Higher education has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting universities worldwide. Unexpectedly, the global academic community was forced to transition to remote and online learning. In many cases, fragilities in the systems of the higher education institutions were exposed, pointing to the need for investment in…

In this study we investigated pre-service early childhood teachers' (referred to as student teachers) beliefs that might influence their intention to use inquiry-based learning methods that have been taught on an inquiry-based science course. During this course, the student teachers (N = 17) participated in a number of classroom experiments…

Argumentation is vital in the development of scientific knowledge, and students who can argue from evidence and support their claims develop a deeper understanding of science. In this study, the Argument-Driven Inquiry instruction model was implemented in a two-semester sequence of introductory biology laboratories. Student's scientific…

Collaborative two-stage exams provide an effective mechanism to incorporate group work into summative course assessments. We implemented these exams in an upper-level biology laboratory course over two terms, one with online exams and one with in-person exams. We compared student exam performance and perceptions of two-stage exams and group work…

Research has explored how science teachers can create equitable learning environments. In addition, research demonstrates that representations can be powerful tools for supporting disciplinary learning and inviting and leveraging students' diverse ideas and practices. Yet, professional development (PD) about representations has primarily focused…

Science content, teaching, and teacher preparation are all political acts. However, accepting the political nature of science as well as that of science teaching has proven to be a hard shift for many in the science community. In this paper, we suggest a shift away from an apolitical teaching of science toward a system of practices that transforms…

It is generally accepted that a robust science education includes knowledge of science, as well as knowledge "about" science, or, in other words, an understanding of the "Nature of Science." However, debates around what Nature of Science is and how to measure it are far from settled, and this compromises our ability to support…

This study investigated the effects of outdoor education on a 10th grade biology curriculum in terms of the knowledge, attitudes, and retention of students compared to indoor teaching. The quasi-experimental design included three groups: experiment (OE; N = 43), control-II (indoor teaching; N = 35), and control-I (no application; N = 35). A…

Research and education are two areas often compartmentalised or separated by an abyss, linked in this study by a service-learning methodology, the Small World Initiative project. The programme instruction starts at the university, reaches secondary school and returns to university to complete the research, challenging young students to discover…

This study examines the development of the concept of the ecological niche among 10-11-year-old students and their ability to use this concept to give their opinions on the socially relevant and controversial possibility that wolf populations might be established in the mountains surrounding the school. A total of 21 elementary school students…

Traditional teacher professional development (PD) programs frequently lack sufficient face-to-face preparation time to adequately support the implementation of evidence-based pedagogical strategies in classrooms, with teachers citing insufficient preparedness and training time for new methods. To investigate potentials for online PD methods to…

Policy documents in many nations, as well as international policies indicate that the goal of improved student science learning requires teachers to learn to use knowledge generation environments for teaching science. This is a particular challenge for early childhood teachers (kindergarten through grade two), who have historically valued…

Research has recommended centering health disparities to make science instruction relevant to students from minoritized racial and ethnic groups. While promoted as a recent innovation, the repurposing of science instruction to improve the health of demographic groups has a longer history traceable to segregated and colonial schooling. Using a…

This research continues the tradition of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) studies aimed at better understanding the development of pre-service teachers' TPACK. The aim of the study is to show what are the areas of TPACK that pre-service teachers perceived as important and relevant for them, from a teacher training course. This…

It is necessary to foster teachers' ability to design and implement instructions that encourage students to construct evidence and engage in argumentative discourse. The argument of this paper is that the continuous reflection and discussion as well as regular practice on instructional designs will promote pre-service science teachers' (PSSTs')…