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To meet the requirements of students’ cooperative learning, our quasi-experimental study addresses how preservice teachers (PSTs), as a component of their procedural pedagogical content knowledge (...

Background: Creativity is often viewed as a fundamental educational capability. Science can play a role in nurturing creativity. Research suggests that creative pedagogy, including interdisciplinar...

Environmental and sustainability education (ESE) traditionally relies on green teaching environments and active participation. Thus, during the lockdown phase, a gap between curricular goals and learning outcomes appeared. This study investigates the impact of ESE distance teaching on 288 Bavarian fifth-graders and learning factors that could bridge this gap. The influence of digital preferences on learning progress is examined and compared with the influence of fascination levels. A negative correlation between spending time outside in nature and spending time inside in front of a digital device is expected. A control group completed a learning unit about biological topics such as plant identification and environmental factors, as well as ESE topics such as characteristics of sustainable agriculture, at an out-of-school ESE center. The experimental group completed the same learning unit in distance teaching. Fascination with Biology (FBio) and Digital Nativity Assessment Scale (DNAS) were applied in addition to a customized knowledge test. Both values seem to have a positive impact on learning outcomes. There were no significant differences between the control and experimental group. Surprisingly, Fascination and Digital Nativity show a low, if not negligible, relationship. Implications for digital ESE, especially between outdoor learning centers and schools, are discussed.

A promising way to bring STEAM (STEM enriched with Arts) into classrooms is the Professional Development (PD) path. Its main difference to a usual PD lies in the introduction of creativity with its social skills rather than just on cognitive learning, and thus in STEAM teaching, teachers need training in new ways of teaching. In order to establish STEAM in everyday school life, an effective PD is required to go beyond one-time interventions, which seldom work sustainably. After our course schedule, the participating teachers were supposed to apply their expertise in their next school year’s classroom. The provided material ensured the teachers to work regularly with STEAM, and as the involved teachers were supposed to recapitulate and consolidate their STEAM skills in their classroom work. Following the PD goals, the students (N = 550) of the participating teachers were monitored for scientific motivation and creativity in order to examine the PD effects. For the analysis, we calculated canonical correlations to confirm the association between creativity and motivation. The structural equation model (SEM) confirmed the model that with STEAM creativity has a positive effect on motivation: A long-term PD that is integrated into school life is an appropriate socio-cultural sustainability entry to promote creativity in classrooms. Through creativity, apparently, students’ self-efficacy increase. In conclusion, integrating creativity into education via PD works and may provide a promising channel to multiplication into further science classrooms, which is discussed in the conclusions.

Does the act of caring for a dog have a substantial connection to the environmental values and behaviours of children? The scientific current literature contains little empirical research regarding the effect of pet ownership on environmental attitudes and behaviours in children. The Two Factor Model of Environmental Values (2-MEV) scale and the General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) scale were applied to measure environmental attitudes/values and ecological behaviours aligned with the Children&rsquo, s Care for Dogs Questionnaire (CTDQ) to measure individual care for dogs. The subjects were Slovenian adolescents in primary education and lower secondary education. A clear relationship emerged: students that reported a better level of care for their pet dogs tended to engage in more environmentally responsible behaviours. Preservation and utilization attitudes had no significant influence on caring for a dog. Female students tended to report better care for dogs and practiced environmental behaviour more often. Younger students scored higher on the preservation values and practiced environmental behaviour more often. Overall, this study provides an evidence-based framework for educational initiatives that aim to include long-term care for animals. This study proposes a method with which educational programs could achieve the goal of fostering environmental behaviours.

An informal mathematical module integrating Arts (modifying STEM to STEAM) and following an inquiry-based learning approach was applied to a sample of 392 students (aged 12-13 years). The three lesson module dealt with mathematical phenomena providing participants with the commercially available hands-on construction kit, aiming to advance STEAM education. Pupils built original, personal, and individual geometrical structures by using plastic pipes in allowing high levels of creativity as well as of autonomy. Tutors supervised the construction process and intervened only on demand. A pre-/ post-test design monitored the cognitive knowledge and the variables of relative autonomy, visual reasoning, formal operations as well as creativity. Our informal intervention produced newly acquired cognitive knowledge which as a process was shown of being supported by a broad basis of (soft) factors as described above. A path analysis elaborated the role of creativity (measured with two subscale: act and flow) to cognitive learning (post-knowledge), when flow was shown to lead. Pre-knowledge scores were significantly influenced by both creativity subscales: act and flow. However, relative autonomy, visual reasoning and formal operations contributed, too. In consequence, cognitive learning within STEAM modules was shown dependent on external triggers. Conclusions for appropriate educational settings to foster STEAM environments are discussed.

