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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.

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.

Wildland fires have become a regular aspect of life for people living in the western United States. Wildfire smoke is now impacting air quality across the United States. Unprecedented wildfires have swept through Australia, Russia, and Portugal in the last few years. Like other natural disasters, wildland fires can have a devastating impact on communities that are directly in their paths. However, they also cast a much bigger footprint due to the smoke they release on a global scale. These smoke events can lead to health warnings, noticeable irritation to the lungs, and cancelled outdoor events. They have quickly become part of the life experience of many students around the world. Their connections to global climate change and environmental policy, juxtaposition as positive forces in ecosystem succession, and relationship to a wide variety of both simple and complex natural phenomena leave science teachers with an opportunity to frame myriad lessons within the context of wildfire. This article presents a series of such lessons, adaptable to various levels of physical or integrated science. This series of lessons was taught in 9th- and 10th-grade physical science classes with students who are regularly affected by intense wildfire smoke. The learning sequence would also be appropriate for general chemistry and physics courses and can be easily adapted to meet the academic level of the students. The lessons were adapted for online instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the United States, research on beginning science teachers provides little guidance regarding empirical minimum levels of discipline-specific science coursework for sufficient subject matter knowledge to teach science. Accordingly, in this study we analyzed secondary physical science teachers' science coursework for subject matter knowledge (SMK) and resulting misconceptions of chemistry and physics concepts. Findings were compared with state-level science teacher certification policies. Participants had either: (a) completed a master's level teacher preparation program with an undergraduate degree in science, (b) completed an undergraduate teacher preparation program with a minor degree or more in science, or (c) were undergraduate students enrolled in science courses required for chemistry and physics teacher certification. We analyzed participants' transcripts for discipline-specific science coursework credit hours and GPAs and identified possible predictors of SMK predictors of the likelihood of passing chemistry and physics misconceptions tests. We categorized teachers' level of SMK and used multiple variable and logistic regressions (n = 212 participants; n = 109 chemistry and n = 103 physics). To identify teacher candidates' possible misconceptions, we analyzed chemistry (n = 97) and physics (n = 91) participants' item responses with the corresponding science credit hours and GPAs. With increasing numbers of credit hours teachers held fewer misconceptions. However, even with medium to high SMK levels, teachers still held misconceptions about chemical bonding, electromagnetism, and Newton's laws until they reached critical credit hour and GPA thresholds. Lastly, we provide recommendations for physical science teachers' programs of study and state-level teaching certification policies, using empirical minimum quantity and quality of chemistry, physics, and mathematics coursework.

This case study analyzes five science courses of a United States virtual charter school. Online quizzes and exams are provided by the corporate partner, while local teachers have selected report topics, virtual labs and at-home labs for students to complete. These assessments were coded for their correlation to the cognitive levels of the revised Bloom's taxonomy and the US NSES (National Science Education Standards). The remembering level was associated with the largest number of quiz and exam questions. However, analysis and application were also frequently assessed. Most of the standards were assessed at some point. The teacher selected projects address science inquiry standards but not additional content standards. The projects often required higher levels of thinking. Recommendations for teachers in virtual K-12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) schools are made to select additional content that focuses on key concepts and include more application, analysis, evaluation and creation. (Contains 7 tables.)

I report on an analysis of the alignment between the South African Grade 12 Physical Sciences core curriculum content and the exemplar papers of 2008, and the final examination papers of 2008 and 2009. A two-dimensional table was used for both the curriculum and the examination in order to calculate the Porter alignment index, which indicates the degree of match between the two. Alignment indices of 0.8 and 0.6 for Physics and Chemistry, respectively, were computed and remained constant for Physics, but fluctuated initially for Chemistry before levelling off. Using the revised Bloom's taxonomy, discrepancies were found in terms of cognitive levels as well as content areas in both Physics and Chemistry. The cognitive level Remember is under-represented in the Chemistry and Physics examinations, whereas the cognitive levels Understand and Apply were over-represented in Chemistry. It is argued that the shift to higher cognitive levels is in line with the reported increase in cognitive complexity of the Physical Sciences curriculum. The significance of the study for Physical Science teachers is highlighted, and the potential for further research is also indicated.

