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In this study, we present a new instrument, the Participation and Engagement Scale (PES), for the evaluation of the students' involvement in STEM-oriented activities. The instrument was administered to about 1000 secondary school students who participated in the activities of the Italian "Piano Nazionale Lauree Scientifiche" in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. The activities were carried out in a remote modality due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Through an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, it was possible to validate a two-factor structure of the instrument: satisfaction towards the activities and value of the activities. The proposed factor structure shows a good model fit, with each of the obtained scales displaying excellent reliability. Construct-related validation evidence was obtained through the Rasch analysis, which allowed further psychometric improvement of the instrument. Convergent validation evidence was established through a correlation with the academic motivation and perceived difficulties scales. Using the proposed instrument, we found no statistically significant relationships between engagement, the different types of science activities attended, and the intention to enroll in a STEM course. Implications of the study for the evaluation of public understanding of science activities in both remote and in-presence modalities are also discussed.

We surveyed a convenience sample of 362 Italian university physics students, asking them to retrospectively assess their experience of emergency remote instruction due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We looked at their psychological well being, motivation for physics, academic orientation, attitude towards physics and physicists, and tried to link these factors to their overall perception of the online instruction. Our results show a general appreciation for the organization and effectiveness of online courses. However, online teaching negatively impacted on engagement and interaction between peers and with the instructors. Only 22% of students in our sample complained of the psychological distress due to remote instruction. Nonetheless, we found a significant decrease in motivational dimensions, such as interest and recognition. Emergency remote instruction also challenged the students' self-regulation, self-efficacy, and engagement. Finally, the uncertainty about the future resulted in a more pessimistic attitude towards physics, academic performance, and job perspectives.

We describe how young students situate themselves with respect to astronomy through an identity framework that features four dimensions: interest, utility value, confidence, and conceptual knowledge. Overall, about 900 Italian students, from 5th to 9th grade (9-14 years old), were involved in the study. We tested our model using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Differences between girls and boys and across school levels were also investigated. Results show that interest has both a direct and an indirect effect on astronomy identity. The indirect effect of interest on identity is mediated by utility value. Moreover, confidence mediates the effect of interest on conceptual knowledge. Concerning differences between girls and boys, we found that the effect of interest on identity is greater for girls than for boys and that the utility value mediates the effect of interest on identity for boys but not for girls. Finally, our findings show also that the students' interest in astronomy and confidence in their performance decrease with age, with a potential negative impact on conceptual knowledge and future career choice in astronomy. The astronomy identity framework can be employed to examine the role of affective variables on performance and persistence in astronomy and to improve the design of teaching-learning activities that can potentially stimulate a lasting interest in astronomy.

Students' ability to assess their own knowledge is an important skill in science education. However, students often overestimate their actual performances. In such cases, overconfidence bias arises. Previous studies in physics education have shown that overconfidence bias concerns mainly content areas, such as Newtonian mechanics, where misconceptions are strongly held by students. However, how the received instruction and the levels of understanding of a given topic influence overconfidence bias is yet to be proved. In this paper, we address this issue choosing as content area introductory quantum mechanics (QM). Overall, 408 high school students were involved in the study and randomly assigned to two experimental groups. One group received a textbook-based instruction about introductory QM, whereas the other one received instruction on the same topics through an innovative guided inquiry teaching-learning sequence (TLS), which included also potential pedagogical countermeasures for overconfidence bias. Students of both experimental groups completed a multiple-choice questionnaire and indicated for each item the degree of their confidence in the given answer using a 5-point Likert scale. The overconfidence bias was quantitatively defined and evaluated at person level using a 1D Rasch model. Progress in knowledge about the targeted topics was modeled according to a construct map validated in a previous paper. Results show that, for the whole sample, the overconfidence bias decreased as students progressed along the levels of the construct map. However, findings indicate that students of the TLS group achieved a significantly higher accuracy and a better confidence calibration, while the textbook group exhibited a lower performance and a significantly greater overconfidence bias. Implications for research into overconfidence bias in physics education are briefly discussed.

We present the development and validation of a construct map addressing introductory quantum mechanics topics at the high school level, as a subset of a larger learning progression on quantum mechanics. Topics include energy quantization, photon absorption and emission, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, atom stability, orbitals, wave function, and electronic properties of materials. To validate the hypothesized construct map, we designed a multiple-choice questionnaire and a 14-h teaching-learning sequence (TLS) designed in strict relation with the levels of the construct map. Twenty-three classes of Italian students (ages 17-18, N = 408) were involved in the study: about half (N = 200) were exposed to the TLS, while N = 208 students received a typical textbook instruction on the same topics targeted by the construct map. Data were analyzed using a 1D Rasch model. Results show that the proposed construct map consistently describes the increasing abilities of students when exposed to instruction. In particular, when exposed to the TLS activities, students more likely move towards the upper levels of the construct map. Findings have implications for instruction designed to support students' learning in quantum mechanics at the high school level.

