One aim of science teaching is to prepare students for civic reasoning about socioscientific issues. This study analyses student conversations about socioscientific issues organised with inspiration from Harkness-teaching. Conversations were based on students’ own questions and focused on collaborative exploration. Categories were constructed to describe how students practiced the model of conversation and what content they applied as frames of references in meaning making. The results show that the students engaged in explorative discourse, where it was possible to invite each other, be open with one’s uncertainty and to introduce new perspectives. Alongside science, social science and ethics, students used historical and international perspectives, perspectives of other humans, general opinions and personal experiences as frames of reference. The categories were employed to interpret conversations in terms of Bildung, suggesting that the conversations could instantiate Bildung-oriented teaching in practice.

This study aims to develop knowledge about student preschool teachers’ knowledge development of science and science teaching during their preschool teacher education. The data material consists of a web-based questionnaire with multiple-choice and open-ended questions. 183 students have participated in a cross-sectional study of students in semesters one, five and seven of a preschool teacher education programme. The analysis shows that a positive attitude dominates the students' views of science and that their self-confidence about science subjects and science teaching increases over time. The results from the two open-ended questions about the student´s experiences of science teaching in relation to thematic teaching and their education show a great variety. Reasons why science can be perceived as difficult for them to teach are indicated, but at the same time, awareness of ways to shape science teaching emerges. The consequences of the results for preschool teacher education are discussed.

The article examines the continuity of non-disciplinary experience, predisciplinary exploration, disciplinary teaching of the subjects, and the facilitation of interdisciplinary cooperation and learning. My argument circles the question of what it implies for science students to explore phenomena in their predisciplinary appearance. I discuss two efforts that both have distinct predisciplinary features: world-oriented education and phenomenon-based science education. The educational intention of predisciplinarity is to show the school subjects’ origin in the world, and to establish a world-related foundation for interdisciplinary work. Interdisciplinary cooperation can be improved by allowing students and teachers to start in the world before it is transformed into subjects. I describe four stages of phenomenological inquiry with a predisciplinary intention: sensing with an open mind, choosing a phenomenon, facilitating disciplinary teaching, and facilitating interdisciplinary teaching. Predisciplinary teaching requires the science educator broad knowledge, a curious mind, and an embodied experience of unfolding the teaching potential of the place.

Det fysiske miljøet i barnehagane, inkludert materiell som barna har tilgang på, er ein strukturell kvalitetsindikator for barnehagar og er med på å forme kva leik og læring som barna vert engasjert i. Kva naturfagmateriell som finst, og i kva grad det er tilgjengeleg for barna i barnehagar påverkar leik- og læringspotensialet innan fagområdet Natur, miljø og teknologi, som er eit fagområde i den norske rammeplanen for barnehagar. Som ein del av Språksterk 1-6 prosjektet svarte 81 pedagogiske leiarar i barnehagar i levekårsutsette bydelar i Oslo på kva naturfagmateriell som fantes i små- og storbarnsavdelingar i barnehagane og kva av materiellet som var tilgjengeleg for barna. Jamvel om plastleiker og byggjemateriell som nyttast i konstruksjonsleik fanst og var tilgjengeleg for barna i dei fleste barnehagane, varierte både tilfang av- og tilgang på naturfagmateriell stort mellom barnehagane. Det var få signifikante skilnadar mellom stor- og småbarnsavdelingar i tilfang på naturfagmateriell, men det var meir utilgjengeleg materiell på småbarnsavdelingane.

Bringing new approaches to science teaching such as interdisciplinary, problem-based teaching into schools has proved a slow and difficult process. One of the means to bring about the change is through teacher education. This study is a qualitative study inspired by constructivist Grounded Theory which explores how four new teachers educated from programmes with an explicit focus on changing science teaching in schools, experience the transition from being a teacher student to being a teacher. The study found that new teachers were able to transfer approaches to science teaching from education to profession in the cases where 1) their teaching profile gave them the flexibility to plan interdisciplinary science teaching, 2) education and discourse in the schools aligned, 3) they were supported by management and 4) they experienced support in a community of practice with people they had studied with.

Gifted students need complexity in technology education. In response, this article aims to present a framework for analyzing complexity in technology education activities (AKTA), which can be used to meet gifted students’ needs of complexity. The framework has been created by combining abilities (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create) with knowledge dimensions (factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge) and higher order thinking. Furthermore, the framework is applied to activities for lower secondary technology education to demonstrate its utility as an analytical tool. The framework is intended for use in discussing, planning, and developing technology education with a focus on gifted students’ needs.

This article responds to Dr. Jingoo Kang’s review of Effective and Equitable Teacher Practice in Mathematics and Science Education: A Nordic Perspective Across Time and Groups of Students (Teig et al., 2024). It clarifies and extends the discussion of equity in Nordic education. We address four main critiques: (1) the use of home language as a proxy for immigrant background, (2) the interpretation of teaching quality in high- and low-SES contexts, (3) the omission of gender as a dimension of equity, and (4) the neglect of non-cognitive outcomes. Our response explains the rationale behind these methodological choices while recognizing their limitations. We also point to future directions, including stronger attention to gender equity, greater focus on socio-emotional factors, and deeper examination of the challenges faced by disadvantaged schools. By engaging with these critiques, the article aims to foster ongoing dialogue on equity and effective teaching in Nordic mathematics and science education.

This study investigates the development of species knowledge among 7-12-year-old children who participated in a holiday activity, a beach school, at a marine public aquarium. The question "What could live in the environment in the picture even though you can't see it?" was asked as a pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test. We developed a method to assess the taxonomic quality of the answers. Animals were mentioned far more frequently than algae and plants. The most common answers were crab and fish. The activity increased both the quantity and taxonomic quality of children's species knowledge significantly. No differences were found between two- and three-day beach schools. The post-test showed that the children perceived the affordances that the aquariums and the beach environment offer. While beach schools can serve as a small step toward ocean literacy, additional efforts from both semiformal science institutions and schools are needed to reach more children.

Science teacher education must prepare pre-service teachers for a broad variety of teaching approaches to make science more relevant to students. Previous research has suggested fiction as one approach to a broader school science. This article describes and evaluates the experiences from a development project where a non-mandatory book-club project was implemented in science teacher education. Five upper secondary pre-service science teachers took part in the book club (1 year, 4 meetings). They read three books on various science topics and discussed how the books could be used in science teaching. They shared their experiences in a focus-group interview at the end of the book club project. The result from the interview is discussed from a didactic competence perspective. In conclusion, we argue that an incorporation of fiction in science teacher education must be accompanied by pre-service teachers’ didactic analysis of different choices for teaching, and the consequences of such choices for students’ learning and participation.