This study used structural topic models (STMs) to analyze physics pre-service teachers' conceptual understanding of scientific literacy. Participants included 126 physics pre-service teachers studying at Shandong Normal University in China. First, we used an open-ended questionnaire to collect the data. Second, STM was used to classify the data,…

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…

The conceptions that prospective primary teachers (PPTs) have about breastfeeding (BF) were explored as part of their training in school content related to health and the human body. For this, the PPTs answered a questionnaire designed ad hoc, without having received any prior training about the topic. The questionnaire had previously been…

In this paper, we describe student understanding of the "force concept" (basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics) by representing it as a vector-valued quantity, which we refer to as the "score-state vector," in a (30-dimensional) Force Concept Inventory (FCI) score space. We use a large ensemble of FCI results collected…

With the rise of quantum computing, interest has grown in using two-state quantum systems (qubits) at the secondary level to foster students' conceptual understanding. Quantum measurement, in particular, is central to quantum theory and its accurate conceptualization by students is crucial for grasping fundamental quantum principles. However,…

Socioscientific issues (SSI), important for developing scientific literacy, are controversial issues related to social and scientific information. This study investigated the effect of argumentation about SSI on middle school students' views, attitudes, knowledge about SSI, and their scientific literacy. The study uses a pre-test and post-test…

Climate change is a major concern to undergraduate students. Understanding climate change relies on an understanding of polar regions. However, courses on polar regions are rare at undergraduate institutions. Polar ENgagement through GUided INquiry (PENGUIN) modules were designed to give students experience with polar research in a variety of…

In an era marked by widespread access to information and debates over truth, the need for scientific and agricultural knowledge has become increasingly crucial. This study examined the demographic characteristics and baseline science and agricultural knowledge scores of respondents in Georgia using a non-probability, purposive sampling approach…

Previous research has shown that in prehigher education stages, inquiry-based teaching is not sufficient for forming a mature understanding of the nature of science (NOS). However, there is relatively little research conducted on colleges. Inquiry-based teaching should not overlook cognitive frameworks, as students' limited scientific reasoning…

Given its impact on medicine, agriculture, and society, genetics literacy has attracted international interest. Biology lecturers play a crucial role in supporting students' genetics literacy empowerment. However, research into biology lecturers' perceptions of genetics literacy still needs to be undertaken. This study aimed to explore the…

This study introduces a Comprehensive Scientific Creativity Assessment (C-SCA) instrument and empirically tests its reliability and validity. While existing instruments to measure scientific creativity generally focus on a single dimension, such as divergent thinking, the C-SCA incorporates scientific knowledge, motivation in scientific creativity…

Technology-supported collaborative inquiry has notable potential to enhance students' scientific literacy and subject knowledge. However, most technological supports have been conducted in non-rural science classrooms, with their effectiveness in rural classrooms remaining underexplored. Rural students exhibit varying levels of Information and…

Fostering students' scientific literacy is a key goal of science education, with understanding the nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI) as a central component. Achieving this goal requires teachers to possess adequate knowledge in this area. However, assessments indicate that pre-service science teachers (PSTs) have not yet developed comprehensive…