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One of the definitions of chemical biology is that it is a scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry, biology, and physics; it primarily involves the application of chemical techniques, tools, analyses, and often compounds (also known as chemical probes), which are produced through synthetic chemistry, in order to study and manipulate biological systems [...].

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among pre-service science teachers' global scientific literacy and various variables within the scope of the structural equation model. Since the relations among the variables were investigated in the structural model established for this study, correlational research methodology was applied. The application was carried out with 294 pre-service teachers studying in the departments of chemistry, physics, biology and elementary science education of a state university. The data of the study were obtained with the scales of global scientific literacy, the perception of science process skills, the inquiry skills, the self-directed learning readiness in laboratory, the attitude scale towards the laboratory and the personal information questionnaire. Within the framework of structural equation modeling, the causal and relational analyses of the data were examined. The results showed that the proposed model of the relationship among global scientific literacy and the variables predicting global scientific literacy was also found to be compatible with the data, and the entire model was confirmed except for the attitude towards the laboratory. In this context, it can be claimed that these variables play an essential role in pre-service teachers' being global scientifically literate.

GCSE examinations (taken by students aged 16 years in England) are not intended to be speeded (i.e. to be partly a test of how quickly students can answer questions). However, there has been little research exploring this. The aim of this research was to explore the speededness of past GCSE written examinations, using only the data from scored responses to items from a sample of 340 GCSE components. Speededness was calculated as the average (mean) percentage marks lost from the longest string of unanswered items at the end of each student's examination paper. The potential impact of student ability on examination completion patterns was taken into account. The data suggested that most GCSEs analysed were unlikely to have been speeded. This method of exploring the speededness of exams using only scored responses has potential (although there are limitations), and it can flag potentially problematic components for further investigation.

Various similar primary studies report varying impacts of applying blended problem-based learning (Blended PBL) in improving students' 21st-century skills. This study aims to group similar studies on the effect of blended PBL on students' 21st-century skills in science learning through meta-analysis. In addition, studies were analyzed on variations in models, education levels, subjects, and 4C skills. There are 44 articles worth analyzing. The data was analyzed using Excel and JASP applications by presenting results in size effect values, forest plots, and published bias tests. The results of the analysis show that science learning with blended PBL improves 21st-century skills that are better at science learning than other learning (g = 0.617, 95% Cl 0.296-0.937, p < 0.001, I[superscript 2] = 96.861%). Analysis of moderator variables showed that in the variation model, level of education, subjects, and 4C skills, there was a significant effect. These findings confirm that blended PBL is efficiently used to train students' 21st-century skills in science learning.

Science identity, encompassing perceptions of competence, interest, and recognition in science, alongside learning self-efficacy reflecting confidence to master science skills, are key drivers of outcomes. However, developmental patterns likely vary across contexts. Participants were 512 Chinese students spanning grades 1-3 who completed the Science Identity Scale and Science Learning Self-Efficacy Scale, with physics, chemistry, and biology achievement scores gathered. A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model assessed relationships. Results substantiated psychometrics for motivational measures. The model indirectly predicting achievement via first-order discipline-specific paths explained more variance than direct second-order effects. Effects significantly varied across groups stratified by grade and region. Interest and conceptual knowledge drove physics and chemistry success, while higher-order skills enhanced biology achievement overall. However, relationships differed within subgroups, suggesting personalized motivational support needs--self-belief/competence foundations for struggling learners, conceptual development for those with high prior achievement, and intrinsic enrichment for disinterested students. Results detail complex motivational profiles underlying science achievement requiring tailored identity safety and self-efficacy scaffolding alongside conceptual and skill-building for excellence across scientific disciplines. Motivational support systems may spur more equitable and optimal science outcomes among diverse adolescent learners.

As the trend for English as a medium of instruction (EMI) increases, teacher self-efficacy to teach the contents of their teaching materials in an EMI context has become one of the major challenges. This study investigated the self-efficacy of Indonesian non-ELT pre-service teachers to teach in an EMI context. Two Indonesian non-ELT pre-service teachers, in charge of teaching biology and chemistry in English, in a secondary school in Thailand were interviewed to gain an indepth information about their experiences. The data from their teaching reflections and interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The study shows that both participants perceived that their self-efficacy to teach in EMI context was quite high despite various obstacles during their teaching practicum. Furthermore, four sources of efficacy information appeared to influence the Indonesian non-ELT pre-service teachers' self-efficacy to teach in the Thailand EMI context. Mastery experience (the personal experience of success) was the most influential source of efficacy information, followed by the other instances of self-efficacy sources including social persuasion, emotional state, and vicarious experience. The implication derived from this study is that the teacher training institutions in Indonesia need to facilitate the pre-service teachers to help them perceive their self-efficacy to teach in EMI context.