Bionics by definition combines science and technology, with nature acting as a model for technical applications. Bionics is expected to lead to a better understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS). We applied a hands-on inquiry-based module about bionics with sixth graders during a public bionics exhibition in a zoological garden that allowed students to act as researchers, i.e., to understand the problem-solving process and to search for methods to overcome problems. The practice of science and engineering was at the center of this intervention; for example, students were asked to provide explanations and design solutions in the bionics field (NGSS, 2017). From this complex field we showed examples using living animals in the zoo. Our students learned bionics topics directly on the living animal by transferring them later to bionics topics. The streamlined shape of the dolphin snout, the communication system of dolphins, and other examples, each with its technical and bionics application, were examined. Bionics can serve as a complement to other biology topics. An increase in cognitive knowledge was observed both immediately after intervention and after a complete school year. Male participants showed more interest in technology than females.

Our paper analyses the genetics and gene technology contents of German (Bavarian) and Portuguese biology textbooks, as fields common in science-technology-society-environment (STSE) issues. Our aim...

Although technology determines our everyday life, many of us still have neither special knowledge nor interest. Our study focused on a reliable and valid empirical monitoring of interest in and social implications of technology by applying an existing scale to 610 participants. First, we confirmed the factor structure for the school student subsample which was the age-group of the originally applied scale (n = 369). Second, we were able to extract the same structure for both other subsamples: university freshmen (n = 125) and in-service teachers (n = 116). Interestingly a gender gap occurred in all age-groups for both factors (interest in technology and social aspects of technology). Not surprisingly, male participants showed significantly higher interest and social adjustment to technology. Only in the social context for male and female in-service teachers did no gender difference appeared. Consequently, technology in schools needs an introduction at young ages, where interest in both technology and its social aspects develops and needs support.

Microplastic pollution is a growing issue of concern requiring appropriate classroom instruction. Educational initiatives within this context are supposed to provide relevant background knowledge, raise awareness, and ideally lead to sustainable behavior. We implemented an identical educational module within two different learning environments: formal (in-school) and informal (out-of-school). In both settings, 444 primary school students self-reliably completed hands-on activities at workstations. We monitored students' short-term (directly after the module) and long-term (after six weeks) cognitive achievement. Additionally, when examining the participants' environmental values (Preservation, Utilization) and the Appreciation of Nature, the program similarly appealed to all students independent of the environmental values' intensity. Preservation, Utilization, and the Study Group predicted knowledge levels after program participation; Appreciation did not. While Preservation positively influenced knowledge, Utilization did the contrary. Subsequent implications on learning strategies based on our results are discussed.

Our educational module focused on selected bionics examples linking the basis of technology to biology. 324 students participated in an outreach intervention in a zoo. We monitored individual knowledge acquisition at three testing points: two weeks before (T0), immediately after (T1) and six weeks (T2) after participation. We monitored a subsample of 191 for longer (twelve weeks (T3) and one year (T4) later). Our module consisted of two units, a seminar room module and an aquarium module with living animals. As expected, knowledge peaked directly after program participation and dropped back after six weeks, but never fell as low as prior knowledge. Even one year later, the knowledge level remained constant at the level reached six weeks after participation. Prior knowledge was shown to be dependent on technology interest and social implication scores before participation.

Educational outreach facilities provide unique opportunities to learn sciences at the forefront of research. An example is Biosphere 2, a site of environmental and ecological research, which is coupled to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Research facilities can evoke the relevance of sciences in everyday life. This is important in secondary schooling to increase students’ engagement in sciences, while environmental challenges continue to expand. We therefore examined the role of fascination and motivation on learning with 5th to 12th grade students who participated in a half- to full-day on-site education program. Our data confirmed the construct of fascination through Rasch and factor analysis, revealed substantial knowledge gains, showed effects of motivation and fascination on knowledge scores, and suggested that authentic learning enhanced science engagement. Results further indicated that both instruments measure an analogous construct, while motivation appeared to have more predictive power on cognitive achievement.

Three subscales of the ‘Science Motivation Questionnaire II’ (SMQII; motivational components: career motivation, self-efficacy and self-determination), with 4 items each, were applied to a sample of 209 secondary school students to monitor the impact of a 3-hour structured inquiry lesson. Four testing points (before, immediately after, 6 and 12 weeks after) were applied. The modified SMQII was factor-analyzed at each testing cycle and the structure confirmed. Only self-determination was shown to be influenced by an inquiry course, while self-efficacy and career motivation did not. Only self-efficacy and career motivation were intercorrelated and also correlated with science subject grades and subsequent achievement. Implications for using the modified SMQII subscales for research and teaching in secondary school are discussed.

