We conducted a study with introductory and upper-division physics students in a Mexican university to learn how students independently recognize the electric field's main characteristics in the electric field lines diagram and as a source or target representation in conversion processes. We used the theory of registers of semiotic representations…

Background: There has been a rapid increase in the number of, and demand for, organisations offering behavioural science advice to government over the last ten years. Yet we know little of the state of science and the experiences of these evidence providers. Aims and objectives: To identify current practice in this emerging field and the factors…

This dataset focuses on the impact of Continuous Professional Development in Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science (CPD-ITMS), offered by the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development (RQBEHCD) Project, Subcomponent 1.2. The provided training aimed to provide essential assistance to teachers in upper primary and lower…

Driven in large part by the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018, quantum information science (QIS) coursework and degree programs are rapidly spreading across U.S. institutions. Yet prior work suggests that access to quantum workforce education is unequally distributed, disproportionately benefiting students at private research-focused…

Critical thinking (CT) is a high-level thinking skill that should be gained in raising individuals who can analyze facts, make independent decisions, make comparisons, and make inferences. On the other hand, these varying states require the inclusion of new acquisitions, such as CT, as the focal point of education. This skill is critical in…

Experimental designs in the social sciences have received increasing attention due to their power to produce causal inferences. Nevertheless, experimental research faces limitations, including limited external validity and unrealistic treatments. We propose combining qualitative fieldwork and experimental design iteratively--moving back-and-forth…

Jeffrey Beall's blog listing of potential predatory journals and publishers, as well as his "Criteria for Determining Predatory Open-Access (OA) Publishers" are often looked at as tools to help researchers avoid publishing in predatory journals. While these "Criteria" have brought a greater awareness of OA predatory journals,…

Recent science reform documents have called for incorporating authentic scientific discourse into science classes as engaging in discourse has shown to result in numerous benefits. Whether these benefits are observed in students depends upon the quality of the discourse in which they engage. However, characterizing the quality of student-student…

Black girls represent a unique subpopulation of science learners. Black girls are unique because they consistently outperform Black boys in science. Despite this trend, Black girls often face dual marginalization in STEM classrooms and professions. Racial and gender marginalization can inhibit the success of Black girls in science if researchers,…

Students' attitudes towards Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) in developing countries such as Indonesia are rarely investigated despite the fact that digital games are being used in secondary education increasingly. This research aims to explore students' attitudes towards DGBL in chemistry. We used a quantitative study method using a…

This study explores the direction and magnitude of racial disparities on three advanced placement (AP) computer science (CS) exams, namely AP CS Principles, AP CS A, and AP CS AB, based on the test scores of more than one million students who have taken AP CS exams between 1997 and 2020. Using Mann-Kendall test and Sen's slope procedures we found…

Although instruction on meiosis is repeated many times during the undergraduate curriculum, many students show poor comprehension even as upper-level biology majors. We propose that the difficulty lies in the complexity of understanding DNA, which we explain through a new model, the DNA triangle. The "DNA triangle" integrates three…

Background: The growing population of students that are learning science through a Content and Language Integrated Learning approach (CLIL) has led to concerns about these students' ability to fully participate in a rich classroom discourse to develop content knowledge. A lack of information about science development through classroom discourse in…

Context: Introducing Computer Science (CS) into formal education can be challenging, notably when considering the numerous stakeholders involved which include the students, teachers, schools, and policy makers. We believe these perspectives should be considered conjointly, which is possible within Research Practice Partnerships (RPPs). RPPs look…

Latecomers to science are students who take non-traditional routes into postsecondary science because they are initially missing prerequisites. Latecomers have a lower rate of persistence than traditional science students. This critical discourse analysis of an online forum thread uses Gee's toolkit to explore how latecomers, who have histories of…