Background/purpose: Practical work is a key component of science education that can contribute to comprehensive learning and scientific literacy. This study presents the results of an Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) approach using a DNA extraction practice with 4th-year secondary education Spanish students. The findings highlight significant…

Background/purpose: One of the skills that students had to master in science learning was science process skills. However, there has not been much research examining these skills in elementary schools, especially those related to practicum guides integrated with local wisdom. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of a science…

This study aimed to explore how proficient science teachers facilitate sensemaking moments in the classroom. Specifically, the study sought to describe how science teachers facilitate sensemaking during lesson discussions, exploring the factors that influence their facilitation, and developing a model that will guide proficient science teachers in…

The past two decades have seen a rise in citizen science projects and tools available for formal and informal learning; however, research has indicated there is a dearth of professional development for educators regarding understanding, adapting, and applying these resources in their learning environments. To address this gap, we created the…

Practitioners of the mentor mindset in academic settings maintain high standards while providing strong support in and outside the classroom. They encourage the growth mindset by being motivating and transparent, reducing stress, and providing feedback that can help intellectual growth. The mentor mindset is the foundation of the professional…

Background/purpose: This study aimed to measure the level of scientific concepts acquisition among basic-stage students in light of their teachers' use of artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Materials/methods: A scientific concepts acquisition test was developed to collect data. The study sample consisted of 396 tenth-grade students,…

Generative AI tools, including the popular ChatGPT, have had a significant impact on discourses about future work and educational practices. Previous research in science education has highlighted the potential of generative AI in various education-related areas, including generating valuable discussion material, solving physics problems, and…

Reform-oriented instruction is advocated in secondary science, encouraging students to engage with the experimental and epistemic practices of science. It is challenging for teachers though, especially for out-of-field teachers. This study focuses on biology and chemistry teachers who are called to teach middle-school physics. These teachers face…

Reading motivation has been a focus of research to address the lack of reading proficiency in secondary classrooms, and an understudied area within this broad field of research is the effects of the learning environment on student reading motivation. The current study investigates the effect of 9th-12th grade students' perceptions of the learning…

Any teaching method may have both strengths and weaknesses concerning student learning outcomes. The current study investigated the moderating roles of student dispositions in the relationship between instructional activity and science literacy performance based on data from the Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. Using…

Identifying the mental models held by students has been widely emphasized as being a pivotal aspect of effective science education. In fact, it allows us to understand students' conceptions, detect teaching-learning difficulties and tailor instruction accordingly. Hence, in this study, the plant nutrition mental models held by upper secondary…

The construction of a concept can be developed from the students' prior knowledge. Regarding deaf students, it is considered their conceptions conceived through vision. Given this, the present research was conducted with a group of deaf students in the 7th year of elementary school with the aim of verifying what ideas these students had about…

A deep understanding of organic chemistry requires a learner to understand many concepts and have fluency with multiple skills. This understanding is particularly necessary for constructing and using mechanisms to explain chemical reactions. Electrophilicity and nucleophilicity are two fundamental concepts to learning and understanding reaction…

Even though children are natural scientists, many preschools isolate and limit science, which can cause children to miss out on valuable learning experiences and school readiness skills. Additionally, minimizing science at the preschool level fails to set a solid foundation for K-12 science education. In this single case study, we focused on the…

Research has shown the importance of dealing with real-life issues and of enabling student encounters with complexity in chemistry education in order to increase student participation. Therefore, this study aims to analyse how complexity evolves in students' discussions and how this complexity relates to aspects of tentativeness in chemistry. In…