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Curriculum reform worldwide has often reflected changing perspectives on the teaching and learning of science. Such perspectives underline the notion that not only the teaching of science content knowledge is relevant but also the aims and methods scientists use to further their knowledge and the social context in which science is applied. We call this the 'cognitive-epistemic' and 'social institutional aspects' of science. They form the hard core of the nature of science (NOS) concept for curriculum reform. In South Africa, after years of Apartheid, a key focus of school science curriculum reform is for importance to be given to NOS due to the potential benefits of learning and understanding of NOS for students. This study analyses cognitive-epistemic and social-institutional categories of NOS in the South African Life Sciences and Physical Sciences school curricula. A critical finding for both Life Sciences and Physical Sciences curricula was the imbalance in the NOS categories. In the curricula, there is less presence of the social-institutional categories compared to the cognitive-epistemic categories. In general, there was poor interconnectedness amongst NOS categories, with the strongest interconnectedness revealed for the cognitive-epistemic categories 'scientific practices' and 'methods and methodological rules'. Implications for the design of future curricula and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The aim with this study was to analyse and explore how physical sciences, engineering science and technology subjects (technical electrical technology, technical civil technology, technical mechanical technology) can contribute to the alignment of the technical sciences curriculum. We used document analysis to collect data. An analysis of the curriculum and assessment policy statements (CAPS) for technical sciences, physical sciences, electrical technology, civil technology, mechanical technology, and textbooks for engineering science was done. The findings of the study suggest that the technical science curriculum is a replica of the physical science curriculum. We recommend that the technical sciences curriculum be reviewed such that relevant scientific concepts can be used to bridge the gaps identified in the curriculum. The implications are that a new, aligned technical sciences curriculum that is relevant for technology subjects must be developed.

Introduction: The present work is based on the theoretical model "Expectancy Value" of achievement motivation, and from a socio-cognitive perspective. Its objective is to describe achievement behavior in the classroom context of students from different cultural backgrounds. Method: A post-hoc study was carried out with 310 participants from Chilean and Spanish cultural contexts. The Inventory of Motivation for Academic Achievement (IMLA), an instrument that assesses academic achievement motivation with eight factors, was completed. Results: The results show significant differences in the Chilean and Spanish cultural contexts, with a high power of the effect in the valuation of academic tasks and in the valuation of the social learning environment. In the gender variable, women show higher valuations with respect to men in the effort to achieve proposed goals. The students of the Health Sciences careers obtain significances with mean powers of the effect, in the value of the learning task and in the valuation of the social environment of such learning; also in the expectations and efficacy, with respect to the students of Physical and Natural Sciences. Discussion and conclusions: From these results, relevant information has been obtained for the study of the personal and sociocultural variables of motivation in university students from different cultural contexts. It is concluded that the cultural context and the field of knowledge have an effect on motivation.

The inquiry-based strategy in science education is widely recommended and incorporated in practical work. However, contextual and intrinsic teaching challenges associated with practical investigations (inquiry-based practical work), occur in resource-constrained physical sciences classrooms in South Africa. The intrinsic challenges have previously been identified from the perspective of the pedagogical content knowledge framework and the concerns-based adoption model. In this article we present a novel approach, investigating the intrinsic challenges from a viewpoint of instructional design. The multi-method technique was used to collect data which was analysed by combining the deductive and the inductive approaches in thematic analysis. The findings consist of intrinsic teaching challenges in the initiation, planning, and implementation phases of practical investigations. Examples of the challenges include practical work being considered to have a confirmatory role, inadequacies linked to addressing learner safety, and unfamiliarity with well-known instructional models. While new challenges were identified, the findings add a new perspective to intrinsic challenges relating to practical investigations in the context of physical sciences education in South Africa. Also, the findings enhance global knowledge about the complexity of intrinsic teaching challenges linked to practical investigations. In addition, the findings inform teacher support while suggesting lines of future research linked to practical investigations in resource-constrained physical sciences classrooms in South Africa and beyond.

The limited time allocation for lectures in the classroom is an obstacle to presenting student-centered learning. This is one of the factors that prospective physics teacher students experience conceptual difficulties, especially in crystal structure material. So the purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the problem flipped classroom learning model on understanding the concepts of prospective physics teacher students on crystal structure material. This study used a quasi-experimental method with a one-group pretest-posttest research design. The subjects of this study were 16 students who took solid-state physics courses. Data analysis techniques were carried out using normality tests, homogeneity tests, and pretest and posttest average difference tests. Then test the N-gain to see the increase in the pretest and posttest results and continue with the effect size test using the effect size. The instrument used was a test of mastery of the concept of crystal structure material. The results of the paired sample t-test analysis show that the Problem Based Flipped Classroom significantly influences learning outcomes with a t value of 11.439 with a significance of 0.000. Students' understanding of crystal structure material has increased with an N-Gain of 0.75, which is in the high category. This means that the pretest and posttest scores have a high increase. While the results of the effect size test obtained a score of d = 2.86, which means that learning with the Problem Based Flipped Classroom has a strong effect on student learning outcomes on crystal structure material.

