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Các tiêu chuẩn giáo dục khoa học quốc gia nhấn mạnh việc giảng dạy các khái niệm và quy trình thống nhất như các chức năng cơ bản của sinh vật sống, môi trường sống và tỷ lệ (NRC 2011). Tỷ lệ bao gồm việc hiểu rằng các đặc điểm, thuộc tính hoặc mối quan hệ khác nhau trong một hệ thống có thể thay đổi khi kích thước của nó tăng lên hoặc giảm đi (NRC 2011). Một trong những mối quan hệ như vậy liên quan đến tỷ lệ diện tích bề mặt với thể tích, một khái niệm phổ biến có thể được tìm thấy trong các lĩnh vực khoa học khác nhau. Khái niệm này rất quan trọng để học sinh không chỉ hiểu được mối liên hệ giữa hai yếu tố, mà còn có khả năng áp dụng mối quan hệ này trong các ngữ cảnh khoa học khác nhau. Mục đích của nghiên cứu này là điều tra các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến việc hiểu các mối quan hệ giữa diện tích bề mặt và thể tích. Nghiên cứu này đã xem xét kỹ năng tư duy logic (bao gồm lý luận tỷ lệ), kỹ năng thị giác - không gian, và mức độ hiểu biết về các mối quan hệ giữa diện tích bề mặt và thể tích của học sinh trung học cơ sở, học sinh trung học phổ thông và giáo viên khoa học. Kết quả hồi quy cho thấy khả năng lý luận của các tham gia viên và các thành phần của kỹ năng thị giác - không gian có thể là những yếu tố dự đoán khả năng hiểu mối quan hệ giữa diện tích bề mặt và thể tích. Các hàm ý cho việc giảng dạy các khái niệm tỷ lệ như mối quan hệ giữa diện tích bề mặt và thể tích trong lớp học khoa học sẽ được thảo luận.

This paper describes a study of the influence of the Cognitive Acceleration through Science Education (CASE) programme on the scientific creativity of secondary school students. 1087 pupils from six suburban mixed comprehensive schools in England took part in the investigation. Three of the schools had participated in the CASE programme and three had not. Samples of students in years 7–11 from each school were given the Scientific Creativity Test for Secondary School Students, an instrument designed to tap various aspects of scientific creativity. The results indicated that the CASE programme did promote the overall development of scientific creativity of secondary school students, although the effects on different aspects of scientific creativity varied. As expected from previous work on delayed effects of CASE on academic achievement, the results indicated that the effects on creativity were not necessarily immediate, but tended to be long-lasting. Possible interpretations of these results are discussed.

The notion that technology is the application of science to the making of artefacts is a widely-held, persistent and influential view. Considerable scholarly work has been done during the past quarter century to refute it on the grounds that it is historically and ontologically inaccurate. It is a view which fails to recognise the contribution of non-scientific factors to technological development,which neglects the reverse contribution of technology to science, and which offers a superficial account of the process of application. This paper focusses on this last point, and argues that in those cases where science is applied to technology, the application process is usually exceedingly complex. The process involves the selection of appropriate knowledge, the adoption of differing criteria and the translation and re-shaping of knowledge to make it amenable to the technologist. The issue has important implications for the school curriculum.

Science education theory and reform call on elementary educators to provide authentic science learning experiences in a constructivist learning environment. The natural surroundings of the schoolyard offer an often undeveloped and/or undiscovered pedagogical tool that can help teachers meet these reform-based goals in science teaching. There is little research investigating the pedagogical development of teachers who use the schoolyard to teach. Understanding the framework of development of schoolyard pedagogy can help pre- and in-service teacher educators prepare effective elementary science teachers to take advantage of the teaching opportunities in the schoolyard. This manuscript constructs a framework of development of schoolyard pedagogy as described in the themes of experience across the professional life histories of elementary teachers who frequently use the schoolyard to teach. This framework can inform both pre- and in-service teacher educators who aim to support the development of a pedagogy that goes beyond the four walls of a classroom.

Despite the importance of evolution to understand biology, there is significant evidence that many biology teachers have difficulties to successfully teach this topic. The purpose of this study is to describe procedures by which a paper-and-pencil instrument to assess teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge for evolution (PCKevo) was developed and validated. The instrument was created to measure the components proposed in the model of Magnusson et al. (1999), except for the orientations. The creation of the questionnaire was carried out through eleven steps: (1) conceptualization, (2–4) creation of items and rubric reviewed by experts (focus on content and construct validity), (5–7) piloting a 32-item questionnaire to 10 biology teachers (focus on face and construct validity and reliability), (8–10) piloting a 16-item questionnaire to 61 biology teachers (focus on discriminant and construct validity and reliability), (11) application of a different instrument (CoRe interview) to four teachers (focus on criterion validity). The final version of the questionnaire (which includes three PCK components) showed in a Rasch analysis for the reliability of the items (α = 0.90) and persons (α = 0.81) adequate values. When applying the final version of the questionnaire, there is also evidence of discriminant validity (differences between two groups of teachers with or without professional development in evolution education). The contributions of the PCKevo instrument for research topics and evolution teaching are discussed.

First year students in geography, biology and chemistry indicate many similarities in their expectation of university courses. There are some interesting differences when categories of expectations are considered in isolation and when students are allowed to choose in the ‘final four’ expectations test. Expectations of geography are quite definitely science oriented if one assumes that a ‘practical’, ‘problem solving’ approach is inherently scientific. If these orientations are a consequence mainly of experience, and this would seem to be very likely, then one needs to consider carefully the appropriateness of these orientations. There are aspects of these results which should be of interest to curriculum developers and educators interested in a broad evaluation of student goals. Student's expectations emphasize knowledge, thinking skills, experimental work and related skills, as well as long term goals and attitudes. There is certainly an element of general balance which must be heartening to those who might have had doubts about the motivation of new university students. Students have expectations which indicate that they are aware of and presumably value all four categories of goals.