Soil judging contests are important activities to explore the soil science and its relation to the natural world. They have been held for many years and proved to be very efficient for the student's engagement, field practice, and learning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the soil science societies worldwide had to adapt this activity to the virtual…

Postcards share with others the highlights of holidays, memories of places and events, and brief stories of experiences abroad. They hold the quick jottings to a friend back home, made while in a moment of rest and reflection on a train, at the beach, in a café. They are intimate artifacts, yet they are also public. Their text is available for…

A large scale survey reveals that the performance of the Indian preuniversity students in internationally standardized physics tests is intermediate to the American and the Chinese but reveals a disturbing bimodality. Scientific reasoning skills, however, are similar to both. The bimodality in physics tests corresponds to two different educational…

Reviews of science education consistently suggest that there is (another) crisis. They express concern with the status quo and suggest directions that science education might take. In this context, science educators need to consider the current state of play, the needs of generations in a world to come and the characteristics of future science…

Particularly in the second half of the 20th century, historical approaches became relevant in science education. This development can at least in part be explained with the growing awareness of the importance to address Nature of Science aspects in science education. In comparison to the international publications, some particularities can be…

In recent decades, research has shown the challenge posed to teachers by science education in informal contexts such as science museums or centres. In addition, there is consensus that in the case of pupils visiting a science centre, learning improves when the visit is connected to the classroom curriculum, so the teachers' involvement in…

Science education has been pointed out as fact-based and built on reliable knowledge. Nevertheless, there are areas that include other aspects. Sexual education is, according to the Swedish syllabus, such an example and it involves aspects as love, sexuality and relations. These aspects suggest a possible tension between the biological and…

In 2011 Pavia University celebrated its 650th birthday. This provided the opportunity to propose the Neverland project whose purpose was to overcome the division between formal and informal science education. A number of classes (various age groups) from a group of schools in the province of Pavia took part in the project. The University Museums…

Japan has no formal educational system for gifted children. However, in 2005, Japan's Cabinet approved and established the third Science and Technology Basic Plan (2006-10), which includes "nurturing the individuality and ability of gifted ("sainou" in Japanese) children." Enforcement of this plan is exemplified in programs…

Background: Critical thinking is one of the very highest orders of cognitive abilities and a key competency in higher education. Asking questions is an important component of rich learning experiences, structurally embedded in the operations of critical thinking. Our clear sense is that critical thinking and, within that, critical questioning, is…

Teachers' pedagogical beliefs are thought to play a prominent role in determining teacher behavior. In contrast to other professions, pedagogical beliefs of teachers and students in teacher education are widely influenced by personal experiences gained in school, which has been referred to as "apprenticeship of observation" (Lortie,…

Science provides foundations for people to understand what is happening around them, supplies information for developments to be made and explains why things happen. As a science and early years specialist, the author often wondered how early years and science can be combined. Where is the place of science within the Early Years Foundation Stage…

The aim of the International Society for Technology, Education, and Science (iHSES) conference is to offer opportunities to share ideas, discuss theoretical and practical issues, and connect with the leaders in the fields of "humanities," "education" and "social sciences." It is organized for: (1) faculty members in…

Outlines themes of the scientific element of the PGCE secondary course at Goldsmith College, London (England), which is designed to raise preservice teachers' awareness of issues surrounding race and equal opportunities. It provides a brief outline of the sessions along with notes on the materials used with the students. (GLR)

A problem solving protocol is described and then applied to a teacher training problematic situation in science and technology education. The problem consists of improving a learning community involved in education research, development and communication. Some remarks concerning the strengths and limitations of using the protocol are made in…