While scholars have proposed incorporating the study of complex phenomena such as chaotic systems in high school and undergraduate-level curricula, the literature on this topic is scant and has focused mostly on the analysis of mathematical models--and often only on certain populations, such as gifted students. We report in this manuscript an…

Raising scientifically literate citizens has been the main concern of the science education community. Socioscientific issues (SSIs) provide a context to facilitate individuals to expand their epistemic understanding and develop scientific reasoning skills such as evidence-based argumentation and consensus building. In this qualitative research,…

Elementary students demonstrate conflicts when measuring with rulers as well as measuring with discrete units. Their conflicts often lie in their focus on counting tick marks or focusing on the endpoint of objects on rulers or ignoring spaces with discrete units. In this study, we also investigated another area of conflict: students' conceptions…

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to develop and validate a three-tier diagnostic test on work, power, and energy (WPE) concepts and (2) to identify Turkish pre-service science teachers' conceptual understanding through this test. The Work, Power, and Energy Concept Test (WPECT) was developed through interviews, read-aloud sessions, and…

In the last decades, secondary school students have indicated a low interest in science and a lack of awareness of authentic science careers that may impede their aspiration to work in science-related fields in future. To raise students' aspirations, several studies used context-based approaches, but few integrated career aspects into the school…

This paper examines prospective mathematics teachers' knowledge of asymptotes and asymptotic behaviour of functions in calculus. They are university students and future facilitators of knowledge in upper secondary education. We constructed a "reference epistemological model" to describe the knowledge about asymptotes for upper secondary…

In this study, 271 pre- and in-service science teachers in Israel were surveyed on their level of awareness about green chemistry and sustainability, as well as attitudes toward environmental education. Of the total participants, 123 were in-service science teachers with different seniority levels teaching in elementary, middle, and high schools.…

Physics teachers need diagnostic competence to effectively identify students' misconceptions, but studies have yet to sufficiently investigate how this competence can be advanced through various instructional strategies. In this study, we compared a problem-solving strategy against an example-based strategy in advancing diagnostic competence in…

The initial and continuing training of mathematics teachers continues to be one of the most pressing challenges facing the research community in mathematics education. In this regard, various research agendas have been proposed and developed. Among these, two stand out: the characterization and development of (1) didactic and mathematical…

Interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) has gained momentum due to increasing calls for a more STEM-literate society. As teaching integrated STEM poses curricular and pedagogical challenges for most generalist primary teachers, professional development (PD) is essential to support them to develop appropriate knowledge…

Scientific knowledge is a primary resource that scientists use to shape their activities to make sense of natural phenomena. Support for students' adaptation of scientific knowledge can enhance their ability to make sense of the natural world. This study aims to examine how ecological concepts are used when students plan field-based modeling of…

To improve students' mathematics achievement, their errors should be treated as an opportunity to stimulate conceptual and procedural understanding. Using a teaching scenario, this study investigated 40 high school teachers' analyses of and responses to a student error(s) in solving a quadratic equation by using the factoring method. The teachers'…

This research study investigated conceptions about buoyancy held by 55 elementary preservice teachers enrolled in a science methods course who participated in an instructional intervention designed to increase their knowledge about buoyancy. Pre- and post-concept maps were analyzed using a paired sample t test and thematic analysis was used to…

This case study investigates, at three Swedish schools, primary school students' knowledge of the equal sign. The schools were chosen as representatives of schools whose students have different socioeconomic backgrounds. The data consist of Grade 3 and 6 students' responses to an assessment form based on Matthews et al. ("JRME,"…

The aim of this pseudo-longitudinal study is to investigate pre-service teachers' beliefs about (1) the nature of mathematics and (2) mathematics teaching and learning and the development of both beliefs over the course of their studies. A quantitative belief questionnaire was completed by 142 participants divided into three groups based on their…