To investigate students' interest in physics, this study explores the impact of a brief teaching intervention on the increase of interest. The intervention focused on modern physics, specifically exploring Einstein's theory of gravity and the dual nature of light. A total of 325 Greek students participated in the survey, comprising 83 students in…

Hands-on activities are considered to be particularly suitable for generating long-term knowledge that increases environmentally friendly behaviour. Appropriate flagship species in a respective curricular context can enable high-quality education. We have developed a teaching concept and material for hands-on activities with bumblebees. This…

How do teachers elicit and sustain students' interest and engagement in science lessons? This paper answers this question in the context of Bhutan, where students' performance in science is low compared to other subjects, and where falling levels of interest in science are a concern. Like other countries in the Global South, a large proportion of…

Studies of both professional science practice and children's science learning show that care is not merely ancillary to disciplinary work but a core and generative constituent of science practice. In science education research, however, students' care is often overlooked. In this paper, we describe the expression of care across two STEM classrooms…

The term 'Plant Blindness' describes people tending to overlook plants, even though they have an enormous importance for life on earth, especially because of their ability to photosynthesise. Many attempts have been made to counteract plant blindness in biology education. However, so far there is no comprehensive tool to assess the degree of plant…

Student perceptions of science teaching could be expected to differ in grade 6 compared with teaching in grade 9, as could student interest in science learning. To compare Estonian grades 6 and 9, lower secondary school student and science teacher perceptions of teaching/ learning approaches as well as student perceived interests/enjoyment on…

Despite holding wide-ranging experiences with constant velocity and non-zero acceleration, students wrestling with physical science concepts struggle to demarcate the two distinct characteristics of motion. In fact, this prior experience and loose familiarity with associated terminology often act as an obstacle toward a deep and robust…

Research findings indicate a decline in students' motivation towards science learning through grade levels. However, there is a lack of studies investigating students' motivation comparing learning between science subjects and at different school levels. Using self-determination theory as a framework, this study compares perceived changes in…

There is growing interest in the introduction of Einsteinian concepts of space, time, light and gravity across the entire school curriculum. We have developed an educational programme named 'Einstein-First', which focuses on teaching Einsteinian concepts by using simple models and analogies. To test the effectiveness of these models and analogies…

Plate tectonics is the organizing paradigm of geosciences, but it is also conceptually complex, and students often struggle with developing a system level understanding of the earth. This article reports on research designed to create a characterization of the different levels of sophistication around plate tectonics in the form of a learning…

This comprehensive study explores the experiences of underrepresented students who have participated in informal science education programs at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Using qualitative methods, including interviews and participant observations, the research uncovers transformative insights shaping the educational landscape.…

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and the theories of reasoned action and planned behaviour (TRAPB) have both guided studies seeking to explain students' intentions and decisions related to future science engagement. The purpose of this study was to simultaneously validate measures for these two social psychological models and closely examine…

The Food and Health subject is a mandatory subject in primary and lower secondary schools in Norway and has many similarities to the internationally known subject Home Economics. This study aimed to examine how learning activities are structured in Food and Health education, both from the teacher's and the student's perspective. Momentary time…

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a Science Technology and Society (STS) approach in terms of student understanding of major processes of science. Participants included twelve teachers who agreed to participate in an experimental study where Science, Technology, and Society (STS) strategies were utilized with one class…

This qualitative, phenomenological research study explores the best practices that secondary Grades 6-12 educators employ when using microcontrollers in the classroom. Governmental and private organizations have investigated and promoted the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) and computer science in education (Code…