STEM education plays a key role in influencing and orienting students' interests towards STEM fields and careers. This influence is multifaceted, involving not only STEM content and experiences but also teachers, schools, and personal factors. The purpose of this study is to explore the factors impacting the academic performance of 951 tenth grade students in STEM subjects (physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and information technologies) who are attending public and private schools in two provinces of Turkey. Using a correlational research model, the study assessed how students' personal characteristics, teacher effectiveness and school characteristics affect achievement in STEM courses. Data were collected using the 'Factors Affecting STEM Achievement Questionnaire (FA-STEM-A)', a 20-item questionnaire divided into three sub-dimensions. Analyses focused on the relationships between student characteristics, teaching quality, school infrastructure and STEM performance. Structural equation modelling revealed that positive student characteristics, especially fondness for STEM subjects and confidence in STEM abilities, moderately increase achievement. In contrast, negative factors attributed to teachers and schools, such as inadequate classroom activities, lack of educator expertise, inadequate technological resources, and large class sizes, hindered student performance. These findings emphasize the important influence of both inherent student qualities and external educational conditions in determining STEM education.

Student awareness and selection of learning strategies are predictors of academic success. Yet, little is known about learning strategies of students in university preparation science courses, who are frequently mature-aged or underrepresented students. This lack of knowledge potentially hinders tailoring reflective learning experiences, specific to science contexts, supporting novice science students adopting effective learning strategies. A mixed-methods study examined self-reported learning strategies of 88 students in an online university preparation science course, analysed using a convergent parallel research approach and interpreted through a passive-active-interactive framework. The study found preferences for passive learning strategies with considerably less active and interactive strategies reported. The findings suggest, despite the strengths these students bring to their studies, a tendency for naïve and unexamined concepts of science learning, from time-poor students with little experience in collaborative learning. The study recommends embedding science-specific learning strategies in university preparation science courses and building capacity with interactive strategies.

This study explored Indonesian prospective teachers' views on the adapted (including global socio-scientific issues) and revisited (including local socio-scientific issues) versions of the scientific habits of mind (SHOM) scale and compared their SHOM levels concerning teacher education programs and grades. The sample of the study consisted of 1298 Indonesian prospective teachers drawn from departments of chemistry education, biology education, science education, elementary teacher education, and mathematics education. The adapted and revisited versions of SHOM scale were used to collect data. The result showed that the locality of socio-scientific issues (SSI), grade, and teacher education program somewhat influenced the Indonesian prospective teachers' SHOM levels. Also, their familiarity with local SSI acted as a cornerstone to make a decision about SSI via SHOM. This study suggests that teacher education programs should be enriched with undergraduate courses (e.g., integrating SSI into SHOM, measuring SSI with SHOM, ethnoscience through SSI and SHOM) to stimulate the Indonesian prospective teachers' SHOM levels via SSI.

The question of precollege physics access and performance has been a persistent concern when considering the goal of diversifying participation in post-secondary STEM study and careers. This observational study examined school-level academic and demographic predictors of high school physics enrollment and performance in the USA. Due to the sequential and hierarchical nature of high school science and mathematics coursework, related predictors were included in multivariable regression and structural equation models to understand whether selectivity constrains the STEM pipeline. Descriptive and inferential analyses of state-level data were conducted (N = 663 high schools enrolling 559,044 students) to define the scope of physics enrollment and performance, and the predictive value of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and science and mathematics course enrollments and performance. Physics was taken by fewer students when compared to biology, earth science, and chemistry. Correlations, multiple regression, and structural equation modeling indicated that although socioeconomic status was the main predictor of student "enrollment" in physics, this was mediated by schoolwide enrollment in chemistry and algebra II as well as schoolwide performance in chemistry and geometry. School-level "performance" in physics was negatively predicted by the percentage of students traditionally underrepresented in STEM, yet the predictive value was mediated by chemistry and algebra II performance. Results suggest that the prevalent science and mathematics sequence correlates to diminished physics enrollment, particularly with regard to students traditionally marginalized in STEM. US school leaders and policy makers should implement more proactive interventions earlier in the STEM pipeline to promote diverse physics participation and more equitable performance outcomes.

Causal mechanistic reasoning is a thinking strategy that can help students explain complex phenomena using core ideas commonly emphasized in separate undergraduate courses, as it requires students to identify underlying entities, unpack their relevant properties and interactions, and link them to construct mechanistic explanations. As a cross-disciplinary group of biologists, chemists, and teacher educators, we designed a scaffolded set of tasks that require content knowledge from biology and chemistry to construct nested hierarchical mechanistic explanations that span three scales (molecular, macromolecular, and cellular). We examined student explanations across seven introductory and upper-level biology and chemistry courses to determine how the construction of mechanistic explanations varied across courses and the relationship between the construction of mechanistic explanations at different scales. We found non-, partial, and complete mechanistic explanations in all courses and at each scale. Complete mechanistic explanation construction was lowest in introductory chemistry, about the same across biology and organic chemistry, and highest in biochemistry. Across tasks, the construction of a mechanistic explanation at a smaller scale was associated with constructing a mechanistic explanation for larger scales; however, the use of molecular scale disciplinary resources was only associated with complete mechanistic explanations at the macromolecular, not cellular scale.

