Science Education Research Research Articles

Addressing Missing Data Due to COVID-19: Two Early Childhood Case Studies

One part of COVID-19’s staggering impact on education has been to suspend or fundamentally alter ongoing education research projects. This article addresses how to analyze the simple but fundamental example of a multi-cohort study in which student assessment data for the final cohort are missing because schools were closed, learning was virtual, and/or assessments were canceled or inconsistently ­collected due to COVID-19. We argue that current best-practice recommendations for addressing missing data may fall short in such studies because the assumptions that underpin these recommendations are violated. We then provide a new, simple decision-making framework for empirical researchers facing this situation and provide two empirical examples of how to apply this framework drawn from early childhood studies, one a cluster randomized trial and the other a descriptive longitudinal study. Based on this framework and the assumptions required to address missing data, we advise against the standard recommendation of adjusting for missing outcomes (e.g., via imputation or weighting). Instead, we generally recommend changing the target quantity by restricting to fully observed cohorts or by pivoting to focusing on an alternative outcome.

Research in Psychiatry Medical Education through "MUST Enrich Grant": A Scoping Review.

The Indian Teachers of Psychiatry (IToP) forum introduced a unique research grant scheme- IToP-MUST (Minds United Scholarship for Teachers) Enrich Research Grant- for conducting research in psychiatry education. This scoping review's objectives are to (a) assess the research areas and methodologies of MUST Enrich grant-supported research, (b) identify strengths and limitations of these research works, and (c) inform the researchers and funding agency concerning robust methodologies and study areas that can be considered in the future. We included all MUST-funded original educational research projects from their inception (2020) to the present, which were either published or, although unpublished, available in the public domain. Eleven research projects were identified. Most awardees were junior academic faculty members (n = 9, 82%). Eight (73%) studies were related to Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) and were based on teaching-learning (TL) or related methods under the CBME framework, focusing on newer TL methods. Seven of eight (88%) were based on undergraduate TL. Most (n = 8, 73%) of the studies had an observational cross-sectional design, whereas the rest were interventional studies. Almost all were quantitative studies (n = 10, 91%). The prime themes of the research were students' and teachers' perspectives on the study topic, innovations in psychiatry TL, and their educational impact. This review's findings will inform funders and researchers about future research areas and help formulate robust methodologies. Other funders must earmark their funding for educational research to grow this field.

Key Issues on Research in Science Education by Up-And-Coming Young Researchers

Key Issues on Research in Science Education by Up-And-Coming Young Researchers

Student judges’ criteria for evaluating classmate pre-service chemistry teachers’ arguments developed in a remote simulated jury activity

ABSTRACT Although research has studied argumentation in science learning, it is necessary to understand the criteria teachers and students apply to evaluate arguments in the context of classroom production. Researchers have employed Toulmin's argument pattern as the preferred model to analyze arguments. However, the model is unfeasible for people to evaluate arguments while arguing or immediately after the discussion. This study explored the criteria two student judges applied to evaluate classmate pre-service chemistry teachers' arguments developed in a remote simulated jury. We applied a multi-level method for discourse analysis, affording key findings: (1) Student judges developed a symmetrical shared-built explanation, an unprecedented finding as discourse analysts consider asymmetry an inherent feature of explanations; (2) They applied diverse criteria to evaluate the arguments; (3) Evaluation activity was accomplished through interactive-explanation-related discursive procedures, such as informing about issues related to the evaluations; asking for confirmation and clarification; presenting arguments developed and silenced in the simulated jury. Implications include a set of exemplary criteria for teachers to evaluate students' arguments and instruct them on how to evaluate arguments. In conclusion, we discuss the relevance of the findings and the multi-level method for the science education research community, providing new ways to analyze instructional discourse.