This paper describes the results of a comparative study into the approaches used by science undergraduates when solving open-ended problems. This study adopted a pseudo-grounded theory framework to analyse six case studies, one from each of the science disciplines studied. The study involved 70 participants from 5 institutions solving open-ended problems using a think-aloud protocol. Analysis of the data identified a number of different approaches used by each subject group. Participants in psychology, pharmacy and sports rehabilitation used a greater number of novice-like approaches than participants in chemistry, physics and interdisciplinary science. The approaches used by physical science participants were very similar whereas those from pharmacy, sports rehabilitation and psychology were more varied and relied on students' ability to relate to a familiar context. Evaluation of the relative quality of solutions showed variation with discipline.

The Science Belief Test is an online instrument comprised of 47 statements that require true or false responses and request written explanations to accompany these responses. It targets topics in chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, and astronomy and was initially designed to assess preservice elementary teachers' beliefs about general science content. A set of responses for six of the physical science items targeting force/gravity and physical/chemical change was selected for analysis from 305 respondents. Written explanations were coded into three general categories: (1) correct explanation, (2) incorrect explanation, (3) guess or uninterpretable. The correct response rates for the explanations were compared to the correct response rates that were based on the accompanying true or false answers. The explanations were further analyzed and coded into specific categories that included alternative and naive conceptions. Correct response rates, when analyzed from the true/false or written explanations, were low (less than 60%) for five of the six items. Naive beliefs and/or misconceptions were prevalent for each of these five items, and understanding that students may hold these beliefs prior to instruction may provide teachers with useful information for the purpose of improving instruction. (Contains 2 tables.)

In many countries there remain substantial sex differences in enrolments in elective science courses, despite concerted efforts in recent years to alleviate them. This paper explores the reasons for these differences by comparing models of male and female enrolment intentions in elective courses in biology, chemistry and physics. The models are based on responses from approximately 450 students from 5 Australian high schools. First, a theoretical model, the Science Enrolment Model, was derived from Eccles and colleagues' General Model of Academic Choice. Students' responses were then used to develop empirical models of enrolment intentions in the three elective courses. Analyses for the models were conducted using the LISREL "mean structures" extension. Sex differences in the dependent variables in the models were then attributed to the relevant sets of independent variables. Substantial sex differences were identified in measures of perceived career value, interest and performance expectations in all three models which explained between 70% and 82% of the sex differences in enrolment intentions. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)

The concept of wave-particle duality in quantum theory is difficult to grasp because it attributes particle-like properties to classical waves and wave-like properties to classical particles. There seems to be an inconsistency involved with the notion that particle-like or wave-like attributes depend on how you look at an entity. The concept comes into more clear focus with the precise language of mathematics and with an experiment or demonstration of quantum interference that involves the scattering of photons by a single slit. After describing a photon as a quon, a quantum-sized entity, a precise description of the interference of quantum probability amplitudes allows determination of the photon wavelength by classical measurements of laboratory observations.

Research shows that women are entering the field of physics at a faster rate than the field of chemistry through bachelor's and doctoral degrees. However, STEM studies primarily compare women to men or examine them as a single entity. Therefore, a paucity of research exists that examines what may differentiate women in certain critical and underrepresented fields of STEM education, such as the physical sciences. The focus of this study is to examine differences among women in chemistry in the physical sciences based on background demographics and motivational factors such as academic achievement and experiences ranging from secondary through postsecondary education. This study examines the following research question: "On average, do females who select chemistry as compared to physics doctoral programs differ in their reported personal motivations and background factors prior to entering the field?" This question is analyzed using variables in a logistic regression from the Project Crossover Survey data set through a subset of female physical science doctoral students and scientists (n = 1137). Results show that females who have higher secondary and postsecondary grades and positive experiences in postsecondary chemistry as well as negative postsecondary physics experiences are more likely to enter the field of chemistry as opposed to physics. Therefore, success and experiences in entry-level chemistry courses are critical for female entry into the field and should be further examined. Overall, analyses show that women should not be studied in comparison only to men or as a single entity; they should also be compared to one another to uncover what motivation and background variables influence them to enter a particular field.

