This paper describes the master course design process at the largest institution of higher education in Colorado, USA. The master course design process demonstrated principles of backwards design and employed a team-based approach to course development. The course map was the primary vehicle for communicating the design of the course during…

With the onset of global change, forest species diversity has declined in recent decades as pristine habitat in biological hotspots rapidly diminishes. Many carbon mitigation efforts directed at decreasing emissions from forest degradation and destruction assume that faunal biodiversity will benefit from such efforts. Yet, conservation of faunal…

Out-of-school science education is important for students' emotional outcomes, such as their interest in science. Not all students, however, have access to real outdoor environments for hands-on learning. To address this issue, live streaming technology allows for real-time interaction and video-based instruction, which can enhance students'…

An important educational goal is enabling students to learn scientific concepts. The scientific concepts learned in class are developed within students' cognitive structures. Despite the successful application of Semantic Network Analysis (SNA) to study these cognitive structures, there has been limited examination of students' concept networks…

This study responds to the need to produce inviting learning environments that help to build intentional science learning in early childhood education. We present a free-choice science learning environment on plant diversity in the fall. From the moment it was implemented, we analyzed whether children of different educational levels acted in…

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide students with valuable opportunities to engage in research in a classroom setting, expanding access to research opportunities for undergraduates, fostering inclusive research and learning environments, and bridging the gap between the research and education communities. While…

Following the switch to remote online teaching in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the plant taxonomy course at the University of Georgia (UGA) switched to iNaturalist for the specimen collection portion of the course requirements. Building off extant rubrics, the instructors designed project guidelines for a fully online plant collection…

In the course of combining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the science education curriculum, the relevance of the micro- and macroalgae in education is based on the biotechnological future-oriented significance and the ever-growing trend toward plant-based nutrition. So, the micro- and macroalgae are finding their way onto the food…

This study analyze data from three national contexts in which teachers worked with the same teaching materials and inquiry classroom activities, investigating teachers' use of strategies to promote interaction and scaffolding when participating in a professional development program. The data material is collected from three case studies from the…

The COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges for both students and educators, particularly because of the virtualization of classes and the consequent lack of practical sessions following the closure of laboratories and experimental fields in universities. The absence of interaction among students and practical classes led to a…

Biodiversity is a multidimensional concept, and its integration into school curricula is essential for promoting sustainable development. Plants are central to the biodiversity of ecosystems; however, student teachers often fail to recognize them and understand their importance. This phenomenon, known as "plant blindness," was first…

The growing interest in outdoor early childhood education, even in countries with a weak environmental tradition such as Portugal, tends to be associated with a concern over the alienation between urban/Western children and nature. While educational projects in nature criticize this separation, they still maintain a bad culture vs good nature…

Raman scattering spectroscopies are important analytical tools in modern chemistry. Here, we describe the construction of the unamplified Raman scattering analysis (URSA) instrument: an inexpensive, open-table Raman spectrometer that uses a 532 nm diode-pumped laser as a light source. Upon application of this spectrometer to DNA extracted from…

This descriptive qualitative case study aims to find out the pre-service science teachers (PST)' confidence about instructional practice in outdoor setting, their knowledge about the plants and it explores the two research questions: To what extent do the preservice science teachers have confidence to teach in the outdoor settings? (1) and What…

Preschoolers have different experiences in different environments. These experiences can stimulate children's imaginations. This longitudinal study examines the impact of preschool children's three-year experiences in early childhood institutions, which are their primary educational environments. The question 'Do preschoolers imagine different…