Introducing the Research Design of Phenomenography

This article introduces the lesser known qualitative research design of phenomenography to medical science and health professions education researchers. Phenomenography, as distinct from phenomenology, seeks to describe and organise the different ways people experience and understand a phenomenon. Here, the origins and philosophical underpinnings of phenomenography are briefly shared, and an outline of how a phenomenographic research study may be undertaken is presented. This includes data collection tools, analytic method, and examples from the field. Overall, phenomenography is valuable for better understanding the varied experiences of students, educators, practitioners, and patients, with implications for pedagogy, practice, and related outcomes.

From founding voices to future visions: languages and literacies in science education

ABSTRACT Over the past decades, languages and literacies have become a prominent focus in science education research and practice. While there is broad consensus on the central roles of disciplinary, representational, and cultural languages and their associated literacies in learning and teaching science, the field faces a critical moment. An ever-growing number of new theoretical and methodological perspectives have revealed rich facets of the multilingual and multimodal nature of learning processes in science. These developments prompt us to reflect on the distinct identity and impact of languages and literacies on the contemporary discourse in science education, especially in light of technological innovations (e.g. large-language models) and societal developments (e.g. multilingual contexts). This position paper offers an opportunity to assess the field's past developments and future directions, building on a recent meeting of the Special Interest Group (SIG) on Languages and Literacies in Science Education under the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA). We present viewpoints from four founding members of the SIG, discussing current trends, challenges, and visions for the future. Ultimately, this paper invites our global community to engage in informed dialogues on the role and value of languages and literacies in science education today.

Thinking About Rural Education and Binary Logic

Although definitions of rural vary across educational research projects and from country to country, an enduring theme has been the framing of rural as a disadvantage or problem that sits alongside a view of the urban as normative. In questioning the urban/rural binary and the deficit discourses that are associated with it, the authors present four short data excerpts and their thinking about how they represent rural education in their research. They conclude that the telling of positives stories about rural education is a move towards changing the discourses that circulate.

Reliability Analysis of Psychological Measures Related to STEM Persistence in Undergraduate Students at a Hispanic Serving Institution

ABSTRACT Research suggests that psychological factors are related to persistence in science, especially for underrepresented students; however, most psychological instruments have been validated through studies conducted at predominately White institutions. In the current study, we report reliability estimates for measures of science identity, science motivation, and science self-efficacy with a sample of undergraduate college students from a Hispanic Serving Institution (N = 309). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were estimated with Cronbach’s alpha and intra-class correlation coefficients, respectively. We report Cronbach's alpha values separately for male (N = 152), female (N = 152), Hispanic (N = 111), and White (N = 115) students. We also examined whether there were statistically significant differences in the Cronbach’s alpha values between these groups. The results demonstrated good to excellent reliability estimates for internal consistency (α ranged from .89 to .96) and test-retest reliability (ICC ranged from .76 to .80) for all groups. There were no significant differences in Cronbach’s alpha values between students identifying as male versus female or between Hispanic and White identifying students. We conclude by urging science education researchers to examine, report, and interpret reliability estimates for their measures for each dataset.

“I really got to think about my background, their background, and how do we come together on something?”: One emergent mathematics teacher leader's reflexive journey with Social Justice Mathematics

AbstractThis 2‐year qualitative case study focuses on one emergent mathematics teacher leader, Mr. Miller, and his conceptualization of Social Justice Mathematics (SJM). SJM is a justice‐oriented pedagogical approach where students simultaneously learn dominant mathematics and explore social injustices to take action toward justice. Using Rodriguez's (Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1998, 35, 589–622) sociotransformative constructivism framework, findings illuminate how dialogic conversation, authentic activity, and metacognition supported Mr. Miller's reflexivity about his positionality, which he described as “upper middle class, highly educated parents, white, male,” in relationship to his students' positionality. He taught in a public charter high school in an urban city in the Northeast United States, where approximately 60% of students identified as Black, 30% white, 10% mixed race, 1% Asian American, 1% Latine, and less than 1% Indigenous, with 60% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. The article discusses of the importance of reflexivity for teachers and teacher leaders of all backgrounds, and especially when educators of dominant backgrounds work with students of historically marginalized backgrounds. The article calls for further research with more experienced mathematics teacher leaders of various backgrounds and contexts to further investigate justice‐centered mathematics teacher leadership.