Environmental literacy is a key concept to promote individual behavioral changes toward a more sustainable lifestyle to consciously react to environmental challenges such as climate change. Promoting knowledge, attitudes and behaviors provides a reasonable basis to prepare adolescents for their future. A recently proposed environmental literacy model comprises three-dimensional knowledge, environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior. The present study applies this model by implementing an intervention focusing on tropical rainforests and climate change in a botanical garden, combining student-centered activities with self-dependent learning. Data from 283 10th graders quantify individual knowledge, attitudes and behavior scores. Knowledge acquisition, a positive development of the Inclusion of Nature in One's Self concept and increasing pro-environmental behavior intentions were found by comparing an intervention group with a test–retest group. In conclusion, our botanical garden’s intervention evidently furthered appreciative tendencies and even encouraged environmental literacy.

Pollinating animals are profoundly affected by the current loss of biodiversity, a problem that is of concern to science, policy-makers and the public. One possibility to raise awareness for pollinator conservation is education. Unfortunately, insects such as bees are often perceived as frightening creatures; a negative emotion that may hinder successful learning processes. Thus, any educational initiative must conquer this obstacle and promote conservational knowledge. Using a quasi-experimental design, we evaluated the effectiveness of an educational programme using two student-centred learning approaches: One by encountering living honeybees (Apis mellifera) at a beehive (N = 162), the other by using an eLearning tool connected to a remote beehive (N = 192). We monitored secondary school students’ environmentally relevant knowledge of bees, their environmental attitudes and their perception of bees in regard to conservation and dangerousness. The results indicate that both approaches lead to th...

The current loss of biodiversity requires efforts to increase awareness of pollinator conservation. An important tool is education which often uses the honeybee (Apis mellifera) as an exemplary organism to reach this goal. Any successful module needs to focus on reducing the perceived danger associated with fear, in order to support the willingness to protect them. Using a quasi-experimental design, we investigated the effectiveness of two educational approaches: one by authentically encountering living animals at a beehive, the other by using a remote online beehive. We monitored secondary school students’ (N = 354) perception of bees with respect to interest, danger and conservation as well as situational emotions (interest, well-being, boredom) during both interventions. In both cases positive effects on perception levels were observed, even when already a high willingness to protect bees existed. Using living animals in educational settings is crucial, especially when students’ situational emo...

Das Praxisbeispiel oben wirft die Frage auf, wie und woran man denn den Erfolg einer solchen Nationalparkwoche messen konnte, oder auch die Wirkung der Umweltbildung im „normalen“ schulischen Biologieunterricht. Bei Temperaturmessungen haben wir Thermometer, bei Hohenmessungen ein Barometer, bei Ortsbestimmungen GPS-Werte. Gibt es etwas Vergleichbares bei einer padagogischen Erfolgsmessung? Der Vergleich ist gar nicht so abwegig, wie er zunachst klingen mag.

As human activities threaten biodiversity on a global scale, preventing further biodiversity loss requires scientifically literate and environmentally responsible citizens. Biodiversity education (BE) as part of education for sustainable development (ESD) may lay the foundation of fostering a sense of responsibility for biodiversity and its preservation among future generations. Meaningful learning depends on the integration of new knowledge into already existing student conceptions (i.e., students&rsquo, pre-instructional mental concepts and ideas of teaching subjects). Thus, assessment and consideration of student conceptions on biodiversity are of high relevance for the development of successful BE and ESD lessons. In the present qualitative study, we applied three open-ended questions in a paper-and-pencil format to assess adolescents&rsquo, pre-instructional conceptions on biodiversity, its benefits, and protection. Almost our total sample of 275 German 10th graders equated biodiversity with species diversity, revealing an only fragmented understanding of the scientific concept of biodiversity. Conceptions of the benefits of biodiversity were almost equally balanced between environmental and economic benefits. Notions of environmental preservation considerably outnumbered notions of environmental utilization in student conceptions of biodiversity protection.

So beschreibt Annika, Schulerin eines Bamberger Gymnasiums, den Besuch ihres Biologiekurses im Schulerlabor an der Universitat Bayreuth im Jahresbericht ihrer Schule. Auch andere Berichte sind durchgehend positiv

A theoretically derived sixth-grade classroom module focusing on the evolution of birds contains the core of our study. Participants, assumed to be novices in evolutionary classroom issues when they completed matching hands-on experiments based on the inquiry-based vision, learned about the theoretical background and formulated explanations based on observations. Our age-appropriate inquiry-based hands-on and multimedia workstations focusing on the unique Archaeopteryx fossil contained a (replica) fossil with its extraordinary importance for better understanding evolution. Student-centred object-based activities including self-dependent learning opportunities were supported by the individual learning stations. The method applied was scientific inquiry which is assumed to allow students to derive empirically supported explanations. The structure originated in the 5 ‘E’ (engage, explore, explain, extent and evaluate), a key concept regarded as optimally supporting individual cognitive learning. The module integrated (a) arts in science with (b) authentic tools and aimed to further interesting in learning science. It intended to promote enthusiasm, to support successful learning in science and to cross-link interdisciplinary tools. A working booklet and various tools provided background information about, for instance, the bird flight and probable life of Archaeopteryx. Participation caused a substantial and sustained increase in individual knowledge scores after the lesson unit, i.e. signalling a sustained learning success. As no gender effect appeared, the module apparently affects female and male students equally. Subsequent conclusions for everyday teaching in school are discussed and recommendations for teaching derived.

