For decades, biology education researchers have made efforts towards engaging undergraduate students in the process of science and assisting students in their development of deep approaches to learning in the field. Research indicates that students who adopt deep approaches or study strategies make meaningful connections with course material and…

Game-based learning has proven to be effective and is widely used in science education, but usually the heterogeneity of the student population is being overlooked. To examine the differential effects of game interventions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related subjects on diverse student groups, a meta-analysis has…

This article presents a critical and systematic review of the science education research literature that explores the response of learners to contradicting information (anomalous data). The review is framed in the cognitive conflict process model (CCPM) and provides an analysis of (1) the types and frequency of possible responses, (2) the…

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) clubs are gaining momentum as a means for engaging students in STEM-related activities. Despite this growth, there have been limited attempts to examine the conditions that inform practice in these informal educational spaces. This paper addresses that gap through a comprehensive literature…

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is one of two large scale international comparative projects of student assessment that now exert considerable influence upon school science education policy, the other being TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). This paper focuses on PISA, now the most influential…

Educational initiatives in multiple disciplinary areas call for student engagement in the practice of argumentation (CCSSI, 2010a, 2010b; Mullis & Martin, 2017; NGSS Lead States, 2013; OECD, 2018). In science education, immersive argument-based inquiry (ABI) is one category of approaches which integrates argumentation in all classroom activity…

This article explores how scholars have framed studies of preservice science teacher (PST) knowledge and learning over the past twelve years. We examined relevant studies between 2008 and 2020, coding them by theoretical perspective (cognitive or sociocultural), knowledge perspective (deficit or asset), and teaching level (elementary, secondary,…

Science and drawing have been paired for hundreds of years, and this synergy is still prevalent in research investigating the role of drawing for developing and assessing understanding. However, despite research at the primary and secondary levels of education, there is limited research on whether drawing facilitates learning at the undergraduate…

One response to a pedagogical shift towards student-centred and active learning approaches to promote student learning in STEM is the flipped classroom. However, there has been inconsistency in the design and implementation of the flipped classroom and its impact on student learning. This review systematically analysed 30 empirical studies on…

This review study synthesises 28 empirical research articles emphasising the learning of morality aspects in the context of addressing socioscientific issues (SSI) in secondary science education. The key interrelated questions we seek to address in this study are how morality is conceptualised in the science classroom in the light of emerging…

Research on teaching and learning quantum physics (QP) frequently explores students' conceptual difficulties to identify common patterns in their reasoning. The abstractness of QP is often found to be at the origin of students' conceptual difficulties. Due to this abstract nature students resort to common sense reasoning or classical thinking when…

Computational thinking (CT) has been described as an essential skill that should be learned by everyone and can, therefore, be included in their skill set. Computational thinking uses essential principles in computer science for solving problems, understanding complex systems, and human behaviour. This way of thinking has significant consequences…

Globally climate change (CC) is scarcely addressed in school curricula, and school graduates are mostly uneducated about climate change. The purpose of this paper is to make a case for conceptualising CC as a discipline, and to further argue why CC should be included in school curricula as a disciplinary-subject. An initial examination of CC in…

Studies which consider science teacher identity continue to be a focus for education researchers, particularly given the persistent challenges to retain specialist science teachers. The proliferation of research in this area, without a unifying theoretical framework, has meant the literature is diverse, methodologies are varied, and coverage is…

We propose a new instructional theory, the Domain of Validity (DoV) Framework, which offers a new way forward for designing teaching for conceptual change, while also resolving conflicts between existing theories related to common, difficult-to-change conceptions students have about particular scientific topics. We propose that knowledge consists…