Higher education continually seeks new approaches to support students with various learning needs. At present, Finland attempts to provide such support through accessibility and reasonable accommodation efforts, but students with learning disabilities may still encounter many barriers in their studies. One approach suggested to meet the needs of a diverse student population is the flipped classroom. While substantial research exists about its benefits and drawbacks, less is known from the perspective of students who have a history of receiving pedagogical support. Therefore, the present study examined the experience and performance of these students in flipped higher education courses. Results indicated no difference in the academic performance of learners with a history of support compared to those without. Students with a history of support needs reported a lower assessment of self-regulation and self-efficacy for learning, and experienced the flipped courses as more difficult. However, they favored more collaboration in general and in the flipped classroom approach in particular. Additionally, regression models indicated that achievement in flipped courses was explained primarily from the lack of regulation and guidance perspectives. These findings suggest new insights for teaching those with learning disabilities, particularly the support a flipped classroom may provide, but developing a more in-depth understanding is warranted.

This research probed the perceptions of secondary school science teachers concerning the objective and utility of assessment, exploring the influences of gender, teaching experience, and specific science subject components. A total of 100 secondary school teachers from Selangor participated in the study, completing the Teacher's Conception of Assessment (TCoA) online questionnaire. This instrument comprised 27 statements categorized into four key aspects: Improvement, Irrelevance, School Accountability, and Student Accountability. Interestingly, the data revealed that the highest mean score was attributed to the irrelevance of assessments (M=4.44; SD=0.86), followed by assessment for improvement (M=4.21; SD=0.95), student accountability (M=4.18; SD=1.32), and lastly, school accountability (M=4.15; SD=1.44). A closer examination of the data pointed towards significant gender-based differences in teachers' perceptions of institutional accountability and educational enhancement through assessments, with female and male teachers scoring higher in these respective areas. However, the length of teaching experience did not appear to significantly affect the teachers' perceptions across any of the assessed parameters. There were noteworthy differences in teachers' perceptions of student accountability in assessments when evaluated based on the subject taught, with Biology teachers reporting higher mean scores as compared to Chemistry and Physics teachers. Additionally, teachers' perceptions regarding the improvement role of assessments and their irrelevance differed significantly across subjects, with general science teachers attaining higher mean scores than Chemistry, Biology, and Physics teachers. The findings of this study shed light on teachers' understanding of assessment, particularly in the field of Science, and serve as a valuable resource for all educational stakeholders. By understanding teachers' perceptions, policymakers and school administrators can make informed decisions that would potentially enhance teaching and learning processes.

Prior research suggests most students do not glean valid cues from provided visuals, resulting in reduced metacomprehension accuracy. Across 4 experiments, we explored how the presence of instructional visuals affects students' metacomprehension accuracy and cue-use for different types of metacognitive judgments. Undergraduates read texts on biology (Study 1a and b) or chemistry (Study 2 and 3) topics, made various judgments (test, explain, and draw) for each text, and completed comprehension tests. Students were randomly assigned to receive only texts (text-only condition) or texts with instructional visualizations (text-and-image condition). In Studies 1b, 2 and 3, students also reported the cues they used to make each judgment. Across the set of studies, instructional visualizations harmed relative metacomprehension accuracy. In Studies 1a and 2, this was especially the case when students were asked to judge how well they felt they could draw the processes described in the text. But in Study 3, this was especially the case when students were asked to judge how well they would do on a set of comprehension tests. In Studies 2 and 3, students who reported basing their judgments on representation-based cues demonstrated more accurate relative accuracy than students who reported using heuristic based cues. Further, across these studies, students reported using visual cues to make their draw judgments, but not their test or explain judgments. Taken together, these results indicate that instructional visualizations can hinder metacognitive judgment accuracy, particularly by influencing the types of cues students use to make judgments of their ability to draw key concepts.

Specifications grading is a relatively recent approach to assessing student learning. In this approach, students make progress toward completion of a course by demonstrating mastery of specific skills or material. The assessment tools are short, frequent exercises that can be attempted multiple times until mastered. This contrasts with the traditional, exam-based assessment of student learning. There are multiple benefits to the specifications grading-based strategy, including reduced test anxiety, better knowledge retention, and increased flexibility. In this study, specifications grading was implemented into an upper-level biochemistry course at a private, liberal arts university. The student cohort consisted almost exclusively of junior and senior biochemistry, biology, and chemistry majors. Students earned points for demonstrating mastery on each of 12 short quizzes in addition to points earned from laboratory exercises and on the cumulative final exam. Student attitudes were assessed using three surveys that were administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the course. The survey results indicated that the students had overall favorable opinions of the specifications grading approach and its use in this course. A comparison of student performance on the quizzes to their performance on the final exam showed that the students learned and retained the course material. Combining the survey and performance data, we demonstrated that the students' perceptions of their learning correlated well with their performances on the specifications grading tools. Together, these results indicated that specifications grading is an effective approach to assessing student learning and to maintaining student enthusiasm in an upper-level biochemistry course.