Education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) is affected by substantial current reform efforts. The 3-year multinational project labelled STORIES supports 6th graders’ efforts who normally haven’t yet had any instruction in STEM within regular classroom syllabi. Within a European HORIZON-2020 funding scheme, the consortium of 16 partners of different specialization initiated to develop and sustain a platform for that age-group in order to support young pupils’ collaborative efforts and deeper learning. Consequently, 6th graders of Europe, Japan and the U.S. were collaborating via a platform in planning a virtual trip to the Mars across all science subjects.

Our study analyzed the influence of motivation towards science in relation individual cognitive achievement scores. 232 10th graders of college preparatory school level (‘Gymnasium’) completed a cognitive achievement test three times and a questionnaire quantifying motivation towards science once. A three-lesson module dealt with aspects of the topic renewable energies. The knowledge test was applied one week before (T-0), directly after (T-1) and six weeks after (T-2) participation in the learning module. The questionnaire on science motivation was completed at T-0 in order to receive unaffected data. A test-retest group (acting as control group) of 37 students completed the questionnaires with no intervention. Three motivational groups were selected: highly motivated, intermediate and less motivated. The intervention group showed substantial knowledge gain in short- and in long-term perspectives, almost independently of motivational levels. A positive linear relation between motivation and content knowledge was observable for each test schedule. In particular, intrinsic factors are shown to be responsible for this relationship. We recommend implementing appropriately designed educational settings to promote intrinsic aspects in order to foster performance almost independently of pre-existing knowledge and science motivation We presume pre-existing knowledge as well as learning to be influenced by motivation towards science. Also, pre-existing knowledge may influence individual motivation towards science. Consequently, beyond scientific contents, a focus on motivation of adolescents in science may lead to a synergetic effect for life-long learning.

This study examines the relationships between the environmental attitudes and environmental knowledge of schoolchildren within the framework of an environmental intervention. We employed questions from the 2-MEV model to monitor students’ environmental attitudes in terms of the model factors Preservation and Utilisation while concurrently monitoring three environmental knowledge dimensions (system, action-related and effectiveness knowledge) at three different test times during the course of a four-day field centre programme for fourth-graders (N = 133, Mage = 9.8 years). Probably due to measurement constraints (e.g. a ceiling effect, social desirability), we found no correlation between environmental knowledge and the attitude Preservation at all test times. The attitude Utilisation correlated negatively with all environmental knowledge dimensions, indicating that students who score higher on Utilisation are more likely, for example, to have and gain more system knowledge through programme partic...

Education reform initiatives tend to promise higher effectiveness in classrooms especially when emphasis is given to e-learning and digital resources. Practical changes in classroom realities or school organization, however, are lacking. A major European initiative entitled Open Discovery Space (ODS) examined the challenge of modernizing school education via a large-scale implementation of an open-scale methodology in using technology-supported innovation. The present paper describes this innovation scheme which involved schools and teachers all over Europe, embedded technology-enhanced learning into wider school environments and provided training to teachers. Our implementation scheme consisted of three phases: (1) stimulating interest, (2) incorporating the innovation into school settings and (3) accelerating the implementation of the innovation. The scheme’s impact was monitored for a school year using five indicators: leadership and vision building, ICT in the curriculum, development of ICT culture, professional development support, and school resources and infrastructure. Based on about 400 schools, our study produced four results: (1) The growth in digital maturity was substantial, even for previously high scoring schools. This was even more important for indicators such as vision and leadership” and “professional development.” (2) The evolution of networking is presented graphically, showing the gradual growth of connections achieved. (3) These communities became core nodes, involving numerous teachers in sharing educational content and experiences: One out of three registered users (36 %) has shared his/her educational resources in at least one community. (4) Satisfaction scores ranged from 76 % (offer of useful support through teacher academies) to 87 % (good environment to exchange best practices). Initiatives such as ODS add substantial value to schools on a large scale.

To monitor science motivation, 232 tenth graders of the college preparatory level (‘Gymnasium’) completed the Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ-II). Additionally, personality data were collected using a 10-item version of the Big Five Inventory. A subsequent exploratory factor analysis based on the eigenvalue-greater-than-one criterion, extracted a loading pattern, which in principle, followed the SMQ-II frame. Two items were dropped due to inappropriate loadings. The remaining SMQ-II seems to provide a consistent scale matching the findings in literature. Nevertheless, also possible shortcomings of the scale are discussed. Data showed a higher perceived self-determination in girls which seems compensated by their lower self-efficacy beliefs leading to equality of females and males in overall science motivation scores. Additionally, the Big Five personality traits and science motivation components show little relationship.