This study sought to narrate the experiences of a digital novice South African rural teacher, using technological pedagogical reasoning (TPR). The ubiquity and pervasiveness of digital technology is creating a need for teachers to develop TPR to remain relevant in this ever-changing global teaching community. TPR is developed in the real context of a teacher's practice; hence, teachers need to have the experiences of learning to teach with technology in their actual classes. In this study, one South African rural teacher found computer simulations (CS) to be curricular materials with the potential to transform how physical sciences can be taught in South African rural schools. Their affordances are many, depending on how they can be manipulated by the user to add value to their pursuits. In addition, they have pragmatic value to the practice of South African teachers. The benefits of using CS were informed by using the technological pedagogical reasoning (TPR) framework. These affordances were relational, uncovered through an active interaction with the technology and the learners. The use of technology in teaching does not come with a pedagogical manual; hence, their use by the individual teachers is idiosyncratic. Hence, this creates a need for more research in the use of specific technology while teaching in rural schools to develop a more nuanced understanding of TPR.

The current study examined self-organized learning environments (SOLEs) pedagogy as a conduit to learners' metacognitive skills and conceptual understanding in physical sciences and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as a whole in Capricorn District of Limpopo Province of South Africa. The aim was based on ongoing debates related to integrating technology and metacognitive skills in STEM education to improve educational outcomes. Anchored upon the aim and through experimental (one urban and one rural) groups and control (one urban and one rural) groups, the study employed a non-equivalent quasi-experimental (control group) design to glean and analyze data from 155 selected participants through a stratified sampling method. Data were collected using physical sciences pre- and post-tests and metacognition self-assessment scale questionnaire. Data analysis employed descriptive (mean [M], standard deviation, and effect size) and inferential (parametric t-test) analysis. The findings indicate that the mean gain score (M=6.37) of the experimental groups (that were taught through SOLEs pedagogy) was higher than that of their counterparts (M=2.60) in the control groups with a p-value (p=0.037) that is less than 0.005. Similarly, in terms of conceptual understanding, the findings indicate that the experimental groups improved significantly more than the control groups at a significant p-value of 0.00. Finally, the study concludes that SOLEs pedagogy improves learners' metacognitive skills that, in turn, enhance conceptual understanding of physical sciences content. Furthermore, the current study recommends further longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes to explore SOLEs pedagogy in STEM.

This century, the twenty-first century, is a century of science and technology explosion. This is the period when the boon of science has arrived in almost every corner of the world. One such example is exposure to information (data) using a cell phone, bypassing a computer. This has made information available to the masses at a much cheaper rate and with less difficulty. This has become possible only because of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-trained workforces developed by STEM education over the years. One more important aspect of the twenty-first century is the demand for more and more STEM workforces at all levels. As a result, every country is planning hard to achieve their goal of getting more and more STEM-trained workforces for the sustenance of social and economic growth using both the immigration channel and high school STEM education development programs. In order to keep pace, the South African education system is also undergoing changes. Significant adjustments are made in the high school education system to reflect the post-apartheid era's worldview and correct pre-apartheid era-induced mistakes. The 1996 South African Schools' Act is the beginning of changes in the South African school education system. The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether there has been any improvement in STEM education in general and physical science in particular after all these changes were implemented in the South African school system. The purpose of this study is to establish the empirical hallmark of changes in high school physical science teaching outcomes using a sample from rural South African schools for a period of 2008 to 2018. This study collected secondary data from the national senior certificate examination (NSCE) data base to within a rural school district in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. A quantitative analytic method was used to analyse the set of secondary data thus collected. The study concludes that, during the observed period, there has been statistically insignificant improvement in learners' performance in physical science, and there exists a room for introspection regarding the state of high school science teaching processes in order to improve the quality of STEM education in the country.

This paper describes a study in which five physical science teachers were requested to take photographs and describe the science concepts embedded in these. Particularly, the science had to be relevant to the grade 10-grade 12 curriculum they were teaching. This study was an exploratory case study employing qualitative methods. To analyze data from the study, the four-field method for analyzing photographs was used (Käpylä, 2014). The analysis reveals that in all the narratives accompanying the captured photographs, the Indirect Observation-Cognitive Domain dominated. The overall findings of the study demonstrate that the corresponding narrations reflect the cognitive role of photographs. However, this paper argues that phenomenological thinking about human experience connects emotions and personal and social meanings to factual knowledge and knowledge structures, therefore these purposes of pictures in teaching and learning of physical science could be divided into cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains.