This study aims to ascertain academicians' opinions about out-of-school learning, awareness of it, and competency to plan learning activities in such situations for the purpose of teaching in out-of-school learning environments (OSLEs). The research group of this study, which was conducted as a case study, consists of 56 academics in the physics, chemistry, biology, and science education programs of education faculties in Türkiye. The Out-of-School Learning Environments Regulation Scale and a form containing four questions were used to data collection. The results from the scale, the average score was calculated as 4.41 for academics with experience in teaching OSLEs and 3.82 for academics without such experience. The qualitative results indicate that academics mostly prefer to focus on environmental education, astronomy, living things and life, and recycling issues through out-of-school learning activities and use different types of OSLEs such as science center, recycling facility and observatory. To conclude, despite the academics' high level of competency in performing out-of-school learning activities, it is evident that they underutilize these activities in their teaching.

In recent years, efforts to transform scientific information produced in basic sciences into technology to facilitate daily life have been increasing. In this sense, the perspective of entrepreneurship gains importance in basic sciences. This study aims analyze documents published on entrepreneurship in basic sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) using a bibliometric review. For this aim, the bibliometric analysis method based on the systematic literature review approach was used. Systematic review was carried out in the WoS database. A total of 428 documents (1994-2020) on entrepreneurship in basic sciences in the WoS were retrieved. The bibliometric analysis results were presented under two main categories as descriptive (numbers of documents according to year, author, country, organization, source, research area, WoS category area) and evaluative results (co-occurrence, co-authorship, citation analysis). Descriptive results were displayed with frequency values, and evaluative results were displayed using VOSviewer visualization software. As a result, it was determined that there is an important increase in the number of documents towards 2020. In addition, it was determined that the most productive, influential, and collaborative author is Jardim-Goncalves R, the most productive country is the USA, the most productive journal is Journal of Technology Transfer, and the most productive organization is Old Dominion University. Moreover, it has been determined that the most influential area in terms of research area is "business economics" and the most keyword co-occurrences are "entrepreneurship", "design science" and "academic entrepreneurship".

There is evidence that education levels have an impact on people's attitudes toward vaccination. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to maximize vaccinations - one of the most efficient ways to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Young individuals play a major role in disease transmission due to their intense social life and frequent asymptomatic infections. In this study, a survey of upper secondary school students in Poland was conducted to assess their microbiological awareness depending on subjects that they studied on the extended level and COVID-19 vaccination willingness. Participants learning biology and chemistry on the extended level had significantly higher microbiological awareness. Clear proof of microbiological awareness's influence on vaccination willingness was not found. Although studying biology did not significantly influence students' willingness to be vaccinated, their place of residence did. Students from bigger cities were more willing to get vaccinated. These results show that while science education raises microbiological awareness among upper secondary school students, place of residence, likely through social pressure, is a more important factor influencing vaccination willingness. It is suggested that more effort should be put into educating society as a whole and encouraging vaccination particularly.

Students' level of engagement and approach to learning can significantly impact their overall success in a course. This study used the student course engagement questionnaire (SCEQ) to assess the engagement levels of first-year undergraduate students studying three different introductory units (chemistry, biology and nursing) at a regional Australian university. No significant differences in engagement were found between genders, or for students studying different units. One of the most notable factors influencing engagement was student age, with students under 20 years of age scoring significantly less than mature age students across nearly all measures of engagement. Tertiary educators could use several complementary approaches to improve engagement in younger students, including the use of interactive multimedia and social media to connect with students, making the unit content relatable and relevant to students' lives, providing authentic and engaging assessment items, and pursuing interactive approaches to lectures and tutorials. Given that many university students take an introductory science course during their first year, these results are likely to be relevant across a range of disciplines.

Self-organizing precipitation processes, such as chemical gardens forming biomimetic micro- and nanotubular forms, have the potential to show us new fundamental science to explore, quantify, and understand nonequilibrium physicochemical systems, and shed light on the conditions for life's emergence. The physics and chemistry of these phenomena, due to the assembly of material architectures under a flux of ions, and their exploitation in applications, have recently been termed chemobrionics. Advances in understanding in this area require a combination of expertise in physics, chemistry, mathematical modeling, biology, and nanoengineering, as well as in complex systems and nonlinear and materials sciences, giving rise to this new synergistic discipline of chemobrionics.

Framed in an interpretative phenomenological approach, this study explored the role of teaching subject (i.e. discipline) in Iranian teachers' online identity construction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from teachers of hard and soft sciences through semi-structured interviews, reported practices and online interactions. Data analyses showed that the teachers' online identities involved similarities and differences across their agency, emotion and reflexivity in relation to teaching subject. The authors found that teaching subject influences the relational nature of teachers' identity construction, yet it mediates more profoundly the teachers' agency and practices in online teaching. Moreover, the teachers' emotion and reflexivity were largely constructed in light of their personalised and collegial understandings relevant to sociocultural idiosyncrasies of online education. The findings provide novel implications for characterising teachers' online identities, which help teacher educators approach online teacher education in light of situated understandings that account for teacher identities in greater depth.