Household water distribution and wastewater management represent major challenges in developing countries. In designing effective instructional interventions to address this issue, educators should consider people’s current knowledge of water management as a starting point. In our study, we examine Ecuadorian students’ current conceptions and personal experience in the context of water management issues. A sample of 73 adolescents from the Guayas coastal region of Ecuador responded to a paper-pencil questionnaire with open questions. The subsequent qualitative content analysis revealed some interesting results. In particular, the students’ life experiences appear to shape the students’ conceptions regarding the origin of piped-in household water and its ultimate destination, suggesting that experience-based learning has occurred. We found that a confusion of issues may arise. Mixing up the household water system with the wastewater system or household water with bottled water may lead to overgener...

Given the rapid development of modern biotechnology, attention to socioscientific issues in educational contexts is crucially important to support students in becoming responsible citizens. The authors' research focused on the impact of discussing socioscientific issues during biology lessons under 3 different treatments (teacher guided, student centered, text only), comparing these treatments with regard to cognitive achievement, cognitive load, and instructional efficiency. The biology lessons were part of an educational intervention with Bavarian 10th-grade students (N = 583) in an out-of-school laboratory on plant genetic engineering. The teacher-guided group performed significantly better regarding knowledge increase, while the cognitive load of the student-centered group was significantly higher. Accordingly, teacher-guided discussion led to the highest instructional efficiency, suggesting an enhanced cognitive achievement through the teacher's guidance. However, a student-centered approach ...

A positive self-concept supposedly affects a student’s well-being as well as his or her perception of individual competence at school. As computer-based learning is becoming increasingly important in school, a positive computer-related self-concept (CSC) might help to enhance cognitive achievement. Consequently, we focused on establishing a short, valid, and reliable instrument to measure the CSC by administering to German subsamples ( Ntotal = 488) of three different age-groups: 8th ( N = 159), 11th graders ( N = 214), and university freshmen ( N = 115). We succeeded in developing a one-factor-instrument with good overall reliability (αtotal = .84) and adequate criterion validity. The scale implementation revealed a high self-concept among younger respondents. Furthermore, we observed a stereotypical difference between the CSC scores for 8th and 11th graders. Finally, we discuss pedagogical and educational considerations of the scale’s implementation in school.

One way of engaging the public in major environmental issues, such as biodiversity loss, is citizen science. Up to now, the potential of implementing citizen science into formal learning environments has remained largely unconsidered. We engaged 276 German 10th graders in a collaborative citizen science project on DNA barcoding as part of a biodiversity education module. Our research focused on monitoring the relation between fascination for biology and students’ cognitive performance. Following a pre-post-retention design, we measured content knowledge and fascination one week before, one week after, and six weeks after participation in the project. Our findings indicate fascination to be a variable positively related to science learning: in relation to their pre-knowledge scores, all students showed short-term knowledge gain. In the long-term, however, students with high fascination scores retained more knowledge than students with intermediate or low fascination scores.

Environmental literacy integrates the variables cognitive knowledge, environmental values and ecological behaviour. We used three factors in our study: the first includes item-sets monitoring system-, action-related and effectiveness knowledge; the second examined the “Two Major Environmental Value model (2-MEV)“; and the third analysed General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) via an established behaviour scale. All participants were Greek sixth graders (N = 223, M = 11.7, SD ± 1.3, 49.8 % = males). Results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicated a linear relationship between environmental knowledge and values (ξ = 0.69, p > .001), values and (reported) behaviour (ξ = 0.80, p > .001), as well as between environmental knowledge and (reported) behaviour (ξ = 0.37, p = .001). We primarily used the theoretical environmental literacy model to holistically evaluate environmental education instead of applying isolated sales.

Since the 1990s, the Two Major Environmental Value model (2-MEV) has been applied to measure adolescent environmental attitudes by covering two higher order factors: (i) Preservation of Nature (PRE) which measures protection preferences and (ii) Utilization of Nature (UTL) which quantifies preferences towards exploitation of nature. In addition to the 2-MEV scale, we monitored the Appreciation of Nature (APR) which, in contrast to the UTL, monitors the enjoyable utilization of nature. Finally, we employed the Morningness&ndash, Eveningness Scale for Children (MESC) which monitors the diurnal preferences and associates with personality and behavioral traits. In this study, we analyzed data from 429 Irish students (14.65 years, &plusmn, 1.89 SD) with the aim of reconfirming the factor structure of the 2-MEV+APR and monitoring the relationship between the MESC and the environmental values (PRE, UTL, APR). Our findings identified a significant association between PRE and APR with MESC. In addition, we observed a gender difference. Our results suggest that morningness preference students are more likely to be protective of and appreciative towards nature. Recommendations for outreach programs as well as conclusions for environmental education initiatives in general are discussed.