This empirical study investigates the main features of curricula and contexts that favor or hinder the process of transfer of a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) from the designers' original situation to a host one. The specific research questions addressed were (RQ1) what were the changes made during the process of transfer in the new context? (RQ2) What were the similarities or differences between the national curricula and contexts that influenced the process of transfer? To answer our research questions, we chose two TLSs, one about optical properties of materials, the other about thermal conductivity, originally designed by two groups of researchers and experienced teachers in Italy and Greece, respectively. The transfer process was analyzed using the "adaptation and reinvention" model, originally developed for the management knowledge research field, while the construct of "institutional distance" was used to describe the influence of country-specific aspects on the transfer process. Data collected included background documents that describe the principles underlying the TLSs design, the decisions and changes made to the original TLSs by the hosting group, and reports on the TLS implementation in classroom practice in the original and in the host context. Content analysis was used to analyze data. Results show that the similarities between the two national curricula and interactions between the involved groups acted mainly as facilitators of the transfer process.

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] In this paper we discuss the design and development of a learning progression (LP) to describe and interpret students' understanding about stellar structure and evolution (SSE). The LP is built upon three content dimensions: "hydrostatic equilibrium"; "composition and aggregation state"; "functioning and evolution." The data to build up the levels of the hypothetical LP (LP1) came from a 45-minute, seven-question interview, with 33 high school students previously taught about the topic. The questions were adapted from an existing multiple-choice instrument. Data were analyzed using Minstrell's "facets" approach. To assess the validity of LP1, we designed a twelve-hour teaching module featuring paper-and-pencil tasks and practical activities to estimate the stellar structure and evolution parameters. Twenty high school students were interviewed before and after the activities using the same interview protocol. Results informed a revision of LP1 (LP2) and, in parallel, of the module. The revised module included supplementary activities corresponding to changes made to LP1. We then assessed LP2 with 30 high school students through the same interview, submitted before and after the teaching intervention. A final version of the LP (LP3) was then developed drawing on students' emerging reasoning strategies. This paper contributes to research in science education by providing an example of the iterative development of the instruction required to support the student thinking that LPs' levels describe. Concerning astronomy education research, our findings can inform suitable instructional activities more responsive to students' reasoning strategies about stellar structure and evolution.

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] Several decades of research have contributed to our understanding of students' reasoning about astronomical phenomena. Some authors have pointed out the difficulty in reading and interpreting images used in school textbooks as factors that may justify the persistence of misconceptions. However, only a few studies have investigated to what extent usual textbook images influence students' understanding of such phenomena. This study examines this issue, exploring 13-14 year old students' explanations, drawings, and conceptions about three familiar phenomena: change of seasons, Moon phases, and solar or lunar eclipses. The research questions that guided the study were (RQ1) how are students' explanations and visual representations about familiar astronomical phenomena affected by different image-support conditions? (RQ2) How are students' conceptions about familiar astronomical phenomena affected by different image-support conditions? (RQ3) Which features of the used images most affected the students' visual representations and explanations of familiar astronomical phenomena? To answer our research questions, we designed three instructional contexts under increasing support conditions: textbook images and text, teaching booklets with specially designed images and text, only text. To analyze students' drawings, we used exploratory factor analysis to deconstruct drawings into their most salient elements. To analyze students' explanations, we adopted a constant comparison method identifying different levels of increasing knowledge. To investigate students' conceptions, we used a mixed multiple-choice and true false baseline questionnaire. For RQ1, results show that the specially designed images condition was effective in helping students producing informed drawings in comparison to text-only condition for all phenomena, and more effective than textbook images condition when one considers seasonal change drawings. Concerning RQ2, the specially designed images condition was the most effective for all phenomena. Concerning RQ3, prevalent elements of astronomy images that affected students' explanations and visual representations were Earth's elliptical orbit; the position of the Sun with respect to the Moon orbit; and Sun, Moon, and Earth alignment. Our findings confirm concerns about textbook astronomy images, whose features may interfere with the identification of the relevant factors underlying the phenomena. Moreover, findings of this study suggest that affordances of the specially designed images may play an essential role in scaffolding meaningful understanding of the targeted phenomena. Implications for teaching through and learning from visual representations in astronomy education are briefly discussed.

