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Previous studies in STEM education's context found that many students failed to connect between the knowledge they learned in class, the skills they acquired and the applications of the knowledge to real-life situation. They also perceived STEM lessons as rigid, drab, fixed, and a limited platform because they could not see STEM as an integrated disciplines and the interconnecting concepts across the disciplines. For students' benefits, this study explores their views on STEM lessons to incorporate their needs in designing integrated STEM instructional practices through Scientist-Teacher-Students Partnership (STSP) initiative. Embracing a qualitative research design, the researchers adopted a purposive sampling strategy to select six (6) secondary school science students as informants. Semistructured interviews were used to explore the informants' insights on STEM lessons. Based on the analysis of the interviews, three (3) themes have emerged, which are (1) Instructional practices in Science Classroom, (2) Issues in STEM learning, and (3) Students' demand in STEM lessons. However, this paper will only discuss the first theme of the study with four (4) categories namely, teacher-driven, content laden, drilling and practice techniques and instructional aids. This needs analysis study concludes that STEM teachers' instructional practices still heavily focus on a teacher-centered approach and preparing students for the examination. Hence, aspects like students' involvement, engagement and meaningful learning which are lacking in practice will be considered by the researchers in designing integrated STEM instructional practices through the STSP initiative.

Science education is facing an immense challenge due to students' lack of engagement with science education. This issue calls for a collaborative and integrative teaching strategy such as the Scientist-Teacher-Student Partnership (STSP). This research employed a qualitative research methodology supported by quantitative data, to explore students' perceptions of learning science through STSP. It involved 125 students in Grade 10 from four schools, eight science teachers and seven scientists from a university situated in Kuala Lumpur. The data were collected through survey questionnaire and interviews. The collected qualitative data were analysed using constant comparative techniques and the quantitative data arising from the responses of the survey were calculated as mean scores and standard deviations. The findings showed that the tripartite collaboration brings educational benefits to all groups. Based on the student' perspective, four (4) main themes emerged. The students found that (1) the partnership enriched their learning experiences, (2) they acquired procedural skills through hands-on experiments, (3) they had the opportunity to explore emerging topics in science, and (4) they were exposed to various career opportunities in STEM-related fields. This research has promoted greater articulation of STSP as a mechanism for educational reform in STEM.

Developing problem solving skills is often accepted as a desirable goal in many educational settings. However, there is little evidence to support that students are better problem solvers after graduating. The students can solve routine problems but they confronted difficulties when adapting their prior knowledge for the solution of new problems. The purpose of this study is to explore early childhood preservice teachers' problem-solving skills through socioscientific inquiry approach. The study involved the researcher working independently on an in-class research project with students in solving the problems related to socio-scientific issues (SSI) in early childhood education. SSI represents important social issues and problems which are conceptually related to science in social dimension. The study involved 28 third-year university students in early childhood education program. Inquiry-based learning approach has been employed to guide the students in their research on SSI. Data were collected through questionnaire, classroom observation, individual interviews and students' written reports. Data arising from the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The qualitative data were analyzed using open and axial coding in order to categorize and develop themes from information that emerged from the interpreted data. The most significant finding is that when students are engaged in the inquiry-based learning process, they will experience a sense of agency and responsibility for their learning. The students described that knowledge can be generated more meaningfully than in other perceived passive mode of learning. The finding also supported the result from previous studies that socioscientific inquiry learning helps to motivate and increases the students' interest in learning the course. It can be concluded that this study promotes innovations in teaching and learning and the reorganization of a course that encourages student engagement. Consequently, this study argues for a new strategy in fostering preservice teachers' socio-scientific reasoning through inquiry learning.

This paper discusses the contributing factors that influence students' acquisition of manipulative skills. Incompetence in manipulative skills in science at a primary level may impede science learning at secondary school. Thus, to confront these issues, an in-depth study was conducted. The research involved 10 primary school students who were interviewed again in secondary school. This paper gives an account of the factors that influence students' manipulative skills during transition from primary to secondary school, namely the teacher, the performance of the students, teaching and learning aspects and the physical environment of the laboratory. The results suggest several issues to be considered when teaching manipulative skills. Primary school students need to be exposed to these skills in using scientific apparatus so that when they enter secondary school, attention can be given in improving and strengthening those skills.