This research is part of the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Moroccan education system, our objective being to evaluate the use of computer-assisted experimentation (CAEx) in learning to encourage the authorities of the Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training and Sports to adopt the CAEx program in the teaching and learning of physics so that it becomes compulsory for all high schools. To evaluate the impact of using CAEx in the study of free oscillations of an RLC circuit (a linear circuit containing an electrical resistor, an inductor, and a capacitor). A study was conducted with 40 Moroccan students in the second year of the scientific baccalaureate option life and earth sciences at the high school Abdellah Laroui in the city of Fez, as this work aims to highlight the effect of the use of CAEx on the learning of students. Using the methodology of pre-test and post-test with an experimental group (20 students) and a control group (20 students). The results of both groups are analyzed with IBM SPSS 21 statistical analysis software the results obtained from the post-test show that the average of the tests addressed to both control and experimental groups has a significant difference. In addition, non-directive and directive interviews were conducted with the students of the experimental group. Indeed, the content of the grid of open and closed questions was elaborated in agreement with the teachers of physical sciences of the high school Abdellah Laroui, concerning the use of CAEx in learning and to know the degree of satisfaction of the integration of CAEx in the study of free oscillations in an RLC circuit. In addition, the data were processed by Sphinx v5 software. This study showed that CAEx integration had a positive effect on student learning. It can be said that CAEx plays an important role in the grasp and assimilation of scientific concepts, and it represents a solution to make the student more attentive and serious. Computer Aided Instruction can develop a spirit of initiative in the learner.

Educational outreach can benefit both the broader community and scientists themselves while fulfilling the service mission of many universities and funding programs. Involvement in educational outreach can benefit doctoral students, via improved teaching and classroom management skills, increased experimental design skills, strengthened sense of identity and belonging in science, and refined science communication skills. However, doctoral students are frequently encouraged to prioritize research over teaching or educational outreach. Understanding the complexities of their perceptions of educational outreach is important for supporting all doctoral students to receive the benefits of participating in this activity. In this study, we interviewed eight physical science doctoral students who participated in an educational outreach program at a medium-sized public research university. Cross-case analysis revealed that participants viewed both benefits and burdens to participating in educational outreach and reported feeling that outreach was less valued by their institution, their community, and, in turn, themselves.

Learners who pass the South African National Senior Certificate (NSC) physical sciences examination generally show a weak conceptual understanding of chemistry at university. This inconsistency was investigated by examining strategies used in the teaching of chemical equilibrium in schools. A combination of on-site observations, journaling and teacher interviews was used in a survey of 4 teachers in 3 well-resourced schools whose learners regularly achieve good results in the subject. In this article we argue that, whereas the study reported on here revealed a high degree of consistency in basic concept teaching approaches calculated to help learners pass the NSC examination, focus on the examination comes at the expense of in-depth exploration of concepts. We found that Grade 12 chemistry teachers value learners' success in the NSC examination more than their understanding of concepts and ability to use those concepts beyond the examination. Reasons for, as well as consequences of this strategic choice were identified and are discussed.

Students in higher engineering education should develop competencies to be prepared for their future professional careers. However, in the field of food technology it is not clear what set of competencies is most relevant. This paper created a comprehensive list of competencies for food technologists by combining both domain-specific and general literature (n = 4), and policy documents (n = 6). This list was used to establish the relative importance of its elements and map opportunities for optimal curricular improvement at Wageningen University. Data were collected via a survey and interviews with graduates and professionals. A comparison of the perceived importance of competencies versus the perceived opportunities for learning showed that "analytical thinking, critical thinking, problem solving" and "decision making" needed more attention in the study curriculum. The comprehensiveness of the list was assessed by pilot testing with respondents. The list and method show potential for other disciplines to identify and select important competencies.

The under-representation of minorities at senior levels in academia has received some research attention in recent years. However, the experience of immigrant women from the former Soviet Union (FSU) in Israeli academia has not been examined. These women are mostly from a generation known as the '1.5 generation' who immigrated to Israel as children. This study focuses on the intersection of immigration and gender that shape the lives and careers of the 1.5 generation women currently employed as senior academics in Israel. Using the theoretical framework of capital, Bourdieu's concepts of cultural and social capital, as well as Borjas' ethnic capital, we analyzed twenty in-depth interviews to examine the perception of these women, their life story, and their professional integration into Israeli academia. We identified two focal points that fostered their success -- (1) the Soviet heritage- selective adoption of ethnic capital, encompassing cultural and social capital of an ethnic group and (2) role models within and outside the family often based on ethnicity. We discuss the obstacles faced by minorities in attempting integration into selective professional guilds.

This study analysed secondary school teachers' self-reported learning during their participation in a long-term, non-formal scientific activity in the form of a crystal-growing contest. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore in-service teachers' experiences and describe the different types of learning that they report they have acquired due to their participation. Data were collected over a period of four years using an open-ended questionnaire. Qualitative methods were used for the data analysis to construct categories and identify emerging themes. The outcomes of the analysis were the identification of several types of learning gains that highlighted some of the potential benefits of introducing non-formal environments as an option for in-service teachers professional learning.

This research analyzed the state of metacognition in South African Physical Science classrooms, the extent to which South African Physical Science teachers possess metacognitive awareness, and how effective the teachers are in fostering metacognition. Assessment of the current state of metacognition in a sample of Physical Science classes at two KwaZulu-Natal districts, inferring the observed and analyzed level of metacognition of the participants, was based on the assumption that low levels of metacognitive awareness was the reason for achieved poor results. The major findings of this research found: there is a poor state of metacognitive awareness within the studied Physical Science classrooms.