L’éducation relative à l’environnement (ERE) et l’éthique relèvent d’une démarche visant à la responsabilisation. Cette étude propose de répondre aux questions suivantes : Comment peut-on définir, sur le plan psychologique, l’objectif de responsabilité ? Comment évaluer si l’objectif est atteint ? Notre modèle théorique est inspiré des travaux d’Harold Searles, à partir desquels nous définissons trois attitudes types vis-à-vis de l’environnement non humain (ENH) : l’apparentement (A) avec l’ENH, attitude postulée responsable, la fusion (F) et la coupure (C) affectives avec l’ENH, lesquelles entraveraient le développement d’un comportement responsable envers l’environnement. Un outil psychométrique préliminaire (questionnaire AFC) permet de mesurer ces trois attitudes. Dans le cadre d’un programme de recherche européen, il a été soumis à des enseignants, conjointement à un autre questionnaire, permettant d’évaluer l’adoption d’une posture éthique. Nous analysons ici les corrélations entre les mesures issues des deux questionnaires et en discutons les portées et limites pour l’évaluation de l’ERE. Environmental education and ethics rely on a common process which focuses on developing responsibility. In this study, we propose to answer the following questions : From a psychological point of view, how can we define the aim of responsibility ? How can we evaluate if its goal is reached ? Our theoretical model is inspired by Harold Searles’ studies. We define three environmental attitudes : relatedness towards the non human environment (NHE), which is postulated to correspond to a responsible attitude, affective fusion and affective break towards the NHE, both of which would prevent the development of a responsible behaviour towards the environment. A preliminary psychometric tool, in the form of a questionnaire, is used to measure these three attitudes. Within a European research program, this preliminary tool and another questionnaire to evaluate the adoption of an ethical posture were submitted to teachers. This article presents our analysis of the correlations between the attitudes measured through both questionnaires and discusses their significance and limits with regards to evaluating environmental education.

International audience; We investigated how teachers' attitudes on GMO in 30 countries relate to two Major Environmental values of Preservation and Utilization. Participating teachers (N = 10651) filled in a questionnaire including items on Preservation-and Utilization-related values (Major Environmental Values, 2-MEV model), and on attitudes to GMO. We analyzed the responses using Exploratory Factor Analysis, and investigated the structure of attitudes based on the multivariate structure. The study confirmed the bi-dimensional nature of the 2-MEV model. The GMO items formed an independent third dimension, although several Pro-GMO attitudes were related to Utilization values. We also found variation of attitudes among countries, plausibly reflecting the influence of different socioeconomic and cultural contexts. The results indicate that attitudes and reasoning on sensitive socio-scientific issues such as GMO relate partly to the basic Environmental values of Preservation and Utilization, and partly to pro or anti-GMO attitudes. 2

When monitoring the long history of empirical instruments for environmental attitude measurement, the Two Major Environmental Value model (2-MEV) with its two higher order factors: Preservation (PRE) and Utilization (UTL) has repeatedly and independently been confirmed. PRE assesses preferences towards conservation of nature and the environment, whilst UTL measures preferences towards utilization/exploitation of nature. The latter, however, does not yet include the positive aspects of benefitting from the (enjoyable) use of nature. Consequently, besides the established 2-MEV-battery, additional items from an “Appreciation of Nature” (APR) scale were applied to an Irish sample of 289 secondary school students (age: M = 14.3 years). Responses to the altogether 30-item battery were applied on an oblique rotation by using the Promax procedure: UTL and PRE appeared as orthogonally related factors, APR correlated to PRE with 0.283. Based on loading scores, the item number for each subscale was further reduced to make the analysis more manageable in educational outreach sites; on those sites, where completing questionnaires may well be quite unpopular, they are very much needed for planning and fine-tuning educational programs. Therefore, extending the 2-MEV scale with an added scale for Appreciation may help: (i) to judge participants’ feedback for adjusting/balancing program contents better; and (ii) to promote appreciation as a successful strategy for shifting individuals away from their individual exploitative preferences.

