Background: In science education asynchronous online interactions have increased dramatically during the recent pandemic and some of these practices will stay. One of the characteristics in asynchronous exchanges is the spacing and sequencing of online interaction. It means that dialogue partners do not necessarily receive immediate feedback as is…

Background: With a growing new materialism paradigm and research on multimodality, there is an increasing attention on the role of material objects in science teaching and learning. However, there is currently no available framework, coding scheme, or method of inquiry to specifically analyze the use of material objects in science meaning-making.…

Background: In learning astronomy, students need to shift between 3D and 2D representations involving complex interactions between the body and material environment. Little attention has been paid to the iconic nature of this astronomical diagramming. Purpose: This research explored the value for students of diagramming to reveal the structural…

Background: There is a growing view that 'Big Ideas of science education' are useful for teaching science but there is not much knowledge of how teachers work with them. Purpose: This study explores the conceptualisation and practice of the use of Big Ideas of science education by primary and secondary teachers in Chile. Sample: A total of 63…

Background: Hands-on activities and makerspaces have rapidly gained popularity in recent years. One of the reasons for this is that they have the potential to stimulate interest and identity development in STEM or STEAM. Taiwan has organized many technology and science competitions for students to raise their interest and creativity in the past…

Background: Constructing knowledge through collaborative practical work is a complex process and involves the use of multiple modalities by group members. In practical work sessions, students often manipulate visual objects or textual materials but do not develop their scientific ideas. Purpose: This study illustrates (a) the challenges that…

Purpose: An analysis of the relationship between discourse and cognition in the context of middle school science teaching is provided in this study. Teacher-led questions, cognitive demands and patterns of interaction were analysed for the discourse side of the study. The students' argumentation quality was explored for the cognition side of the…

Background: Gamification is the use of game design elements, such as rules of play, point scoring and competition, in a non-game context, in learning activities. We designed a game, based on the famous augmented reality game "Pokémon GO," called Insects GO in which players should capture images of real insects with their mobile phones.…

Background: Photomicrographs are major biological representations which help students understand more about the structures of cells and tissues. Owing to their abstract nature, students often rely on representations in textbooks to develop their understanding of photomicrographs. Purpose: This study investigated how students with low, medium and…

Purpose: This study wants to identify how teachers perceive technology and engineering as distinct entities and develop a framework of NOTE. Design and methods: To develop the NOTE framework, this study conducted interviews with eight secondary school teachers, comprising four technology and four science teachers. To examine how the teachers…

Background: Argumentation, that is the coordination of evidence and reasons to support claims, is an important skill for democratic society, developing subject-specific literacies, and can be embedded in multiple school subjects. While argumentation has been extensively researched in science education, interdisciplinary argumentation is less…

Background: Quantum physics has found its way into upper secondary school physics curricula worldwide. This trend coincides with increased attention for conceptual understanding in physics education in general and quantum physics education in particular. Students' conceptual difficulties of learning quantum physics are regularly reported. Little…

Background: Although sound is an everyday phenomenon that we hear about constantly, numerous studies have reported that students often exhibit learning difficulties in understanding this subject. Only a few studies have proposed programs involving practical learning experiments to provide students with solid conceptual knowledge. Moreover, little…

Background: Physics textbooks are a learning resource for students to acquire knowledge and information. The findings of previous studies on physics textbooks analysis have mostly focused on representations of gender, the nature of science, and scientific literacy. This study, therefore, extends the critical content analysis of physics textbooks…

Background: The importance of attitudes in learning is gaining relevance among researchers and teachers and yet little research has examined students' attitudes specifically in relation to geology. Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine students' attitudes towards geology and with respect to other sciences, as well as to determine the key…