Developing students' understanding of and about science is an important educational goal. Learning the nature of science (NOS) has been recognized as a critical component of science literacy, affecting how students (our future citizens) make informed decisions. Textbooks can be useful teaching materials if the content presented aligns with curriculum guidelines, but they may not completely satisfy students' learning needs. The reconceptualized FRA to NOS (RFN) offers a framework for teachers and students seeking to unpack and construct a comprehensive understanding of NOS. The present research analysed how NOS was represented in three chapters addressing magnetism and electricity in three high school textbooks published in South Africa. Using the 11 RFN categories and four levels of information explicitness criteria as analytical tools, we found that scientific practices, scientific knowledge, and social values were the three most frequently used NOS representations. Textbook excerpts representing these three RFN categories at different levels of information explicitness were also discussed in order to show how the target RFN were represented on this topic. Chronological diagrams were employed to denote how NOS representations interacted with one another, as well as reveal the level of information explicitness. Finally, the identified learning goals proposed by the textbooks were analysed to see how the NOS-related content aligned with the learning goals from the RFN perspective.

Women are underrepresented in physical science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (pSTEM) at the undergraduate level and beyond, and there is mounting evidence that such disparities are driven by cultural and environmental influences. This study explored one underresearched environmental context--perceptions of peer connectedness within the STEM classroom--and its concurrent and longitudinal relations with outcomes of importance for undergraduate women in pSTEM, including academic major self-efficacy, belongingness in their major, belongingness at the university, STEM interests, and course grade. First- and second-year women (N = 258) who were interested in majoring in a pSTEM field self-selected to participate in a longitudinal study across two semesters. Students' perceptions of peer connectedness in their STEM classroom had positive concurrent and longitudinal relations with academic self-efficacy, major belonging, and university belonging (but not interest in STEM or course grade). In longitudinal analyses that controlled for earlier levels of the outcome variables, perceived peer connectedness in the classroom was also associated with greater feelings of belonging in the major the following semester, but not with self-efficacy, university belonging, or STEM interest. These results suggest that, by fostering connections among students in the classroom, instructors may be able to increase women STEM students' broader sense of belonging within their majors.

The decision to integrate Nature of Science into classroom practice is no longer a debate among science educators and curriculum experts. There exists empirical evidence to substantiate its effectiveness, judging by both the academic performance and ability of students to conceptualize abstract yet teachable areas in science. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement of physical science permits for teachers, fundamentally, the discretion to inculcate and incorporate Nature of Science in classroom practices. However, the usual classroom practices are far from the expectations of both curriculum experts and policy makers in the field of science education. Ambiguity, accessibility, and perceived non-domestication were three areas identified in the literature to be responsible for lack of integration aside capacity building. This manuscript provided answers to the three areas of need by traversing relevant literature on both Nature of Science and Science education with a view to aggregate and simplifies scholarly positions for easy classroom usage for teachers and educators alike. Positions were drawn from nature of science, attendant curriculum, and position of literature with respect to the locale. Literature reviewed in this manuscript avail reader's inherent conditioning and grit to understand nature of science and its essence in science teaching and learning.

This study determined the effects of Online Collaborative Learning (OCL) on student achievement and engagement in physical science. A one-group pretest/posttest pre-experimental research design was employed. The participants were Grade 11 students (n=30) in a public stand-alone senior high school in Congressional District 1, Quezon City, Philippines, who were selected using purposive sampling. This study utilized five research instruments: (1) OCL-based lesson plans, (2) Learning Activity Sheets (LAS), (3) Physical Science Achievement Test (PSAT), (4) CIP Engagement Questionnaire, and (5) Student Learning Experience Survey. The collected data were analyzed and interpreted quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative data were obtained from the validated 40-item achievement test and the adopted engagement questionnaire, while responses to the Student Learning Experience Survey provided qualitative data. Paired t-test was employed to determine the significant difference in achievement and engagement before and after the OCL's implementation. The results showed a significant difference between the pretest and posttest mean scores of the students in the achievement and engagement in physical science. Likewise, there was a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest mean scores for all engagement factors: cooperation, interest, and participation. The result of the survey revealed that students' exposure to the OCL strategy was effective in facilitating significant improvements in their achievement and engagement in physical science. Overall, the findings signified that Online Collaborative Learning (OCL) as a teaching-learning strategy enhanced students' achievement and engagement in physical science.

