This paper describes the design of an educational module which aims to raise awareness and change the attitudes of elementary school students about focal endangered species in protected areas. The proposed design builds on, and extends the General Teaching Model. The educational module which was developed through this approach was pilot-tested in two Greek elementary school classes, involving 29 students who provided their opinion through a questionnaire. The results verify that the educational module had a significant effect on the cognitive level and the attitudes of the students. Therefore, it is argued that the proposed design approach can form the basis for the development of educational activities and strategies which can raise awareness and change the attitudes of elementary school students about the conservation of endangered species. It can also be used in non-formal educational settings, such as National Marine Parks.

This paper outlines the results of a collaborative effort between members of staff in the Departments of Life Sciences and Language, Linguistics and Philosophy, which involved the implementation of Writing Across the Curriculum strategies in an Ecology course. The lecturer for this course had expressed concerns regarding the poor quality of the laboratory reports presented and weak essays submitted by students. In order to enhance students' understanding of the content to be included in the report, and to improve expression of thought in writing, we agreed to 'treat' a sample of students selected from two laboratory groups by giving each group the other's lab report to read and to subsequently carry out the experiments described. Additionally a select group of students engaged in the planning, writing and revising of responses to past exam essay questions. Results showed that final exam grades for the ‘treated’ group and the writing group were significantly higher than their ‘non treated’ and ‘non writing’ counterparts. Feedback from students was generally positive. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Sociocognitive conflict has been used as a teaching strategy which may contribute to change students’ conceptions about science concepts. The present paper aims at investigating the structure of the dialogic argumentation developed by students, when they are involved in science teaching sequence that have been designed to change their conceptions through sociocognitive conflict strategy. For this purpose, teaching sequence targeted at the elaboration of students’ conceptions about floating and sinking -based on sociocognitive conflict processes- were prepared and implemented among 14 years old students. Next, the dialogues which the students had during the teaching sequence were analysed with the help of the framework for assessing the structure of the dialogic argumentation of Clark and Sampson (2008). The results of data analysis demonstrate that the sociocognitive conflict strategy promotes the structure of students’ dialogic argumentation about floating and sinking.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes and classroom practices of environmental science faculty members in Jordanian universities. Mix data collection methodology was employed to collect data in this study. In addition to the developed survey, several participants’ interviews and classroom observations were conducted with selected participants. The results of this study indicated that environmental science faculty exhibited a moderate level of attitudes toward ESD. Although they demonstrated a strong preference for pedagogical approaches that were contrary to the basic tenets of indoctrination, they used teaching practices that hinged on indoctrination. The study suggested following several safeguards practices against indoctrination when adopting a committed approach to ESD. Another suggestion was for universities to offer special training courses and workshops for faculty members to enhance their pedagogical knowledge. In addition, the study suggested that universities encourage building learning communities between faculty members to advance their awareness, attitudes, and pedagogical knowledge that relate to ESD.

The aim of this study was to investigate if integrating basic analytical methods and computer interface technology would result in a positive change in student attitude.  Students’ selfconcept of science knowledge and skills (Capability), opinion towards science (Affect), and perceptions of the value of science (Value) were determined with attitudinal surveys administered in a pre/post test design. Three separate lab modification groups were compared based upon level of integration over three academic semesters. The main findings were student attitude toward science improved with more integration. 

Determination of conceptual problems which may cause alternative conceptions in science and technology textbooks is significant to increase in success of pupils and teachers. It is a vital issue to arrange books in a way removing or decreasing these faults in order to improve a better education via textbooks. This study aims to determine conceptual problems which may cause alternative conceptions in biology topics in science and technology textbooks of primary schools. In this study, the units of each textbook were analyzed page by page according to document examination method and conceptual problems were determined. The founded conceptual problems have been classified such as; misidentifications, overgeneralizations, oversimplifications, obsolete concepts and terms, under generalizations. The finding of research results have been shown that various conceptual problems which may cause alternative conceptions in pupils’ textbooks about biology topics. The obtained results of research were compared with related literature and in the light of findings some recommendations were developed for future planning and development activities pupils’ textbooks.

Global warming and climate change have become hot topics that incite debate, inspire scientific research, and influence international policy. However, the scientific research that provides the past climate and environmental information upon which contemporary environmental change is measured, receives little attention in high school curriculum. Paleoecology, the study of ancient ecosystems, provides a unifying theme for teaching multiple high school science curriculum concepts involving global environmental change. As a teaching tool, paleoecology establishes a framework linking concepts such as geologic time, climate change, adaptation, survival, extinction, human impact and ecological interactions that are often taught separately. This article provides a brief overview of how the science of paleoecology can be introduced to students and incorporated into the curriculum through simple activities. The activities outlined here include using elevation maps or Gazetteers to investigate potential sites where marine fossils may be found far from the ocean, using multiple biological proxies to measure climate change, and creating models to demonstrate the impact of sea level rise on coastal ecosystems. These activities provide numerous opportunities for the students to discuss the scientific research associated with climate change, the economic impacts of changing climate, and how science may influence policy regarding climate change mitigation.