Background: Inquiry-based instruction is a prominent teaching strategy in science education that is assumed to be an effective means to foster not only students' understanding of science content but also their procedural and epistemic knowledge concerning inquiry processes. Empirical studies have repeatedly shown that inquiry-related activities should be combined with instruction that explicitly addresses procedural and epistemic knowledge to support students' learning effectively. Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore to what extent explicit instruction on procedural and epistemic knowledge is occurring in inquiry-based biology and chemistry lessons. Sample: The sample analysed in this study consist of 16 inquiry-based biology and chemistry lessons recorded in German classrooms. Design and Methods: The video recordings of the lessons were analysed in three steps. First, event-based codes were used to identify all phases of a lesson in which students were engaged in an inquiry-related activity (e.g. developing questions, planning investigations). Second, each phase was analysed with respect to features of explicit instruction (e.g. explications of inquiry strategies). Third, event-based codes were used to capture individual features of explicit instruction in a phase. Results: In our sample explicit instruction on procedural knowledge occurred rarely and mostly in the form of brief sidenotes rather than as a comprehensive and deliberately planned action. Furthermore, explicit instruction on epistemic knowledge was virtually non-existent. However, we observed that many tasks and questions that are given by the teachers during their lessons have a high potential for making procedural (and epistemic) aspects explicit. Conclusion: While this explorative study does not allow for causal explanations for the lack of explicit instruction, its findings provide important insights into classroom practice. Implications for teacher education and future research are discussed.

Using learning objectives to guide course design is often considered an educational best practice, but little research exists that explores how students use them over time and across courses. We surveyed students on their use and perceived value of learning objectives as the semester progressed across four science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, examined students' ability to match exam questions with learning objectives, and analyzed how their course performance related to these qualities. We also gathered instructors' information on their implementation of learning objectives in these courses. We identified distinct disciplinary differences both in students' use and perceived benefit of learning objectives and in instructors' implementation of them. Students in less quantitatively focused courses, i.e., biology and organic chemistry, reported valuing and using learning objectives more than students in more quantitatively focused math and physics courses. Students' ability to match learning objectives with exam questions, however, positively correlated with exam score and final course grade in all our study courses. Our results have implications for considering disciplinary practices for use of learning objectives as instructors design and implement courses, educational researchers plan studies, and assessment specialists formulate institutional assessment plans.

Students are encouraged to develop a set of scientific skills and disciplinary practices common across the STEM disciplines. These skills (scientific inquiry, quantitative skills, laboratory and computational skills, communication skills, teamwork/interpersonal skills, interdisciplinary competency) are highlighted as important in discipline-based guiding documents -- biology (Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action), chemistry (American Chemical Society Guidelines and Evaluation Procedures for Bachelor's Degree Programs), and mathematics (A Common Vision for Undergraduate Mathematical Sciences Programs in 2025) -- for undergraduate teaching of biology, chemistry, and mathematics, and for the professional success of STEM college graduates. To promote interdisciplinary teaching and learning of STEM, we present a comprehensive comparison of the different disciplines' competency statements for undergraduate education. This organization and comparison of commonalities in scientific skills and disciplinary practices can be used by faculty and departments to come together to break down traditional silos, help their students more easily apply learning from one STEM discipline to another, and to create institutional change.

As a strategy to carry out a better achievement in the Biochemistry course, undergraduate dentistry education manage a traditional course on the basic concepts of general chemistry necessary in the understanding of Biochemistry. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of learning outcome, we aimed to develop an evaluation tool that was applied to first-year dental students before and after receiving the general chemistry classes. Randomized trial consisted of 50 items distributed in 10 categories. The evaluation was applied to the students who took the Oral Biology course in the periods comprising 2020, 2021, and 2022 to a population of 109 students. Our results showed that after receiving the course the improvement rate was 20.71% with significant differences in each category. In conclusion, the introductory course allows students coming from different school systems to attend Biochemistry with similar knowledge of general chemistry.

We present a new highly interdisciplinary project-based course in computer aided drug discovery (CADD). This course was developed in response to a call for alternative pedagogical approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the cancellation of a face-to-face summer research program sponsored by the Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN). The course integrates guided research and educational experiences for chemistry, biology, and computer science students. We implement research-based methods with publicly available tools in bioinformatics and molecular modeling to identify and prioritize promising antiviral drug candidates for COVID-19. The purpose of this course is three-fold: I. Implement an active learning and inclusive pedagogy that fosters student engagement and research mindset; II. Develop student interdisciplinary research skills that are highly beneficial in a broader scientific context; III. Demonstrate that pedagogical shifts (initially incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic) can furnish longer-term instructional benefits. The course, which has now been successfully taught a total of five times, incorporates four modules, including lectures/discussions, live demos, inquiry-based assignments, and science communication.