The importance of the enactment of formative assessment as a pedagogical tool in science teaching and learning cannot be over-emphasized. Teachers encounter pedagogical challenges when enacting formative assessment in science classrooms. These pedagogical challenges underscore the need to explore teachers' perspectives on pedagogical strategies used to enact formative assessment in science classrooms. This study examined grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers' perspectives on pedagogical strategies they adopted to enact formative assessment in science classrooms in diverse schools in South Africa. The empirical investigation invoked the sociocultural theory as a conceptual lens to provide insightful elucidation into the nature of teachers' perspectives on pedagogical strategies used to enact formative assessment in science classrooms. A generic qualitative research approach was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured focus group interviews and classroom observations. The study involved 12 purposively selected grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers as participants. The findings revealed that grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers adopted various pedagogical strategies when enacting formative assessment in science classrooms. However, meaningful enactment of formative assessment in science classrooms was largely hampered by a myriad of contextual factors such as class size and general lack of essential resources. It is recommended that teacher professional development interventions coordinated by the Department of Basic Education ought to make provision for meaningful opportunities to enhance teacher professional capacity required for coherent enactment of formative assessment as an essential tenet in science education. Theoretical implications for pedagogic innovation are discussed.

The concept of self-directedness is a missing link in South African science classrooms, and as a result, science teachers are often not self-directed in employing innovative teaching and learning strategies such as blended problem-based learning (BPBL) that might enhance self-directed learning. The literature is replete with studies showing that science teachers in the United States, Indonesia, and South Africa, to name a few, lack the necessary technological skills to utilize simulations in the teaching and learning of physical sciences. This intervention-based explanatory mixed methods study was conducted in one of the nine education provinces of South Africa. Quantitative data were generated using a self-directed learning instrument (SDLI), the Physics Education Technology interactive simulations questionnaire, and a PBL questionnaire. Forty participants were sampled using both cluster and systematic random sampling techniques. Qualitative data were generated through a BPBL scenario, a reflective portfolio, and semi-structured interviews with two purposively selected participants. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and parametric statistics. The reflective portfolio was analyzed using performance standards scoring rubric adopted from Smith et al. (2001). The BPBL Scenario Evaluation Schedule and interviews were analyzed using Saldaña's (2013) code-to-theory analytical model. It was concluded that there was a significant difference in participants' perceptions of PBL, self-directedness, and interactive simulations after attending a teacher professional development intervention (TPDI) and implementing BPBL. The findings show that the utilization of interactive simulations and PBL in physical sciences classrooms was unknown to teachers -- suggesting that teachers were not self-directed in implementing BPBL. This study presents a model for designing BPBL activities and an evaluation schedule for assessing those activities for self-directedness in educational practices.

The study aims to determine the subject matter knowledge of Prospective Primary School Teachers (PPSTs) and analyze their chemical representation levels on crystallization. The study was carried out with descriptive research with a qualitative approach based on this purpose. The study participants were eighty freshman students studying at the Department of Primary Education in a state university in the Aegean Region of Turkey. The data were collected using a worksheet containing seven open-ended questions regarding the crystallization experiment. The questions were about the solubility of salt in water, the formation of the salt water and its solubility-temperature graph, the formation of the saturated salt water, and the appearance of particles formed during crystallization. A worksheet was prepared to determine the chemical representation levels of the PPSTs, and the data were subjected to document analysis. The researchers conducted a demonstration experiment and an animated video on the extraction of table salt by crystallization as an activity during the study process. The results indicated that PPSTs' responses related to crystallization were mainly at the macroscopic level. At the same time, they had great difficulty explaining at the levels of sub-microscopic and symbolic representations. Moreover, they could not explain the concept of dissolution with scientific expressions and distinguish the mixtures from each other. Additionally, most prospective teachers could not draw the correct solubility-temperature graph, so they had difficulty in symbolic representations. The study results imply that to raise the quality of science education in Turkey, PPSTs must attend a quality teaching of science, so primary school students acquire scientifically accurate knowledge of the basic science subjects and concepts such as dissolution, solubility, and crystallization.

The rapid growth of diverse learners in online learning has made it imperative for online instructors to incorporate multicultural resource curricula and instructional activities. This research aimed to explore online instructors' perceptions of culturally responsive pedagogy in online education; examine how instructors integrate culturally responsive pedagogy strategies in the online learning environment; and explore the challenges in facilitating cross-cultural collaborative learning for students from different cultural backgrounds. Data were collected following a qualitative multi-site case study method with five academic disciplines (Education, Social Sciences, Engineering, Physical Sciences and Health Sciences) in 12 colleges and universities in the United States of America. In all, 60 in-depth and semi-structured interviews with instructors (26 females and 34 males) were obtained and analysed following a constant comparative analysis approach. Results reflected that the instructors used cross-cultural interactions to facilitate students' engagement and incorporated culturally responsive teaching. Besides, the findings revealed that most of the instructors integrated diverse and internationalized learning content to support diverse students and addressed the impact of multicultural education in online learning. It was, however, noted, that instructors in the physical science disciplines struggled to incorporate culturally diverse contents in their online classes. The findings of this study foster discourse on how best instructors could be aided to engage diverse students online more meaningfully.