The concepts of 340 university freshmen concerning urban water cycles include various misconceptions (or intuitive conceptions) which severely contrast with correct scientific ones. Almost no student knew the correct urban water cycle in total, including cycle steps in the appropriate sequence: consumer (given), sewage-plant, nature and waterworks. Concepts mainly omit nature and waterworks, only the sewage plant is included in almost all concepts. This reflects an exaggeration of the importance of the cycle-step sewage plant relative to the other steps, when the topic is taught in school. Students acquired knowledge from two main sources: School and media. Most students are aware of the origin of drinking water, although several concepts reflect a pipe-to-pipe system, where wastewater is cleared in sewage plants and brought back to consumers, skipping the roles of nature and waterworks. Everyday matters with an important impact on our life-standards, like the urban water cycle, need specific attention during school time. Currently, only primary school syllabi include the issue of urban water cycles in Germany. More effort is needed to explain wastewater and drinking water issues in order to correct misconceptions.

Creativity is a broad and complex construct, difficult to define and to quantify, assumed to introduce new impulses into science education (STEM), and leading to better acceptance of science by ado...

The concepts of 340 university freshmen concerning urban water cycles include various misconceptions (or intuitive conceptions) which severely contrast with correct scientific ones. Almost no student knew the correct urban water cycle in total, including cycle steps in the appropriate sequence: consumer (given), sewage-plant, nature and waterworks. Concepts mainly omit nature and waterworks, only the sewage plant is included in almost all concepts. This reflects an exaggeration of the importance of the cycle-step sewage plant relative to the other steps, when the topic is taught in school. Students acquired knowledge from two main sources: School and media. Most students are aware of the origin of drinking water, although several concepts reflect a pipe-to-pipe system, where wastewater is cleared in sewage plants and brought back to consumers, skipping the roles of nature and waterworks. Everyday matters with an important impact on our life-standards, like the urban water cycle, need specific attention during school time. Currently, only primary school syllabi include the issue of urban water cycles in Germany. More effort is needed to explain wastewater and drinking water issues in order to correct misconceptions.

As non-scientific conceptions interfere with learning processes, teachers need both, to know about them and to address them in their classrooms. For our study, based on 182 eleventh graders, we analyzed the level of conceptual understanding by implementing the "draw and write" technique during a computer-supported gene technology module. To give participants the hierarchical organizational level which they have to draw, was a specific feature of our study. We introduced two objective category systems for analyzing drawings and inscriptions. Our results indicated a long- as well as a short-term increase in the level of conceptual understanding and in the number of drawn elements and their grades concerning the DNA structure. Consequently, we regard the "draw and write" technique as a tool for a teacher to get to know students' alternative conceptions. Furthermore, our study points the modification potential of hands-on and computer-supported learning modules.

How pre-service teachers (PST) develop pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) during science teacher education is an open research question. Our teacher education module, theoretically based on PCK, specifically combines biology PSTs’ education with high school students’ biology education and includes an innovative role change approach. Altogether, 41 PSTs each participated in three subsequent module days with students (N = 823) from 50 classes. The module’s content dealt with the syllabus topic Genetic Fingerprinting. During participation, the PSTs changed their role by assuming a student’s role on the first day, a tutor’s role on the second day, and a teacher’s role on the third day. By quasi-experimentally administering pre- and delayed posttests, we qualitatively monitored, then content-analytically categorized, and finally quantitatively analyzed three specific PCK components. In contrast to a control group (which did not participate in the module), our treatment preferentially changed the PSTs’ orientations toward teaching biology to a more student-centered orientation (both intra- and inter-group differences with medium effect sizes). Additionally, the PSTs who participated in the three modules days differed before and after module participation in how they addressed potential student learning difficulties and identified potential instructional strategies for avoiding these difficulties. The changes in these PCK components point to a step-by-step development of the PSTs’ PCK. In this process, our participating PSTs assessed the importance of their three roles on the 3 days quite differently; most notably, we found one relationship between the teacher role and the PSTs’ student-centeredness. We specifically discuss the potential and importance of our role change approach within science teacher education.

The 2-MEV model is a widely used tool to monitor children's environmental perception by scoring individual values. Although the scale's validity has been confirmed repeatedly and independently as well as the scale is in usage within more than two dozen language units all over the world, longitudinal properties still need clarification. The purpose of the present study therefore was to validate the 2-MEV scale based on a large data basis of 10,676 children collected over an eight-year period. Cohorts of three different US states contributed to the sample by responding to a paper-and-pencil questionnaire within their pre-test initiatives in the context of field center programs. Since we used only the pre-program 2-MEV scale results (which is before participation in education programs), the data were clearly unspoiled by any follow-up interventions. The purpose of analysis was fourfold: First, to test and confirm the hypothesized factorized structure for the large data set and for the subsample of each of th...