Intrinsic and instrumental care in pen pal letters: Recognizing care in STEM classrooms

AbstractStudies of both professional science practice and children's science learning show that care is not merely ancillary to disciplinary work but a core and generative constituent of science practice. In science education research, however, students' care is often overlooked. In this paper, we describe the expression of care across two STEM classrooms (6th and 9th grade) studying biology and ecology and participating in a pen pal exchange. We analyze artifacts from the pen pal exchange as well as students' retrospective interviews and written reflections. Two ways of expressing care surfaced in students' letters: caring for guppies and caring for pen pals. We describe each form of care using examples from our data. We find that students' care for guppies and pen pals was both instrumental (in service of their investigations) and intrinsic (positioning guppies and pen pals as inherently valuable). We then connect these findings to studies of care in children's science learning and in professional science. We discuss methodological and practical implications for recognizing and analyzing how students' care manifests in classrooms and for designing learning activities that cultivate care.

Teaching Socioscientific Issues: A Systematic Review

AbstractTo provide a comprehensive picture of socioscientific issues (SSI) pedagogy in primary and secondary school contexts, we present a systematic review of research on how SSI in science education practice is characterized in studies of teaching and learning from 1997 to 2021. The review addresses the identified need for guidance on SSI teaching as experienced by practicing teachers. The aim of the study is to define and describe how SSI as a pedagogical approach is characterized in studies of teaching and learning in science education research. From a sample of 5183 peer-reviewed articles, 157 were selected for the data extraction and systematic review process. The result is structured around teaching objectives, teaching topics, and teaching methods. Our findings show that much of the research revolves around the development of students’ higher-order thinking skills and science content knowledge. The topics identified fall mainly within two themes: the environment and sustainable development, and health and technology. Group discussions stand out as the primary teaching method. The findings are discussed in the light of previous reviews, and recommendations for future research are suggested.

EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF HISTORY OF SCIENCE TEACHING ON SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE OF SCIENCE CONCEPTS, AND ATTITUDES TOWARD SCIENCE

Although integrating the history of science (HOS) into teaching has long been recommended in science education research, studies have revealed conflicting results on its effectiveness. These are mainly due to the need for more studies in this context. Therefore, this research aimed to explore the impact of HOS teaching on science process skills, knowledge of science concepts, and attitudes toward science. In this research, a quasi-experimental research design was employed. The HOS was contextualized into the topic of the circulatory system. Two intact classes were chosen as the experimental group (EG) and the two others as the control group (CG). The EG students were involved in HOS activities during the treatment, while the CG students followed the curriculum-driven activities. The findings indicated that the impact of HOS education was evident, as students in the EG outperformed those in the CG in retaining knowledge of science concepts and demonstrating positive attitudes towards science. However, HOS education and curriculum-driven instruction have similarly impacted the development of science process skills. These results support the conceptual premise that HOS teaching is an alternative and a worthy way of supporting students’ scientific literacy. Keywords: attitudes toward science, experimental research, history of science teaching, science education, subject matter knowledge

Computational thinking through the lens of biological evolution learning: enhancing understanding through the levels of biological organization and computational complexity

Research on exploring the relationship between computational thinking and domain specific knowledge gains (i.e. biological evolution) are becoming more common in science education research. The mechanisms behind these relationships are not well understood, particularly between computational practices and biological evolution content knowledge. Increased computational complexity (i.e. simple to complex) may support a greater comprehension of scales or levels of biological organization (i.e. micro to macro) within the context of biological evolution learning. We made use of quantitative methods from qualitative work in the form of coding and relational analysis to identify which biological levels of organization students addressed, how students made connections between these levels and the level of computational complexity displayed during evolution learning with the use of two computational interventions. The aim of this study was not only exploring the biological levels and biological level connections made during the computational thinking interventions, but also analysis of the differences between these two interventions. The results illuminated that use of specific biological levels, biological level connections and differences in computational complexity were distinguishable and there were significant differences between the interventions. These factors may contribute to better understanding of biological evolution knowledge gains.

