Field teaching is an essential component of botany and ecology; however, field classes were among the most likely to be cancelled during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual alternatives that could be used to meet learning outcomes for botany (e.g. plant identification, surveying skills development) were largely unavailable at this…

Problems associated with the environment loom large over the future well-being of young generations. A previous issue of PISA in Focus (PISA in Focus 87) shows that in 2015 many 15-year-old students believed that the future -- their future -- was going to be worse, environmentally, than the present. In particular, only a minority of students…

Children and teachers may not think in the same way about particular science concepts. Such parallel lines of thought can compound children's confusion and misunderstanding as they learn science at primary school. The situation could be more acute when student teachers are teaching science, because of their limited experience of considering…