This study investigated how an intervention consisting of a series of physical science lessons embedded within the elementary science methods course impacted elementary preservice teachers' (N = 473) science content knowledge as evidenced in their scaled scores for the science content component of a standardized subject certification examinations for elementary teachers (TExES Core Subjects EC-6, Science (804) exam). The science content component of the certification exam was the instrument used to generate data for this study. The independent variables for this study were the timing of the exam attempt compared to the participation in the science intervention. The dependent variables included the scaled score for the exam and the science content competencies. Results for an independent sample t-test indicated that the difference between the mean scores for these two groups was statistically significant (t = - 4.21, df = 102, p < 0.001) with the preintervention group scoring lower compared to the postintervention group. Mean scores for the exam were higher (MS = 57.7%, SD = 29.8%) than the mean score for exam attempts occurring before the intervention (MS = 44.4%, SD = 29.2%). The results suggest that the intervention implemented as part of the science methods course had a positive impact on prospective teachers. That is, their science content knowledge resulted in an increased passing rate on the certification exam.

The aim of this research is to take a fresh look at the physical science concepts that Year 3 students struggle with. In this work, the responses of over 8,000 middle-primary-aged students to a range of physics, space science and chemistry questions were evaluated. The questions covered a number of topics ranging from selecting and using simple measurement tools to changes of state. From the student responses, we were able to address the following questions: 'Which physical science concepts did the students find difficult?' and 'Are the identified concepts the same concepts that students struggled with in the past or have new difficulties emerged?'. From the responses, it was determined that difficult concepts for Year 3 included: bigger objects don't always weigh more than smaller objects; gases have mass and volume; and day and night is caused by the Earth spinning on its axis. We summarise these findings along with recommendations for the Year 3 classroom.

The K12 science curriculum in the Philippines uses spiral progression which is a concept of learning approach where students revisit the same topics throughout their school career that increases complexity and reinforcement of previous learning. This cross-sectional study determined the experiences of Filipino prospective science teachers (PSTs) specializing in biology and physical science in teaching in the K12 science curriculum with emphasis of their challenges. The respondents of this study were 30 PSTs in five teacher education institutions (TEIs) in Central Luzon, Philippines. Results revealed that the PSTs rarely experience teaching challenges in the K12 science curriculum in terms of content knowledge and pedagogy, learning environment, diversity of learners, curriculum and planning, assessment and reporting, community linkages and professional engagement, and in personal growth and professional development. No significant differences were noted in the challenges of PSTs when grouped according to profile variables. A positive significant moderate to high correlations were noted between and among the challenges variables. The study suggests that the administration continuously spearhead in-house seminars and equip prospective teachers with innovative teaching strategies. TEIs may also consider curriculum review to align the course syllabi in the teacher education curriculum to the Department of Education curriculum. Schools may further evaluate the policies, standards, and guidelines of the teacher education curriculum to make the science education degree programs relevant.

To remedy the difficulties encountered by Moroccan students in geometrical optics during the transition from secondary to higher education and for an efficient education system, we propose this study to investigate the causes of these difficulties as well as their impact on the quality of the secondary/university transition, and come up with a remediation device to overcome them. For this survey, we adopted a mixed method to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The research tools used are semi-directive interviews with thirty high school and university teachers; questionnaires and exercises were administered to 120 of first year university students. The results of this study revealed the persistence of difficulties in geometrical optics and particularly in geometric construction whose origins are attributed to the misrepresentations and low prerequisites among students as well as a break in the curriculum and teaching methods during the transition from secondary to higher education.

We experience (perceive, act upon and react to, and conceptualize) dynamical processes in nature as agentive. Expressed differently, we experience events as resulting from activities and interactions of "Forces of Nature" (such as wind, light, heat, fluids, electricity, substances, and motion) that are conceived of as powerful agents acting and interacting in physical environments. An example would be sunlight creating heat in the Earth's surface layers, and this heat using the atmosphere as a heat engine whose output are the winds on our planet. In the physics of dynamical systems, these forces are characterized in terms of intensive and extensive quantities (i.e., electric potential and electric charge in the case of electricity). The aspect of power is formalized with the help of a generalized energy principle and the rules relating power/energy to intensive and extensive physical quantities. Concrete processes depend upon properties of physical materials (in and through which forces are active) such as (thermal, electrical, etc.) capacity or conductivity. In this paper, we demonstrate how we can create "Embodied Simulations" and "Forces-of-Nature Theater" performances, where children act as forces such as water, heat, electricity, and motion. The embodied logic of the physical play teaches children about the logic of our explanations of physical processes.

Introduction of climate change (CC) courses in universities is critical for helping future generations and leaders in recognizing the global challenges of CC and finding ways for adapting with it. People's knowledge of CC can influence success of any planned CC mitigation and adaptation programs and activities. Thereupon, it is vital for environmental planners and researchers to conduct regular assessments of this knowledge to determine need for curriculum reform, if any. This study was conducted to assess the level of CC knowledge of undergraduate physical science and agricultural science students in Jarash University, Jordan. The study used specifically-designed Climate Change Knowledge Test (CCKT) as the data collection tool. Population of the study was undergraduate science and agriculture students enrolled in the Faculty of Agriculture and Science. The study sample consisted of 285 students, comprising 103 science students and 182 agriculture students. The results indicate that the sample students have high levels of knowledge of the nature, causes, and effects of CC. However, on the average, a higher number of the sample students posses knowledge of effects of CC (n = 223, % = 79.3%) than its nature (209, 73.5%) and causes (190, 66.9%). Additionally, it was found that the female students have higher levels of overall CC knowledge than their male peers and that the agriculture students possess higher levels of CC knowledge than their science peers. These results emphasize the need for curriculum review and reform to ensure equipping the university graduates with comprehensive knowledge of CC.