Dreaming of disability‐as‐possibility as a humanistic STEM education futurity

AbstractI Dream with and through a positionality that lacks critical theorizing in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education research: Students labeled with disabilities; Disability beyond students’ accommodations. Understanding this marginalized population can push humanistic STEM scholarship to disrupt ableism by design, thereby honoring students’ voices, identities, and Dreams as knowledge‐building sources. Engaging purposefully along such a proactive centering of these margins pushes STEM researchers to think beyond past challenges and break away from the free‐market value commoditizations of education. I urge we Dream future possibilities of humanistic STEM education where researchers, teachers, and students are aligned to build new cultures of joy and feelings of relational belonging. In this way I seek to nurture the brilliance of students who are historically marginalized, including Disabled people, because of a desire to define their studenthood on their own terms. I argue that STEM education researchers working toward “what if” leveraging intersectionality as a way to critically theorize design can do more than change disciplinary practices: We can help students to Dream beyond “what is.”

Queere Un/Sichtbarkeiten im Feld der Schule Einblicke in aktuelle Studien zu den Erfahrungen und Herausforderungen schwuler Schüler und Lehrer

In this article, we concentrate on the current experiences of gay students and teachers and the challenges they face. Drawing on the results of two educational research projects (Jansen i. E. and Mallwitz i. E.), our focus is less on the reconstruction of rigid forms of heteronormativity. Rather, we base our analysis on the concept of post-heteronormativity (Klenk 2023) – a queer theoretical perspective on social transformation processes in the field of gender and sexuality – and are thus able to trace the subtle experiences of in/visibility and moments of silencing sexual diversity in everyday school life.

One health in the Arctic – connections and actions

ABSTRACT There is growing awareness and recognition of the importance of the One Health paradigm to address existing environmental threats and recognise emerging ones at an early stage among Arctic residents, public health agencies, and wildlife resource managers. The One Health approach, emphasising the interconnectedness of human, animal, and ecosystem health, plays a pivotal role in addressing these multifaceted issues. Warming climate and permafrost thaw may influence both contaminant exposure and the spread of zoonotic infectious diseases and have impacts on water and food security. Migration from rural regions to larger communities and urban centres along with increased tourism may be accompanied by changes in exposure to contaminants and zoonotic diseases. Universities have developed educational programmes and research projects on One Health in the Arctic, and under the Arctic Council there is running a project of One Arctic, One Health. These arctivities have produced interdisciplinary information and practical solutions for local communities, decision-makers, and in scientific forums. There is a need for epidemiological zoonotic/human disease models, as well as new approaches to integrate existing and future surveillance data to climatic and environmental data. This requires not only regional and international collaboration but also multi-agency and transdisciplinary research.

The ideal versus the real: Mismatches in reading instruction for emergent bilinguals in secondary science classrooms

AbstractThe emphasis on language and literacy in science education research has urged science teachers to include reading as an integral part of learning science. However, in US secondary schools, the percentage of students reading under grade level is high, and emergent bilinguals (EBs) are significantly represented among this group. While researchers across disciplines have proposed a number of prescriptive reading practices in science classrooms tightly aligned with instructional standards, few scholars have closely examined the starting point of reading instruction in science classrooms, and even fewer have focused on actual instruction for EBs in these classrooms. This study examines the nature of existing reading practices in science classrooms, with a particular focus on EBs. Using a qualitative multiple case study method, this study found significant mismatches between actual classroom practices and the ideal prescriptions about science reading instruction portrayed in educational standards and research. This study also found that teachers were battling numerous obstacles to implementing research/standards‐based prescriptions. With the implications of science reading instruction for EBs' language and science content learning, this article will contribute to developing reading instruction and practices grounded in real classrooms and improving the instructional environment for reading‐inclusive science classrooms.

