses on the School of Physics and Mathematics of the University of Athens, documents quantitative and qualitative data on the…

Due to the coronavirus lockdown, home experiments were devised for our first-year physics lab course. In this practitioner contribution we elaborate on the guided inquiries that were set up. Students could carry out the experiments with standard tools available at home, including sensors mobile phones are equipped with. Various design principles…

This paper examines the extent to which the level of technological equipment affects the integration of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Greek high school science teaching. The limited ICT infrastructure environment, with only one computer-projector system available and access to the internet ("PC-VP" environment),…

This research aimed to evaluate the students' conceptual understanding and to diagnose the students' preconceptions in elaborating the particle characteristics of matter by development of diagnostic instrument as well as Rasch model response pattern analysis approach. Data were acquired by 25 multiple-choice written test items distributed to 987…

This research aimed to explore the effects of a virtual lab (VL) and a Microcomputer-based Lab (MBL) on students' performance in scientific modeling. A web-based virtual lab and a low-cost MBL were proposed to help first-year engineering students build scientific models. Empirical research was done in a slope motion experiment. The participants…

Female students and those with a low socioeconomic status (SES) typically score lower in assessments of self-efficacy and ability in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In this study, a cohort of over 200 UK students attended an intensive, active learning, physics workshop, with pre- and post-assessments to measure both…