The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the development of scientific reasoning skills through activities conducted in the scientific reasoning skills course, which pre-service science teachers take as a required course. Participants (N = 53) are 3rd year students of the Department of Science Teaching. The study employed a mixed research…

The literature on scientific modelling practices in science education has provided a fruitful discussion on how learners tend to view models vs. how and what they should think about them. One approach is to teach students that models are abstractions so that they do not view them as a copy of phenomena they represent. Although teaching students…

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a design thinking teaching and learning model on students' design thinking skills in science class. The study utilised two projects, 'Making a Simple Solar Water Heater' and 'Drawing a 3D Topographic Map of Zhejiang Province,' based on the 5th-grade science curriculum in China, and involved 45…

The first purpose of this systematic review is to describe how empirical studies on the applications of the 5E instructional model are distributed according to certain variables. The second purpose is to determine how the 5E model has shown a trend in empirical studies in the transition from inquiry-based teaching to STEM education over the years…

In upper-secondary chemistry education, the concept of 'Amount of Substance' occupies a central position within the computation framework. However, comprehending this concept often poses a challenge for students. To address this issue, our study aimed to design and implement a computation skills test to assess the varying levels of students'…

The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for practical teaching within the sciences. While many instructors adopted innovative alternatives to conventional practicals, many relied on digital approaches that did not give students hands-on experience. In this study we evaluate the use of 'at home' practical kits used in first year physics…

Creative thinking and scientific knowledge are essential components of twenty-first-century learning. The aim is to assess the effectiveness of an inquiry-based interdisciplinary course of study, complemented by training that stimulates the development of creative and research skills. The main sample, which provided the most complete data set,…

A qualitative study was made of how the learning-to-learn competence is favoured in prospective primary teachers when they participate in an experimental activity (ExA). The ExA was on the germination of seeds. Its objective was for the prospective teachers to learn how to (i) design and execute a school scientific inquiry, and (ii) reflect…

Research has demonstrated that gesture produced during conversation can provide insights into scientific thinking and can aid scientific communication in adults and school-aged children. However, to date, there has been a limited exploration into the role of gesture in supporting young children's science communication, and how this is underpinned…

Scientific reasoning helps children understand the world around them. Teaching scientific reasoning can be challenging because not all component scientific reasoning skills develop at the same age and not all children learn these skills at the same pace. Adaptive support thus seems called for. We designed two types of adaptive instruction, based…

This study examines the use of critical questions (CQs) as an 'explicit' pedagogical method in the nature of science to teach Chinese high school students topics of philosophy of science (POS). The study results, evaluated through deductive thematic and qualitative comparative analyses using Toulmin's argumentation patterns and a critical…

Promoting student engagement in learning activities and tasks has been a pivotal issue and goal of science education. Relevant literature has not yet addressed the underlying associations among students' self-efficacy and engagement in science learning from a multi-dimensional perspective. Thus, this study aimed to examine the structural…

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a transition to flexible remote and hybrid work arrangements. This shift presents a challenge to colleges and universities as they prepare the next generation of STEM professionals in the knowledge economy. This case study of student experiential learning during the time of critical change from the Spring of…

The importance of generic skills for life scientists is commonly recognised by employers, graduates, and higher education institutes. As it remains unclear which generic skills are relevant for different life sciences career paths, this study aims to give an overview to inform and inspire universities and students, by analysing 179 Dutch…

Early science learning and, specifically, the development of scientific process skills are essential for children to understand the natural world around them. Question asking is a valuable tool to help children get information to organise and make sense of their environment. This research aims to find out whether pre-elementary children employ…