A meeting place for meaningful collaboration – student teachers’ experiences and learning

ABSTRACT Background Internationally, teacher education usually involves close school-university cooperation. In Norway, such collaboration includes enabling student teachers to develop into researching teachers. In this article, our interest lies in how the Change Laboratory (CL), a form of participatory workshop, can lay the foundation for three-way collaboration between student teachers, teacher educators, and practice teachers, in terms of resolving practice issues and facilitating student teachers’ research planning. Purpose The study, contextualised within cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), sought to better understand student teachers’ experiences and learning gleaned from collaboration in the CL. Method Eight student teachers participated in the research, which was carried out over a four-year teacher education research and development project involving one university and one primary school. During this time, the student teachers met in the CL with the teacher educators from the university, and the practice teachers, who were working as mentors in the training schools. The data collected, comprising presentations and dialogues from the CL sessions, were analysed qualitatively. Findings According to the analysis, the student teachers thought that their CL experiences had supported them along the trajectory of becoming reflective, professionally oriented practitioners. They felt that, through participatory meetings with the teacher educators and practice teachers, they had developed in-depth subject knowledge; learned to collaborate; learned about school development; and learned how to be well prepared for the profession they were entering. In addition, they considered whether the project could be expanded to the entire teacher education system. Conclusions The findings draw broader attention to the role of participatory meeting places in creating a community of trust, and their potential to support teachers’ learning at crucial stages of their professional journeys, from early career phases and beyond.

VSEMERA: pilot project assessing health profession students’ experiences in an international virtual research program

BackgroundThe “Virtual Semester for Medical Research Aachen” (vSEMERA) is an international, interdisciplinary, virtual education program developed for health profession students. The first edition (2021) was hosted by the Medical Faculty of RWTH Aachen University (Germany) in cooperation with Centro Universitário Christus (Brazil) and Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Peru). The primary aim of the 12-weeks program was to provide students with skills in health science research and prepare them for scientific career paths.MethodsvSEMERA was built on a virtual learning platform, the “vSEMERA-Campus”, designed to foster students’ learning process and social interactions. Maximum flexibility was offered through synchronous and asynchronous teaching, enabling participants to join via any device from any part of the Globe alongside their regular studies. For the program’s first edition (September - November 2021), health profession students from Germany, Brazil, Peru, Spain, and Italy filled all 30 available spots. Satisfaction, quality of the program and courses offered, as well as perceived learning outcomes, were examined using questionnaires throughout and at the end of the program.ResultsThe program received a rating of 4.38 out of 5 stars. While it met most expectations (4.29 out of 5), participants were unable to attend as many courses as intended (2.81 out of 5), mainly due to scheduling conflicts with the home university schedule (46%), internships (23%), and general timing issues (31%). Participants acknowledged considerable improvements in their scientific skills, English language skills, confidence in scientific project management, research career progression, and enthusiasm for a scientific career.ConclusionsvSEMERA represents a promising example of an online international learning and exchange program using pedagogical and technological elements of virtual collaboration and teaching. In addition to advancing future vSEMERA editions, our results may offer insights for similar projects that address the targeted integration of scientific research education into an international, digital learning environment.

Interpretation With/Through/Toward Intersectionality: Difficulties and Opportunities

This article discusses difficulties and opportunities in working with/through/towards intersectionality, which we illustrate using work conducted during our interpretive workshop. Speaking from the perspective of emerging researchers in educational science and teacher education, we are united by our critical examination of research in and about relations of inequality, whereby intersectionality represents an important point of reference as a sensitizing concept for theory and practice. However, the concrete discussion and use of the concept of intersectionality raised many questions.