Despite its relevance to all scientific domains, the debate surrounding the teaching of energy is still open. The main point remains the problems students have in understanding some aspects of the energy concept and in applying their knowledge to the comprehension of natural phenomena. In this paper, we present a research-based interdisciplinary approach to the teaching of energy in which the first and second laws of thermodynamics were used to interpret physical, chemical and biological processes. The contents of the three disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology) were reconstructed focusing on six basic aspects of energy (forms, transfer, transformation, conservation, degradation, and entropy) and using common teaching methodologies. The module was assessed with 39 secondary school students (aged 15-16) using a 30-question research instrument and a treatment/control group methodology. Analysis of students' learning outcomes suggests a better understanding of the energy concept, supporting the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary approach in the teaching of energy in physics and science in general. Implications for the teaching of energy are briefly discussed.

In this paper, we present a teaching module about stellar structure, functioning and evolution. Drawing from literature in astronomy education, we designed the activities around three key ideas: spectral analysis, mechanical and thermal equilibrium, energy and nuclear reactions. The module is divided into four phases, in which the key ideas for describing stars' functioning and physical mechanisms are gradually introduced. The activities (20 hours) build on previously learned laws in mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism and help students combine them meaningfully in order to get a complete picture of processes that happens in stars. The module was piloted with two intact classes of secondary school students (N = 59 students, 17-18 years old), using a ten-question multiple-choice questionnaire as research instrument. Results support the effectiveness of the proposed activities. Implications for the teaching of advanced physics topics using stars as fruitful context are briefly discussed.

The science education literature shows that students have difficulty understanding what causes the seasons. Incorrect explanations are often due to a lack of knowledge about the physical mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. To address this, we present a module in which the students engage in quantitative measurements with a photovoltaic panel to explain changes to the sunray flow on Earth's surface over the year. The activities also provide examples of energy transfers between the incoming radiation and the environment to introduce basic features of Earth's climate. The module was evaluated with 45 secondary school students (aged 17-18) and a pre-/post-test research design. Analysis of students' learning outcomes supports the effectiveness of the proposed activities.

In this paper we present a study on the difficulties secondary school students experience in interpreting textbook images of elementary astronomical phenomena, namely, the changing of the seasons, Sun and lunar eclipses and Moon phases. Six images from a commonly used textbook in Italian secondary schools were selected. Interviews of 45 min about the astronomical concepts related to the images were carried out with eighteen students attending the last year of secondary school (aged 17-18). Students' responses were analyzed through a semiotic framework based on the different types of visual representation structures. We found that the wide range of difficulties shown by students come from naïve or alternative ideas due to incorrect or inadequate geometric models of the addressed phenomena. As a primary implication of this study, we suggest that teachers should pay attention to specific iconic features of the discussed images, e.g., the compositional structure and the presence of real/symbolic elements.

Evidence of the role of models in the teaching/learning process in science education is well documented in literature. A crucial role in this process is played by teachers. It is therefore important to design teacher education intervention focused on models and modelling. Although recognized as important by many authors, few attempts have been carried out and with a limited success. This paper reports of a three-year-long study whose aims can be summarized as follows: to investigate the knowledge of scientific models and modelling of physics, mathematics, and engineering prospective teachers; to explore the effectiveness of a research-based teacher education intervention aimed at improving knowledge about scientific models and modelling; to inspect the effects of a refinement process of the intervention based on a design-trial-redesign cycle. About 400 prospective teachers from two Italian universities were involved in the study. The results show that the knowledge about models and modelling of prospective teachers after the four- or five-year degree diploma is still rather poor and confused. On the other hand, the implementation results support the effectiveness of the designed intervention and of the refinement process. Implications which may give a contribution to more general research problems related to models and modelling in science education are also discussed. (Contains 13 tables, 7 figures and 5 notes.)

This Italian contribution to the STTIS (science teacher training in an information society) investigations of transformations of curriculum innovations looks at the implementation of the use of real-time experiments and images (RTEI), in which computer data acquisition and display is built in to aspects of science teaching. Certain critical features, important for the successful and fruitful use of RTEI, are identified, notably those related to obtaining real data in real time. We observed the extent to which different teachers made use (or not) of these features, transforming the innovation in various ways. The research results were used to design a set of training materials about the use of RTEI, designed to be used in a two-session teacher training workshop. The structure of the workshop is described and examples of training materials are given.