Understanding natural selection requires mentally linking various key concepts and processes. Many students find it difficult to construct scientific explanations about natural selection and might display misconceptions. Our study aimed to investigate the understanding of natural selection and the existence of teleological or other misconceptions…

The current study expands on previous research on gender differences and similarities in science test scores. Using three different approaches -- differential item functioning, differential distractor functioning, and decision tree analysis -- we examine a high school science assessment administered to 3,849 10th-12th graders, of whom 2,021 are…

In this study, high school physics textbooks published by People's Education Press (PEP) and Educational Science Publishing House (ESP) (a total of 6 books) in China were analyzed via a self-developed scale measuring nature of science (NOS) including three first-level indicators of scientific knowledge, scientific process, and scientific…

The purpose of this study is to disclose the units and topics including the concept of water within 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades' biology textbooks that were chosen by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) Head Council of Education and Morality (HCEM), and provide an overview of the whole content that mentions the concept of water. This…

Providing scientific explanations for natural phenomena is a fundamental aim of science; therefore, scientific explanation has been selected as one of the key practices in science education policy documents around the world. To further elaborate on existing educational frameworks of scientific explanation in K-12, we propose a learning progression…

Chemical symbol representation is used extensively in chemistry classrooms; however, due to its abstract nature, many students struggle with learning and effectively utilizing these symbolic representations, which can lead to ongoing failure in subsequent chemistry learning. Taking the perspective of learning progressions, this study identifies…

The main aim of this research was to measure 10th and 12th grade students' biological conceptual understanding and competences through their upper secondary school studies. Data collection started at the beginning of the upper secondary school biology studies in the 10th grade. The same students participated in this research when they were in the…

In this study, we have synthesized the research on visualization and representation to propose a model consisting of 4 major components of visualization competence in learning science: constructing, interpreting, transforming, and critiquing visualizations. We have developed and validated an assessment that measures students' visualization…

Pandem-Sim is a live, distance-learning simulation where 10th-12th grade students perform as epidemiologists to investigate infectious disease outbreaks. Prior to a mission, teachers review content and introduce students to the sim interfaces. During the mission students analyze data concerning demographics, symptoms and patient histories for a…

The low enrolment, lack of interest, exacerbated by the general poor performance in physical science in South Africa paints a gloomy picture about the status of physical science in the country. Despite the fact that there might be other factors at play, one factor which cannot be ignored is the discourse about the use of language in the science…

This paper presents a revised learning progression for the energy concept and initial findings on diverse progressions among subgroups of sample students. The revised learning progression describes how students progress towards an understanding of the energy concept along two progress variables identified from previous studies--key ideas about…

During the last decade there has been on-going discussions about students' declining interest and low achievement in science. One of the reasons suggested for this decline is that teachers and students have different frames of reference, whereby teachers sometimes communicate science in the classroom in a way that is not accessible to the…

While school textbooks are assumed to be written for and used by students, it is widely acknowledged that they also serve a vital support function for teachers, particularly in times of curriculum change. A basic assumption is that biology textbooks are scientifically accurate. Furthermore, because of the negative impact of…

Virtual reality environments are becoming increasingly popular as educational tools, but it remains unclear when these environments enhance learning or when they are a distraction from the learning process. We compared two different methods for teaching ecological concepts about the rocky intertidal zone by comparing an experimental (virtual)…

This study considers how students change their coherent conceptual understanding of natural selection through a hands-on simulation. The results show that most students change their understanding. In addition, some students also underwent a transformative experience and used their new knowledge in a leisure time activity. These transformative…