The majority of existing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research studies compare women to men, yet a paucity of research exists that examines what differentiates female career choice within the physical sciences. In light of these research trends and recommendations, this study examines the following question: On average, do females who select physics as compared to chemistry doctoral programs differ in their reported personal motivations and background factors prior to entering the field? This question is analyzed using variables from the Project Crossover Survey data set through a subset of female physical science doctoral students and scientists (n = 1137). A logistic regression analysis and prototypical odds ratio uncover what differentiates women in the physical sciences based on their academic achievement and experiences ranging from high school through undergraduate education. Results indicate that females who have negative undergraduate chemistry experiences as well as higher grades and positive experiences in undergraduate physics are more likely to pursue a career in physics as opposed to chemistry. Conclusions suggest that a greater emphasis should be placed on the classroom experiences that are provided to females in gateway physics courses. Analyses show that women are not a single entity that should only be examined as a whole group or in comparison to men. Instead women can be compared to one another to see what influences their differences in educational experiences and career choice in STEM-based fields as well as other academic areas of study.

This paper presents the findings of the qualitative component of a combined methods research study that explores a range of individual and school factors that influence the uptake of chemistry and physics in post-compulsory study in England. The first phase involves using the National Pupil Database to provide a sampling frame to identify four matched pairs of high-uptake and low-uptake schools by salient school factors. Case studies of these eight schools indicate that students employ selection strategies related to their career aspirations, their sense of identity and tactics, and their prior experience. The school factors influencing subject choice relate to school management, student support and guidance, and student empowerment. The most notable differences between students in high-uptake and low-uptake schools are that students in high-uptake schools appear to make a proactive choice in relation to career aspirations, rather than a reactive choice on the basis of past experience. Schools with a high uptake offer a diverse science curriculum in the final two years of compulsory study, set higher examination entry requirements for further study and, crucially, provide a range of opportunities for students to interact with the world of work and to gain knowledge and experience of science-related careers. (Contains 6 notes and 6 tables.)

Two independent studies were conducted to extend previous research by examining the associations between task value priority patterns across school subjects and aspirations toward the physical and information technology- (IT-) related sciences. Study 1 measured task values of a sample of 10th graders in the United States (N = 249) across (a) physics and chemistry, (b) math, and (c) English. Study 2 measured task values of a sample of students in the second year of high school in Finland (N = 351) across (a) math and science, (b) Finnish, and (c) the arts and physical education. In both studies, students were classified into groups according to how they ranked math and science in relation to the other subjects. Regression analyses indicated that task value group membership significantly predicted subsequent aspirations toward physical and IT-related sciences measured 1-2 years later. The task value groups who placed the highest priority on math and science were significantly more likely to aspire to physical and IT-related sciences than were the other groups. These findings provide support for the theoretical assumption regarding the predictive role of intraindividual hierarchical patterns of task values for subsequent preferences and choices suggested by the Eccles [Parsons] (1983) expectancy-value model. (Contains 11 tables and 2 figures.)

The UK Government has considerably increased its targets for recruiting chemistry and physics teachers, with a view to increasing the number of students taking separate sciences and to boost science uptake post-16. This article charts the establishment of the science disciplines, rejecting a hierarchy of subjects and the simple splitting of science into three disciplines. It argues that science teacher education (training) should be lengthened to allow science graduates to develop their knowledge and understanding of a wider range of disciplines and calls for the implementation of the teaching of a coherent and inclusive form of natural sciences to the age of 16, with specialisms taken only beyond that age. (Contains 1 note.)

This paper describes and discusses the role of practical work in science education in Ireland. The 2002 report of a government Task Force on the Physical Sciences, set up to consider the problems facing the teaching of the physical sciences in second-level schools in Ireland, has resulted in rapid reform of the science curriculum at both junior and senior secondary school level. Whilst practical work has a long and varied history in science education in Ireland, it was only in 2003 that practical work became compulsory with the introduction of a new Junior Certificate science syllabus for students in the 12-15 year old age group. The paper describes the two types of practical work introduced in the syllabus and discusses the results of a survey carried out by the Irish Science Teachers' Association to ascertain the response of teachers to this practical work. Compulsory practical work has also been introduced into physics, chemistry and biology at senior secondary school level (ages 16-18). The paper reports on a research study to evaluate the effectiveness of a proposed new assessment model for practical work involving the use of a visiting examiner to interview students and examine their ability to carry out tasks in the school science laboratory. The main finding was that the new model provided a more valid and fairer assessment of students' ability in the area of practical work. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.)