During the last 10 years, outreach science laboratories have become increasingly popular due to resource and time limitations in schools. Outreach laboratories offer hands-on projects in a situated and authentic learning setting, thereby promoting the development of students’ scientific literacy. However, students’ cognitive achievement within this context is still a subject of study. The aim of our outreach-lab study was twofold: first, we investigated the influence of students’ motivation to learn science on their cognitive achievement. Second, we examined possible gender differences with respect to achievement, cognitive load, and instructional efficiency. We conducted an educational intervention on plant genetic engineering with Bavarian 10th graders (N = 197) in an outreach laboratory. We applied a pre–post design with a follow-up test monitoring students’ motivation to learn science, their cognitive achievement, and cognitive load. The last two variables were combined in the calculation of instructi...

Authentic activities in school are rare although they probably lead to longer lasting learning. In our study, 185 fifth to seventh graders participated in an out-of-classroom lesson at a major water supply institution. After an introductory film presentation, participants proceeded to authentic learning sites with the major machinery involved in water purification. We monitored participants’ environmental attitudes (using 2-MEV scale), newly acquired knowledge, and responses to semantic-differential-items. While knowledge and the value of Preservation correlated significantly with cognitive learning achievement levels, the one of (exploitative) Utilisation did not, neither short- nor long-term. Selected semantic-differential-items such as ‘easy to understand’ and ‘motivating’ showed positive correlation with acquired knowledge levels. The relevance for school is discussed.

One aim of environmental education is fostering sustainable environmental action. Some environmental behaviour models suggest that this can be accomplished in part by improving people's knowledge. Recent studies have identified a distinct, psychometrically supported environmental knowledge structure consisting of system, action-related and effectiveness knowledge. Besides system knowledge, which is most often the focus of such studies, incorporating the other knowledge dimensions into these dimensions was suggested to enhance effectiveness. Our study is among the first to implement these dimensions together in an educational campaign and to use these dimensions to evaluate the effectiveness of a programme on water issues. We designed a four-day environmental education programme on water issues for students at an educational field centre. We applied a newly developed multiple-choice instrument using a pre-, post-, retention test design. The knowledge scales were calibrated with the Rasch model. In addition...

Science is supposed to raise and support young children"s interest as early as possible, at the latest at the beginning of secondary school. Our empirical study monitored individual motivation levels towards science of 6th graders by applying established measures to 324 students (age M=12.2 years, 189 girls, 135 boys). The first empirical measure consisted of the Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ), the second of the Technology Questionnaire (TQ). Our lesson consisted of a student-centered outreach module about bionics within a zoological garden in combination with related exhibition. Measurement was conducted two weeks before (T0), directly after (T1) and six weeks (T2) after program participation. The factor structure of the SMQ-II we obtained showed a major difference to the published structure: our young sample couldn"t differentiate between intrinsic motivation (IM) and self-efficacy (SE). Moreover, the expected two subscales merged into one which we labelled self-confidence (SC). The other subscale “grade motivation” followed the expected factor structure of the original scale. While this latter subscale was unaffected by our intervention, the sub-scale SC peaked directly after program participation, but unfortunately did not sustain this shift over a six week time period. There were no gender differences at any testing point. Science motivation correlated at a low level with technology interest but failed to correlate with social implications of technology.

Clean drinking water, our most important resource, needs comprehensive protection. Due to its ubiquitous availability, the awareness of the importance of clean drinking water has partially vanished. Therefore, sensitizing within this context and improving individual ecological behavior has become an important issue in science curricula. We developed a student-centered guided-learning module based on nine workstations, with the themes: occurrence rates, purification methods, cleaning guidelines, distribution patterns, use and consumption, pollution, problems, types of drinking water and virtual water. One hundred and seventy four ninth to eleventh graders participated in our outreach intervention. All tasks presented via workstations were completed before participants inspected a nearby reed sewage treatment plant and completed hands-on experiments. For empirical analyses, we collected the newly acquired knowledge in three dimensions: system-knowledge, action-related knowledge and effectiveness knowledge, which together are assumed to provide a sufficient basis for conservation behavior. System knowledge directly affects action-related and effectiveness knowledge and these two types of knowledge, in turn, affect directly the ecological behavior. At all three test schedules, the three dimensions of knowledge correlated with each other, especially in both follow-up tests. The relevance of these results for schools is discussed.

Introduction Attitude toward nature and attitude toward environmental protection are two separate but correlated attitudes. Little is known about the two attitudes’ stability/volatility over time, despite the practical value of such knowledge. Objectives & method Using longitudinal survey data from 251 adults in a cross-lagged structural equation model, we assessed the degree of spontaneous (i.e., unprompted) change in the two attitudes. We also considered whether such change could provide evidence regarding causal direction; causation could go in either of two directions between the two attitudes, or it could even be bi-directional. Results We corroborated the substantive connection between attitude toward nature and attitude toward environmental protection; however, the absence of change in the attitudes despite the passage of two years disallows reliable statements about causal direction. Conclusion It is possible to protect the environment by encouraging appreciation of nature, but change in attitude toward nature and attitude toward environmental protection may be difficult to achieve with mature individuals.