This study aims to investigate Kazakhstani high school students' environmental knowledge, attitude toward the environment, environmental awareness, and environmental concern, and to present the effect of various extracurricular activities on high school students' knowledge, attitude, awareness, and concern. We surveyed 124 students at various grade levels. Results indicated that Kazakhstani students did not have a strong environmental knowledge base and their awareness of environmental issues is not strong at all, but they had a strong positive environmental attitude. There was no significant relationship between knowledge, attitude, and awareness based on grades in biology, chemistry, physics, math, and geography. Gender did not influence students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, and awareness but year in school did for environmental knowledge. Kazakhstani students were most concerned about air pollution, pollution of rivers and seas, and flooding, and they were the least concerned with overpopulation, radioactive waste, extinction of species, and climate change. Extracurricular activities did prove useful with increasing students' knowledge and awareness about environmental challenges but did not impact their environmental attitude. Our results imply that what is being taught about the environment in Kazakhstani schools is not substantial enough. Educators may modify the curriculum to better address environmental issues in the classroom and add more content and activities.

Purpose: This paper presents two educational gamified virtual labs and investigates different methods of including gamified elements in virtual labs used for teaching. The purpose of this study is to investigate if immersive gamified virtual labs can be used as effective pedagogical tools by properly incorporating them into higher education curricula to assist low-risk active learning and student engagement. Design/methodology/approach: This research design comprises two gamified virtual labs including nine essential experiments of biology and chemistry integrated into the higher education curriculum of the Foundation of Science at an international University. Students filled in a survey after participating in the lab to shed light on appropriate ways of using gamification approaches in virtual labs. Findings: From the predominant findings of the study, gamified virtual labs increase student involvement thereby enhancing knowledge development with active learning and may be a potentially suitable pedagogical tool for low-risk interactive learning. Research limitations/implications: Limitations of the study include findings based on gamified virtual labs but not comparing the gamified virtual labs to simple virtual simulations to further investigate the pedagogical approach and understand the student perceptions in a simple virtual simulation and a gamified virtual lab. Practical implications: The findings of this study will provide evidence that gamified virtual labs integrated into higher education curricula as supplementary tools for laboratory experimentation improve the educational delivery process. Originality/value: This research highlights an appropriate way of integrating 3D virtual labs into practical curricula while discussing the benefits.

There is a growing need for college science faculty to teach a diverse group of learners. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework can be used to create inclusive learning materials and activities in the higher education science classroom. A UDL Academy introduced science faculty to the UDL framework, which led to them implementing UDL in their classes. A chemistry and physics professor and an environmental science and biology professor participated in the UDL Academy during summer 2021 and implemented UDL in at least one course during the fall 2021 semester. They share their perspectives on the UDL implementations and implications for college science teaching.

The incorporation of evidence-based practices into the classroom increases achievement and retention of students in STEM. However, the effectiveness of these practices depends on the degree to which faculty are knowledgeable about the strategies and implement the strategies in their teaching. This study investigates the familiarity, adoption, and perceived value of six evidence-based learning strategies (EBLSs): concrete examples, dual coding, elaboration, interleaving, retrieval practice, and spaced practice. A national survey was completed by 606 faculty from across the United States who teach various STEM classes in biology, chemistry, and physics. The results from the survey suggest that overall awareness of EBLSs was relatively low, with the exception of using concrete examples. However, faculty report moderately frequent implementation of several EBLSs into their classrooms and assignments. A majority of faculty report relatively high perceived value of the EBLSs, with the exception of interleaving. Results from the current work can inform professional development opportunities for faculty.

A curriculum is generally regarded as an instructional plan that describes what, why and how students should learn. In this comparative study, we analysed the Czech and Slovak intended curricula of science subjects (physics, chemistry, biology, geography, and geology) and mathematics by comparing their national curriculum documents in terms of learning outcomes at the lower secondary level (ISCED level 2). Our analysis showed significant differences in the number of obligatory learning outcomes, which were much higher in the Slovak curriculum than in the Czech curriculum. The structure of these outcomes also differed across subjects and between countries. Nevertheless, the cognitive demands of the learning outcomes analysed using the revised Bloom's taxonomy were similar in the two countries, but metacognitive knowledge and higher-level cognitive processes were rarely represented in either. Additionally, by inductive content analysis of the Slovak curriculum document, we identified two significant groups of cross-curricular requirements, namely outcomes related to scientific inquiry and outcomes requiring working with information. Overall, these learning outcomes are underrepresented in both analysed documents (particularly in the Czech document) even though the skills that these outcomes develop are in high demand in the current context.

This study investigates undergraduate STEM students' interpretation of quantities and quantitative relationships on graphical representations in biology (population growth) and chemistry (titration) contexts. Interviews (n = 15) were conducted to explore the interplay between students' covariational reasoning skills and their use of disciplinary knowledge to form mental images during graphical interpretation. Our findings suggest that disciplinary knowledge plays an important role in students' ability to interpret scientific graphs. Interviews revealed that using disciplinary knowledge to form mental images of represented quantities may enhance students' covariational reasoning abilities, while lacking it may hinder more sophisticated covariational reasoning. Detailed descriptions of four students representing contrasting cases are analyzed, showing how mental imagery supports richer graphic sense-making. In the cases examined here, students who have a deep understanding of the disciplinary concepts behind the graphs are better able to make accurate interpretations and predictions. These findings have implications for science education, as they suggest instructors should focus on helping students to develop a deep understanding of disciplinary knowledge in order to improve their ability to interpret scientific graphs.

