A systematic literature review across multiple scientific disciplines was conducted to explore students' understanding of atomic structure, focusing on students' ACs. A total of 112 publications between 1972 and 2023 were selected for the study. Within the selected body of literature, 851 instances of ACs were distributed across students ranging…

Scientific modeling is a core practice of scientific inquiry. Students' engagement in modeling can be enhanced by attending to epistemic criteria, which in science are standards used to evaluate the validity and accuracy of scientific models. While prior research has focused on students' development and use of epistemic criteria in scientific…

Participation in citizen science, a research approach in which nonscientists take part in performing research, is a growing practice in schools. A main premise in school-based citizen science is that through their participation, students and teachers make meaningful contributions to the advancement of science. However, such initiatives may…

Research reports that interesting but irrelevant information, seductive details, in teaching material can impede learning. In science education, the inclusion of historical narratives in lessons to promote interest has been recommended but may hinder learning. This study examines the impact of seductive details on UK high school students'…

This paper investigates how the coherent integration of three different tools for reflection during a science methods course can contribute to student teachers' planning and enactment of science teaching, that is, their development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The Refined Consensus Model (RCM) is used as a theoretical lens for…

In the context of scholarly and scientific discourse, students often have to deal with graphic-visual modes of communication, which requires their ability to comprehend and utilize inscriptions, that is, scientific visual representations, to convey information effectively--what we call graphical literacy. Despite its pivotal role for training…

Misinformation has been extensively studied as both maliciously intended propaganda and accidentally experienced incorrect assumptions. We contend that "conceptual contamination" is the process by which the learning of incorrect information interferes, pollutes, or otherwise disrupts the learning of correct information. This is similar…