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In this chapter I present the story of a beginning elementary science teacher’s (Anna) science identity trajectory through time and across contexts. For the purpose of exploring Anna’s story I used various kinds of biographical data collected over a period of a year in Southern Europe. In conceptualizing identity as a lived experience, in this study I aimed to uncover through a life-history approach critical events that Anna had experienced through her participation as a science learner in various contexts and communities, elucidate the meaning that she had assigned to those events, and explore the ways in which those events impacted her science identity trajectory.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of mobile learning among young learners. Specifically, we investigated whether the use of mobile devices for data collection during field trips outside the classroom could enhance fourth graders’ learning about the parts of the flower and their functions, flower pollinators and the process of pollination/fertilization, and the interrelationship between animals and plants, more than students’ use of traditional means of data collection. For this purpose, we designed a pre–post experimental design study with two conditions: one in which participants used a mobile device for data collection and another using traditional means (e.g. sketching and note-taking). The sample comprised 48 fourth graders (24 in each condition), who studied the flower, its parts, and their functions. A conceptual test was administered to assess students’ understanding before and after instruction. Moreover, the students’ science notebooks and accompanying artifacts were used as a data source for examining students’ progress during the study's intervention. The conceptual test and notebook data were analyzed statistically, whereas we used open coding for the artifacts. Findings revealed that using mobile devices for data collection enhanced students’ conceptual understanding more than using traditional means of data collection. © 2016 Taylor & Francis. 38 4 596 620 Cited By :1

Albeit the increasing attention that STEM-related research has received, little is known about how teachers conceptualise and practice integrated STEM. Similarly, there is a need to shift the focus from the technological tools used in STEM to the way the teachers use technology, the challenges they come across, as well as how collaboration helps overcome these challenges. In this light, this PhD study investigates in-service teachers’ STEM views and design practices. Participating teachers (n=26) coming from all S-T-E-M disciplines were divided into four Learning Community (LC) groups and designed and developed STEM teaching material, i.e. STEM modules, artefacts, and related STEM lesson plans. Findings reveal that the disciplinary background affected teachers’ design practices in terms of a) the discussion patterns that the teachers focused on, b) the artefact parts that teachers undertook to develop, c) the type and sequence of the activities in the STEM lesson plans, d) they way teachers approached engineering design and real-world relevance in the STEM lesson plans. Regarding STEM models, most teachers emphasised engineering design, content integration, and real-world relevance. Concerning the integration of technology, we carried out a complementary study with pre-service teachers (n=12) integrating datalogging systems for science teaching. Findings showed that in a non-negligible number of cases teachers did not implement technology, while they mostly used dataloggers solely for measuring data. Prior experiences and cultural barriers seemed to affect technology integration. Finally, the LC discussions followed a collaborative and participatory pattern, while many teachers interacted with peers in designing teaching material.

This study explores preservice physics teachers’ physics identity and physics teacher identity development following a course that incorporated the use of multiple representations (MR) based instructional approach. The study is grounded within research evidence showing that specific instructional practices might influence the development of identity. The study began with a systematic literature review about the role of the MR-based instructional approach in the physics education field, especially for undergraduate students. Following that, an introductory university physics course was redesigned to incorporate the use of MR. Next, a research exploration through a quasi-experiment design study was performed to examine the development of the physics identity of 61 preservice physics teachers. Lastly, a qualitative case study was conducted to explore 21 preservice physics teachers’ identity development. The results of the study revealed that the development of physics identity and physics teacher identity is directly related to “competence” which refers to conceptual understanding and problem-solving abilities. In addition, the development of identity has been found to be directly related to “self-view” and “interest”. These findings have implications for future research aimed at supporting preservice physics teachers’ identity development.

Scientific writing has a central role in scientific practice. Undergraduate students starting their science studies, like biology, should therefore develop their scientific writing skills. However, writing poses several challenges to many students. In the research presented in this thesis, we argue for the importance of integrating writing instruction more structurally in undergraduate science programs. For the purpose of the research, we developed a teaching strategy to support first-year science students in their scientific writing, specifically their written argument construction. The core of the teaching strategy is based on the assumption that articles, in which researchers justify their conclusions carefully, could serve as a model to help students in constructing a written argument. The students were introduced to research articles’ arguments using a heuristic and reading, analyzing, and writing activities. We implemented the teaching strategy in a physics and a biology course for first-year undergraduate students. We evaluated the impact of the teaching strategy by analyzing students’ written texts, interviewing students and course lecturers, and by administering a questionnaire to students. The findings showed that the teaching strategy helped students in writing texts based on research articles. With the research presented in the thesis, we give scientific writing a more prominent position in science courses and encourage faculty members and administrators to include writing instruction in undergraduate science curricula.