When teaching STEM courses, it is important to introduce state-of-the-art techniques. Students need to learn how to conduct experiments, analyse data and choose the most effective approaches to address meaningful situations. Here we present the assessment of the implementation of a structured inquiry-based activity aimed at teaching students about protein mass and size. This activity emerges as an intervention in our educational module, designed to create a cognitive conflict that effectively drives a conceptual change. To evaluate the efficacy of this module, we collected data on students' perceived and actual knowledge through pre- and post-class surveys (n = 36 and 34, respectively, mean age 26 ± 2). Additionally, we evaluated lab reports using a detailed rubric. Results indicate that the practical innovation we propose is a challenging activity that promotes the accomplishment of our learning objectives. The activity led to improvements both in confidence and in actual mastery of theoretical concepts and techniques. After completing the activity, students were able to choose the most appropriate technique to solve specific problems. Furthermore, we found that the use of a structured questionnaire in lab reports helped students to accurately analyse and process experimental data. It also allows them to demonstrate understanding of technical limitations, while integrating the knowledge and skills acquired during the module. Overall, this activity provides notions that are conceivable and profitable, thus leading to successful conceptual changes.

Data science is becoming a mainstay in research. Despite this, very few STEM graduates matriculate with basic formal training in programming. The current lesson plan was developed to introduce undergraduates studying chemistry or biology to chemoinformatics and data science in medicinal chemistry. The objective of this lesson plan is to introduce students to common techniques used in analyzing medicinal chemistry data sets, such as visualizing chemical space, filtering to molecules that observe the Lipinski rules of drug-likeness, and principal component analysis. The content provided in this lesson plan is intended to serve as a tutorial-based reference for aspiring researchers. The lesson plan is split into two three-hour class sessions, each with an introductory slide deck, Python notebook consisting of several modules, and lab report template. During this activity, students learned to parse medicinal chemistry data sets with Python, perform simple machine learning analyses, and develop interactive graphs. During each session, students complete the Python notebook protocol and fill out a lab report template after a short lecture. By the end of the lesson plan, students were able to generate and manipulate various plots of chemical space and they reported having increased confidence in their understanding of chemistry, Python, and data science.

Science teacher's self-efficacy has been at the center of many investigations on students' achievement in science, teacher burnout, and teacher performance. While overly studied, this construct has not been examined with scientific literacy in depth. Thus, this study aims to identify the influence of science teacher's scientific literacy on their science teaching efficacy through a canonical correlation analysis. The study utilized an explanatory-correlational research design to unravel the correlation between scientific literacy and science teaching efficacy. It was found out that scientific literacy was correlated with science teaching efficacy. Further the study revealed that Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and content knowledge in earth science, life science, and health science were positively associated with science teachers' self-efficacy in biology, chemistry, and physics. On the other hand, knowledge in physics and Nature of Science (NOS) were not associated as highlighted in the literature. This suggests that a science teacher's content knowledge in specific sciences predicts their efficacy in teaching science. More so, the teacher's knowledge of how science and technology affect society and how society directs science and technology shapes their confidence to teach science. This implies that practical and observable science allows teachers to demonstrate science concepts to their students effectively.

Chemical Biology is the science of designing chemical tools to dissect and manipulate biology at different scales. It provides the fertile ground from which to address important problems of our society, such as human health and environment., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Developing students' understanding of the nature of science (NOS) is seen as critical for educating scientifically literate citizens, and has emerged as an important curricular goal internationally. In Norway, a new curriculum reform has recently been implemented, intended to improve the Norwegian education in several ways. The reform aims to promote deep learning, and there has been an increased focus on twenty-first-century skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration. The purpose of this study is to analyse the coverage of various NOS aspects in the new national curriculum for biology, chemistry, and physics, year 12 and 13. The curricula were analysed deductively, using the "Family Resemblance Approach" (FRA) to identify and categorise different NOS aspects, providing insight into how NOS is addressed. Findings include that NOS aspects from the cognitive-epistemic system of the FRA framework--"aims and values," "methods," "practices," and "knowledge"--are predominant in all three curricula, whereas aspects concerning how science interacts with society are scarce. The exception is several occurrences of the aspect "social values," i.e. the need for responsible interaction between science, society, and nature, especially in the biology curriculum. Furthermore, different NOS aspects are found in different parts of the curriculum, e.g. "practices" are found in the basic skills sections more than in the competence aims sections. Findings are discussed in terms of how the new curriculum reform can promote Norwegian students' learning of NOS.

Engaging undergraduate students in authentic research is a powerful pedagogical tool for undergraduate education. The key to maximizing the benefit of research experiences is a proper mentoring relationship. Here, we present the findings of international chemistry and biology undergraduate research experiences studied via a critical qualitative methodology to understand the cross-cultural mentoring relationship. This study demonstrates that mentors and students came into a mentoring relationship with different sets of normative infrastructures, which entail their assumptions about the purposes, values, and beliefs of undergraduate research. Their normative infrastructures came from their cultural backgrounds and prior scientific training. Positive experiences of participants are attributed to the inherent characteristics of students, mentors, or the program as well as aligned settings. On the other hand, negative experiences are associated with misaligned settings. We propose that understanding mentoring relationships may uncover new ideas to improve mentors' and students' experiences within undergraduate scientific research.