The aim of the current study was to examine the way in which preschool children deal with the concept of sound. For this purpose, a study was carried out in the context of detecting and categorizing the mental representations among young children of sounds which propagate through space from source to the receiver. Specifically, 91 preschool children aged 5-6 years voluntarily participated in individual semi-structured interviews which were carried out by three researchers in a special area of kindergartens. During these interviews, the children were asked to express their views on the three following axes: the concept of sound itself; the subjective characteristics of sound; and the phenomenon of the production and propagation of sound. The results of the research showed that while a small percentage of children recognized the propagation of sound in space, the vast majority of them associated sound with either the object that produced it or with the object that received it.

This study investigated the effects of the "dance with fruits" analogy on student's alleviation of alternative conceptions among physical sciences high school students in one of the rural province in South Africa. The study used a sequential mixed method research design consisting of quasi-experimental control group pre-test, post-test and semi-structured interviews. The target population of this study was all grade 11 physical science students in all 11 districts of the province. Accessible population included 4 schools in the district close to the researcher. The participants of this study were 117 physical sciences grade 11 students. A research instrument Acid and Base Alternative Conception Test (ABACT) was administered twice as a pre-and post-test to both control and experiment groups. Analysis of pre and post-tests suggested that students strongly held an alternative conception that the strength of acid is related to its concentration and corrosiveness. Molecular drawings of acids and base dissociations revealed notable patterns on how the distribution and ratio of molecules/ions in aqueous solutions are perceived. The results also indicated that the participants in the experimental groups had fewer alternative conceptions as compared to the control groups. The implication of this study for science educators is that correct use of analogies can assist students' understanding of abstract concepts about acids and bases.

The language of teaching and learning challenges Physical Sciences teachers and impacts learners' achievements. The study aimed to investigate how language literacy is integrated into the teaching of Physical Sciences. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The participants were five Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers and 211 learners (108 boys; 103 girls) from nine schools exhibiting low academic achievements. Data were gleaned through the Literacy Skills Usage Survey Questionnaire (LSUSQ). The results show that 77.78% of the teachers did not engage learners in report writing and arguments which are fundamental to language literacy, suggesting that integrating literacy in science teaching was inadequate. Learners had difficulties in contributing to word walls, writing reports, and arguing from evidence. The lack of integration suggests that teachers lacked training in integrating language literacy into science teaching. These findings underscore the need for workshops to enable teachers to incorporate language literacy in teaching Physical Sciences.

Research indicates that teachers' beliefs about goals or purposes of science teaching, as one dimension of science teaching orientations, influence what happens in the classroom. The purpose of this research was to explore the self-reported and enacted goals or purposes of science teaching of four in-service Malawian science teachers using the curriculum emphases concept as a theoretical lens. This research used qualitative case study research design. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were used to explore teachers' self-reported and enacted goals or purpose of science teaching, respectively. A deductive analysis approach was used to analyze interview and classroom observation transcripts, to understand the teacher's goals or purposes. Results reveal that while teachers have multiple self-reported goals or purpose of science teaching, most of these are not enacted during teaching in the classrooms. This suggests the topic-specific nature of the goals or purposes. Results also show that all the teachers were not aware of the self-as-explainer goal or purpose of science teaching both during interviews and instruction. These findings are discussed, and implications are proposed for science in-service teacher professional development and pre-service teachers' training programs.

Post-apartheid South African curriculum reforms, from outcomes-based education (OBE) to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), resulted in different challenges. Teachers, in particular those teaching Physical Sciences in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase from Grades 10-12, were expected to cope with changes and master Physical Sciences curriculum for the attainment of good results, but were unable to do so because they were missing an understanding of curriculum concepts. The success of any curriculum depends on ten fundamental and broad curriculum concepts: rationale, goals, activities, assessment, accessibility, resources, content, roles, environment, and time. However, empirical findings show that Grade 12 Physical Science teachers in South African schools still struggle to understand and contextualise curriculum concepts in order to redefine specific CAPS Physical Science concepts. Consequently, this conceptual study uses Van den Akker (2004) curriculum spider web concept framework in reconceptualising Grade 12 CAPS Physical Science concepts. This study argues that teaching without knowing specific subject curriculum concepts can lead to poor teacher performance and poor subject results, this study concludes by proposing a formal, non-formal and informal framework for CAPS Physical Science to resolve this.

