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One way of triggering students' interest in chemistry is making chemistry education more meaningful. Four characteristics of meaningful chemistry education (MCE) were identified in projects that involved a redesign of curriculum materials: daily life context, the need-to-know principle, students' input, and the macro--micro connection. Chemistry education has struggled with the implementation of meaningful learning. A possible solution might be the use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) in chemistry classrooms, a promising tool to support students' meaningful learning. IVR can be described as a computer simulation that provides an interactive simulated virtual environment, while the user wears a head mounted display and can experience immersion and presence in a virtual environment. The aim of this study was to explore features of IVR to support MCE at a secondary school level. A systematic literature search was done, experts were consulted, and animation- and 360°-IVR lessons were designed and tested in classrooms. Features that could support MCE found in both animation-IVR and 360°-IVR were: the application of the characteristics of MCE, the necessity of a storyboard, difficulties in realizing interactive visualization, and positive student experiences. These features can be used to design future IVR lessons to support MCE. Features needing careful consideration since they are different for 360°-IVR and animation-IVR are the need for a professional designer, the degree of interactivity, and classroom use with all students at the same time.

Research on teaching and learning quantum physics (QP) frequently explores students' conceptual difficulties to identify common patterns in their reasoning. The abstractness of QP is often found to be at the origin of students' conceptual difficulties. Due to this abstract nature students resort to common sense reasoning or classical thinking when they make meaning of QP phenomena. In this literature review, the 'abstractness' is closely investigated and nuanced to uncover what reasons for the abstractness students experience. Four reasons for students' conceptual difficulties can be categorised under the abstract nature of QP. These reasons are that students struggle a) to relate the mathematical formalism of QP to experiences in the physical world; b) to interpret counterintuitive QP phenomena and concepts; c) to transit from a deterministic to a probabilistic worldview; and d) to understand the limitations of language to express quantum phenomena, concepts, and objects. Combining these four reasons allows us to better understand the origin of conceptual difficulties in QP and why these difficulties persist over time. The implications of these findings for research and teaching practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shows that using authentic contexts for learning differential equations in a differentiation-by-interest setting can enhance students' beliefs about the relevance of mathematics. The students in this study were studying advanced mathematics (wiskunde D) at upper secondary school in the Netherlands. These students are often not aware of the relevance of the mathematics they have to learn in school. More insights into the application of mathematics in other sciences can be beneficial for these students in terms of preparation for their future study and career. A course differentiating by student interest with new context-rich curriculum materials was developed in order to enhance students' beliefs about the relevance of mathematics. The intervention aimed at teaching differential equations through guided small-group tasks in scientific, medical or economical contexts. The results show that students' beliefs about the relevance of mathematics improved, and they appreciated experiencing how the mathematics was applied in real-life situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forming a science-oriented identity is considered a process underlying both interest and achievement in science education. A questionnaire is developed for describing 'identities as learners' and evaluating their science orientedness. The instrument (k = 65) focuses on cognitive aspects. An internal coherence of .88 was found. Five subscales were defined that proved interrelated yet distinguishable. A pilot amongst 40 students from Dutch general secondary education showed that preferring science over non-science subjects and relatively high grades for sciences subjects were strongly correlated to science orientedness of the learner identity (rs = .65; p < .001). The results support the reliability and validity of the questionnaire but also point to the importance of identity as a central concept in studying science education. It is concluded that we made a promising step in constructing an instrument for monitoring the development of cognitive aspects of science-oriented identities during (innovative) science education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including affect and beliefs' in learning mathematics; and teaching and learning of undergraduate mathematics and statistics.

When visually impaired students attend regular high school, additional materials are necessary to help them understand physics concepts. The time for teachers to develop teaching materials for such students is scarce. Visually impaired students in regular high school physics classes often use a braille version of the physics textbook. Previously, we evaluated the physics learning environment of a blind high school student in a regular Dutch high school. In this research we evaluate the use of a revised braille textbook, relief drawings and 3D models. The research focussed on the topic of sound in grade 10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although visually impaired students attend regular high school, their enrolment in advanced science classes is dramatically low. In our research we evaluated the physics learning environment of a blind high school student in a regular Dutch high school. For visually impaired students to grasp physics concepts, time and additional materials to support the learning process are key. Time for teachers to develop teaching methods for such students is scarce. Suggestions for changes to the learning environment and of materials used are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]