STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields are in high demand for qualified personnel worldwide, yet drop-out rates of a career path in STEM occur at various points in lifespan. Based on a big-data analysis of 534,590 records retrieved from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics for several points in time over one and a half…

As systematic inequities in higher education and society have been brought to the forefront, graduate programs are interested in increasing the diversity of their applicants and enrollees. Yet, structures in place to evaluate applicants may not support such aims. One potential solution to support those aims is rubricbased holistic review. Starting…

According to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 measurements, Slovak primary school pupils commonly can reach some below average scores in terms of scientific literacy and have less and less positive attitudes towards the natural sciences. Natural sciences and statistics are intertwined disciplines. This implies that…

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between students' metacognitive learning, critical thinking, scientific process skills, and academic achievements after the "Cell and Divisions" and "Force and Energy" units which have been processed according to different teaching methods. Furthermore, in this study, it…

This book has been prepared to introduce common technological tools that can be used in science education in the distance education process. Although most of the applications introduced in the book are used in face-to-face education, this book focuses on their use in the distance science education process. In the Introduction part of the book, the…

Modern force platforms are handy tools for investigating forces during human motion. Earlier they were very expensive and were mostly used in research laboratories. But now even platforms that can measure in two directions are quite affordable. In this work we used the PASCO 2-Axis Force Platform. The analysis of the data can serve as a nice…

The mass shift to Open-Book, Open-Web (OBOW) assessments during the pandemic highlighted new opportunities in Higher Education for developing accessible, authentic assessments that can reduce administrative load. Despite a plethora of research emerging on the effectiveness of OBOW assessments within disciplines, few currently evaluate their…

There is a relatively simple way of using radioactive material in classroom experiments: uranium glass, which provides teachers with a suitable substance. By using the right computer software and a radiation sensor, it can be demonstrated that uranium glass emits radiation at a greater rate than the background radiation and with the aid of UV…

We present a new learning unit, which introduces 12 year-olds to the subatomic structure of matter. The learning unit was iteratively developed as a design-based research project using the technique of probing acceptance. We give a brief overview of the unit's final version, discuss its key ideas and main concepts, and conclude by highlighting the…

Optical fibres play a very crucial role in today's technologies. Academic courses in optical fibres start at the undergraduate level. Nevertheless, student's curiosity towards optical fibres starts from the school level. In this paper, some fun experiments have been designed for both school and college students, which have some concrete…

Research on student epistemologies in introductory courses has highlighted the importance of understanding physics as "a refinement of everyday thinking" [A. Einstein, J. Franklin Inst. 221, 349 (1936)]. That view is difficult to sustain in quantum mechanics, for students as for physicists. How might students manage the transition? In…

I have long incorporated physics simulations in my physics teaching, and truly appreciate those who have made their simulations available to the public. I often would think of an idea for a simulation I would love to be able to use, but with no real programming background I did not know how I could make my own. That was the case until I discovered…

A simple experiment on the determination of the coefficient of restitution of different materials is taken as the basis of an extendable work that can be done by students in an autonomous way. On the whole, the work described in this paper would involve concepts of kinematics, materials science, air drag and buoyancy, and would help students to…

Depression may essentially influence cognitive function contributing to poor school performance. The present study undertakes to determine the existence and strength of correlation between depressive symptomatology and other mental conditions with the acquired level of understanding of Newtonian physics taught in schools. The current study…

The topic of reference frames, which is taught at an early stage of secondary school physics is quite challenging for students. The two main reasons behind this are the high level of abstraction required and the lack of understanding of the vector nature of velocity. In the paper we introduce a method we use successfully in teaching reference…