Inquiry-based practical work (IBPW) is one of the innovative instructional strategies in science education. Science teacher preparation programmes play a role in preparing preservice teachers to facilitate IBPW in classrooms located in different school settings, including multiple-deprived classrooms. The adverse conditions against the successful implementation of IBPW found in multiple-deprived classrooms provide problems that preservice teachers will have to solve in their future classrooms. It is against this background that this study explored how preservice science teachers used computational thinking as a problem-solving strategy when facilitating IBPW in multiple-deprived classrooms. Using a single-case exploratory study, the experiences of 16 preservice physical sciences teachers were elicited through lesson planning, simulated teaching, and reflection. The data collected were analysed through thematic-content-analysis techniques. Findings indicate how through the use of computational thinking, participants were able to solve problems that had the potential to inhibit the implementation of IBPW.

This study explored the perceptions of teachers and learners regarding the use of Process Oriented Guided Learning Inquiry Learning (POGIL) to teach stoichiometry. A qualitative case study was carried out at two conveniently and purposively sampled township schools in Pretoria, South Africa. For this purpose, two Grade 11 physical sciences classes were identified where 48 learners and their respective teachers, who had previously been trained to teach using POGIL, gave consent to participate in the study. Data were collected using lesson observations, focus group interviews for learners and interviews for teachers. All data were transcribed and analysed with the aid of ATLAS.ti software for qualitative data analysis. The findings from the observations indicate that the learners were excited, motivated, and actively engaged in their work. They assisted one another by attempting to answer questions supported with justification. The findings from the focus group interviews indicate that the learners were excited to learn using POGIL and wished to use the method in other subjects, including mathematics. The learners had noticed improvements in their grades and understanding of abstract topics. The findings from the teacher interviews indicated that they appreciated POGIL because they found it useful in reducing misconceptions, increasing learner participation, increasing understanding and achievement, and that their learners were more engaged. The results indicate that POGIL increased learners' interest, participation and active learning, while seemingly also improving the learners' understanding of and achievement in abstract topics like stoichiometry. POGIL may be useful in increasing active learning and participation of learners which may lead to increased understanding and achievement.

Background: Learning assistants (LAs) increase accessibility to instructor-student interactions in large STEM lecture classes. In this research, we used the Formative Assessment Enactment Model developed for K-12 science teachers to characterize LA facilitation practices. The Formative Assessment Enactment Model describes instructor actions as eliciting or advancing student thinking, guided by their purposes and the perspective they center as well as by what they notice about and how they interpret student thinking. Thus, it describes facilitation practices in a holistic way, capturing the way purposes, perspectives, noticing, interpreting, and actions are intertwined and working together to characterize different LA actions. In terms of how perspectives influence actions, eliciting and advancing moves can be enacted either in authoritative ways, driven by one perspective that has authority, or in dialogic ways, driven by multiple perspectives. Dialogic practices are of particular interest because of their potential to empower students and center student thinking. Results: Our analysis of video recordings of LA-student interactions and stimulated recall interviews with 37 introductory physical science lectures' LAs demonstrates that instead of as a dichotomy between authoritative and dialogic, LA actions exist along a spectrum of authoritative to dialogic based on the perspectives centered. Between the very authoritative perspective that centers on canonically correct science and the very dialogic perspective that centers the perspectives of the students involved in the discussion, we find two intermediary categories. The two new categories encompass a moderately authoritative perspective focused on the LA's perspective without the claim of being correct and a moderately dialogic perspective focused on ideas from outside the current train of thought such as from students in the class that are not part of the current discussion. Conclusions: This spectrum further adds to theory around authoritative and dialogic practices as it reconsiders what perspectives can drive LA enactment of facilitation other than the perspective of canonically correct science and the perspectives of the students involved in the discussion. This emerging characterization may be used to give LAs and possibly other instructors a tool to intentionally shift between authoritative and dialogic practices. It may also be used to transition towards more student-centered practices.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the nature of small group discussion tasks and learners' talk during Physical Science lessons. The study was conducted during Physical Science lessons with three self-selected groups of Grade 11 learners from one school. A total of three lessons were followed. During the lessons, learners were given group tasks to complete, and their discussion was audio-recorded. The small group discussion tasks were coded using the revised Bloom's taxonomy. The audio-recordings were transcribed and coded using Mercer's three types of talk. The nature of tasks in the small group discussions was paired with the type of talk used as the group members were responding to the tasks and the frequency of these pairs was analysed. Analysis of the tasks vs. types of talk used indicated that learners predominately used cumulative talk to find solutions to understanding tasks. Exploratory talk was predominately used to find solutions to application tasks. The findings show that this relationship between the nature of small group discussion tasks and learners' type of talk is statistically significant at p = 0.05 level. No disputational talk occurrences were observed. It is noted that the type of talk used to address each type of task is related to the cognitive skills demanded by the task, group composition and the embracing of the spirit of ubuntu by the group members.

Many teacher educator preparation programs do not provide opportunities for preservice teachers (PSTs) to experience and examine the use of popular fiction as a connection point to science teaching. This study explores a unit designed to support PSTs in learning and applying core concepts and processes of literacy and science by leveraging a popular fiction text in their literacy and science methods courses in a concerted effort to better prepare teachers to integrate literacy and science in their own future classrooms.