This study examines and describes how various online remote laboratory courses, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, were implemented at Hankuk University in Korea in 2020. We compared four general undergraduate laboratory courses, one each for physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science, and two major-level laboratory courses taught during the spring and fall of 2020. Employing a sociocultural perspective, we examined how the changes in structures at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels shaped the responses of educational authorities and impacted the agency of university instructors. Instructors implemented various remote laboratory courses in each content area dependent upon availability and access to material resources, including access to video of laboratory activities, and also based on the nature of experimental data associated with each content area. Drawing from survey responses and in-depth interviews with instructors and students, we share findings about how instructor practices impacted the interactions of students, the processes for evaluation, and student learning. We discuss how the global pandemic has re-ignited the debate about the role and value of experimental laboratory activities for undergraduate science majors and about the significance of hands-on versus minds-on science learning. Implications for how universities approach laboratory coursework in the post-COVID-19 are discussed, and questions for university science instruction are raised for future research.

Analogies are bridges between prior knowledge and new knowledge to make meaning of the new one. Analogies are particularly effective in teaching science concepts that are not very apparent in the students' everyday lives due to their abstract nature. For this reason, it is essential to adapt analogies to teach new concepts effectively in science education. Analogy-related studies published between 2009 and 2020 were examined in this manuscript to determine the use of analogies as a teaching technique in science education (Physics, Chemistry, Biology). To reach the studies about "Analogy," ERIC, EBSCO, Springer LINK, Taylor & Francis, Wiley Online Library Full Collection, Science Direct, ProQuest Dissertations, Theses Global, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases were searched. Then, Turkish databases, including ULAKBIM and YÖK (National Thesis Center), were also searched. A total of 80 research papers published between 2009 and 2020 that met the study's criteria were examined. Within the scope of the study, the subject areas, purpose, sample, results, and suggestions of compiled analogy studies were focused on. Based on the analysis, it was determined that most of the analogy research was conducted in the field of chemistry, the most employed methodology was qualitative research, and the most common purpose of these studies was to see the effects on academic achievement. When the studies were conducted to examine academic achievement, it was seen that the use of analogy applications as a teaching technique in science teaching has positive results on student achievement.

The aim of this study is to analyse the importance of the number of raters and compare the results obtained by techniques based on Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Generalizability (G) Theory. The Kappa and Krippendorff alpha techniques based on CTT were used to determine the inter-rater reliability. In this descriptive research data consists of twenty individual investigation performance reports prepared by the learners of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and also five raters who rated these reports. Raters used an analytical rubric developed by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) as a scoring tool. The results of the CTT study show that Kappa and Krippendorff alpha statistical techniques failed to provide information about the sources of the errors causing incompatibility in the criteria. The studies based on G Theory provided comprehensive data about the sources of the errors and increasing the number of raters would also increase the reliability of the values. However, the raters raised the idea that it is important to develop descriptors in the criteria in the rubric.

The students' attitudes towards school subjects may influence their behaviour and various educational outcomes. The research aimed to test students' attitudes towards the subjects of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, and to examine the associations between those attitudes and students' learning strategies and grades achieved. The study included 245 eighth-grade students from five schools in Koprivnica-Križevci County in the Republic of Croatia. Attitude scale towards science subjects and Learning strategies scale were employed. The results of the analysis of variance showed a significantly higher assessment of interest for Biology and Physics than for Chemistry, while the assessment of importance for Biology was significantly higher than for Chemistry and Physics. Attitudes toward Biology, Chemistry, and Physics were positively correlated with the grades achieved in those subjects. Results of the mediation analysis indicated that the learning strategies were mediators between the attitude towards the science subject and the grades achieved in those subjects. Students with a more positive attitude towards a subject employ a deeper approach to learning, which ultimately results in a higher grade.

Learning physiology requires students to apply physical and chemical principles to the study of biological systems. Unfortunately, many undergraduate anatomy and physiology (A&P) students are unprepared for this due to a lack of prerequisite knowledge in physics and chemistry. This lack of prerequisite knowledge of chemistry and physics makes learning physiology especially difficult and may contribute to the high failure rates among A&P courses nationwide. However, undergraduate physiology courses catering to biology majors often require more stringent chemistry and physics prerequisites that help prepare students to learn physiology. This study compared prerequisite requirements in chemistry and physics between A&P classes for health-related majors and physiology classes for biology majors across numerous four-year institutions and found striking differences in prerequisite preparation between the two groups. 62% of physiology courses for biology majors required a chemistry prerequisite while only 18% of A&P classes for health-related majors had the same requirement. As a result, students entering physiology courses for biology majors may have a better foundation upon which to learn physiology than students entering A&P for health-related majors.