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Conservation areas face growing visitor numbers and heightened biosecurity risks from vectors such as bushwalkers and mountain bikers. For mountain areas, such pressures, with climate change, may b...

Youth have astute observations about site-specific personal and environmental factors that contribute to littering and marine debris, and they have a strong potential to act as change agents in com...

Students with disabilities are increasingly included in general education science classrooms and are expected to demonstrate academic proficiency on standardized assessments. Teacher preparation and attitudes have been cited as major factors contributing to either the success or failure of students with disabilities in science. In order to assess the current state of what could be facilitative or inhibitory influences, a national online survey to which 1,088 K-12 science teachers responded was conducted. Mixed methods’ analyses suggest that science teachers receive little formal training and feel underprepared to teach students with disabilities. Results identify specific gaps in science teachers’ education, as well as attitudinal and institutional barriers that may inhibit students with disabilities’ success. However, science teachers remain highly receptive to training and collaboration. Implications for science teacher education are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two learning contexts for explicit-reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction, socioscientific issues (SSI) driven and content driven, on student NOS conceptions. Four classes of 11th and 12th grade anatomy and physiology students participated. Two classes experienced a curricular sequence organized around SSI (the SSI group), and two classes experienced a content-based sequence (the Content group). An open-ended NOS questionnaire was administered to both groups at the beginning and end of the school year and analyzed to generate student profiles. Quantitative analyses were performed to compare pre-instruction NOS conceptions between groups as well as pre to post changes within groups and between groups. Both SSI and Content groups showed significant gains in most NOS themes, but between-group gains were not significantly different. Qualitative analysis of post-instruction responses, however, revealed that students in the SSI group tended to ...

The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the literature on the effectiveness of physiotherapy exercises in reducing chronic low back pain (CLBP). A systematic search of the medical databases was performed, with 64 articles retrieved. After the exclusion criteria were applied, 15 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating physiotherapy delivered exercise programmes to patients with CLBP remained. A methodological quality assessment was performed, showing the included studies to have medium to high quality. Prescribed physiotherapy exercises included general fitness and aerobic exercises, flexibility regimes, stretches, muscle strengthening and spinal stabilising exercises. These interventions were compared with each other as well as surgical stabilisation, yoga, hydrotherapy, back care education booklets and placebo groups. Overall, physiotherapy prescribed exercise programmes were found to be effective in reducing pain in patients with CLBP. However, there was no consensus on a sp...