Background: In science education asynchronous online interactions have increased dramatically during the recent pandemic and some of these practices will stay. One of the characteristics in asynchronous exchanges is the spacing and sequencing of online interaction. It means that dialogue partners do not necessarily receive immediate feedback as is…

The greenhouse effect is a complex scientific phenomenon that plays a crucial role in understanding climate change. Grasping students' understanding of this phenomenon on the content-specific level but also how students' conceptions are organized is vital for effective climate change education. This study addresses both levels and delves into the…

This study examines the impact of the Scientific Creativity in Practice program on students' scientific creativity. This comprehensive teaching program aims to foster general creative skills, domain-specific competencies, and certain personality traits in science education. The program includes a variety of interventions and reflection tools that…

Microplastics have been detected in most ecosystems around the world. They affect the environment and organisms in it, including humans and possibly their health. Hence, the analysis of microplastic occurrence in the environment is highly relevant. However, there are only a few practical and easy-to-implement methods published for school use, and…

Almost every country in the world is obligated to implement education policies to enable an inclusive school system. However, implementing techniques to be inclusive in schools is a major challenge to teachers, especially to those teaching a subject at secondary level and higher. Most of the literature concerning inclusive science education was…

Background: Evidence so far shows that Waldorf students are characterized by average science achievement but at the same time high socioeconomic status and high science motivation. Moreover, Waldorf education is characterized by high emphasis on inquiry-based science education (IBSE). The present study investigates if the specific…

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…

Citizen science research has been rapidly expanding in the past years and has become a popular approach in youth education. We investigated key drivers of youth participation in a citizen social science school project and the effects of participation on scientific and topic-related (i.e., political) interest and efficacy. Findings suggest that…

Recent research has shown a growing interest in myths about teaching and learning and their prevalence among different populations. However, little is known about the extent to which these myths are prevalent among high school students. Future research must focus on methods that best support dispelling these myths to promote high school students…

This article reports the development of a two-tier simple electric circuits test (2T-SEC Test). Simple electric circuits are introduced to students early in their school years and are an important part of the physics curriculum all the way to the university level. However, many students do not develop an adequate conceptual understanding of simple…

When learning about the particulate nature of matter (PNM), students tend to attribute the same properties to both particles and to the substances they compose. It has been argued that this might be explained by them categorizing the wrong ontological category. To explain the relationships between submicroscopic and macroscopic levels of matter,…

This brief examines Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) science achievement of the 20% highest and the 20% lowest performing fourth and eighth graders in 11 countries. To do so, the authors compare achievement distributions across countries, using measures of relative equality within countries. Such an examination…

In the past 20 years, science education in schools has increasingly been supported by extracurricular learning opportunities. From the point of view of pupils and teachers, student laboratories make meaningful contributions to complement the teaching of science. Studies have shown that participation in student laboratories has increased students'…

Introductory electricity is a difficult topic for most lower secondary students, especially the development of an adequate conceptualisation of voltage is seen as a major obstacle. A few instructional concepts concerning the teaching and learning of physics have been proven helpful when it comes to constructing conceptual knowledge. For example,…

The interactions of climate change and soils (ICCS) are scarcely examined in Climate Change Education (CCE). Analyzing the pre-conceptions of secondary school students (n = 421) reveals a high number of missing answers (48.2%), while residual participants responded with either medium (33.3%) or low (11.5%) complexity levels. The natural and the…