Recently "Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements" ("CAPS") were introduced in South Africa in response to confusion precipitated by previous curriculum documents. The purpose of this paper is to explore that confusion in the subject 'Physical Sciences' and consider the nature of the transformation from the previous curriculum by looking at curriculum documents and examination papers. We present a two phase curriculum change model which suggests that congruency between curriculum documents and examinations is critical for effective curriculum change. We analyse the pre-"CAPS" curriculum, the "National Curriculum Statement" ("NCS"), on its own terms by using the stated outcomes as our reference point. Our analysis reveals that the weighting and conceptualization of the outcomes shifted through successive documents, which undermined congruency between the documents and meant that content-oriented science masqueraded as inquiry-oriented science. This led to a retreat from the original vision of weighting skills and relevance equally with content. The examinations took this retreat a step further. Evidence of the retreat is that the nature of the questions asked in the 2008 examinations on the "NCS" was similar to that of the 2007 examinations on the previous curriculum which had not changed since apartheid. However, in the "NCS" examinations there was a small shift towards contextualisation and inquiry oriented science. The retreat means the vision of transformation which was the rationale for the "NCS" curriculum was eroded--instead of transformation, there was transmutation back to the old apartheid curriculum. The Physical Sciences "CAPS" cements the retreat and creates new confusion by changing the syllabus again without signposting the change.

Interactive computer simulations with complex representations and sophisticated graphics are a relatively new addition to the classroom, and research in this area is limited. We have conducted over 275 individual student interviews during which the students described what they were thinking as they interacted with simulations. These interviews were conducted as part of the research and design of simulations for the Physics Education Technology (PhET) project. PhET is an ongoing project that has developed over 75 simulations for use in teaching physics, chemistry, and physical science. These interviews are a rich source of information about how students interact with computer simulations and what makes an educationally effective simulation. We have observed that simulations can be highly engaging and educationally effective, but only if the student's interaction with the simulation is directed by the student's own questioning. Here we describe our design process, what features are effective for engaging students in educationally productive interactions and the underlying principles which support our empirically developed guidelines. In a companion article we describe in detail the design features used to create an intuitive simulation for students to use. (Contains 4 figures.)

In May 2007 an issue of the "Australian Education Review" was released reporting on the state of science education in Australia. The report argued that we are in the advanced stages of a crisis in school science that threatens the future of Australia as a technologically advanced nation, and we need to change the way we think about the purposes and practice of school science--we need to re-imagine it--if we are to turn this crisis around. The author of that report, Professor Russell Tytler, argues that we need to develop a new and fresh approach to school science if we are to recapture the imagination of students and do justice to the enormous range of ideas and practices of contemporary science. An account of this report was published in "Teaching Science," December 2007 and readers invited to respond; the following is one such response. (Contains 3 tables and 6 figures.)

The recent structural reforms in New Zealand education have given schools and teachers unprecedented freedom in curricular design and delivery. Using official educational award statistics for 2004 and data arising from a study of 23 schools' upper secondary science curricula in the same year, this study represents an early monitoring of the impact of the reforms on upper secondary enrolments and course compilations in the physical sciences using biology as a reference point. Enrolments in physics and chemistry courses relative to biology did not appear to have changed, but there had been an expansion of physical science education through combined science programmes in years 12 and 13, although the profile of physical science in these tended to be low. Teachers exhibited a strong liking for highly focussed laboratory-based internally assessed modules, and it is recommended that curriculum designers provide a greater variety of internally-assessed modules specifically targeting unconventional physical science programmes.

We present a simple computer-based laboratory experiment for evaluating absolute zero in degrees Celsius, which can be performed in college and undergraduate physical sciences laboratory courses. With a computer, absolute zero apparatus can help demonstrators or students to observe the relationship between temperature and pressure and use datalogger software to mathematically extrapolate to find absolute zero. (Contains 3 figures.)

In this article, the author attempts to show how French disciplinary "didactiques" were created and have developed. At the beginning, nobody could forecast the future and whether the "didactiques" would one day be recognised by the academic and instructional systems. The French "didactiques" are strongly based on school subject matters. Since the creation of Instituts Universitaire de Formation des Maitres (University Teacher Training Institutes) in 1991, they are completely integrated in French educational research and training systems: a major evolution in education that has taken about 40 years. More recently, a new field of research is developing in the French-speaking area: comparative didactics that groups together disciplinary didacticians in a true research programme. (Contains 1 note.)

A study involves multiple chemistry and physics concepts applied to a state of matter that has biological relevance. An experiment involving the synthesis and physical properties of liquid crystals illustrates the interdisciplinary nature of liquid crystal research and the practical devices derived from such research.