This research studied the development of preservice teachers’ understandings and attitudes about teaching science through playful experiences. Subjects were 94 senior preservice teachers in two sections of a science methods class on teaching preschool children. Data sources were semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaire at the beginning and end of the semester, students’ reflections on their field placement implementation, and a Playful Science Survey. At the beginning of the course, preservice teachers perceived teaching science through play primarily as drama and puppetry and saw it as an instrument for teaching, demonstrating, having fun, making  competition, and making learning easier. At the end of the semester, the following themes emerged from the interviews: children play with materials and ideas as they actively participate, teachers’ dialogue and questioning promotes exploration and variation in activity, children who are actively exploring can find answers by themselves and construct cause and effect relationships. At the end of the course, high mean ratings (4.5 out of 5) on the Playful Science Survey showed positive attitudes towards learning and teaching science and also recognizing the importance of play experiences in learning science and the importance of fun and active involvement in the science class and in the field assignments.

Student attitudes toward science and content achievements were examined in three secondary Biology I classrooms using an environmentally place-based curriculum as well as a traditional curriculum. Student attitudes were measured using Likert-scale science attitude surveys administered at the beginning of the school year and once again following completion of weeklong ecology curricula. Content achievements were assessed on a pre- and post-test as well as an end-of-unit test. The quantitative results show some attitude measures are correlated with ability-group tracking, and that little change in science attitudes occurred during the course of the study for the three groups. Results also indicate that overall test scores on an end-of-unit test were not significantly different between the inquiry-based and traditional curricula. Qualitative analysis of the pre- and post-tests show growth in ecology knowledge for all three classrooms, with the Inquiry-Based Academic Class achieving the greatest gains. The results warrant an exploration of curricula that use place-based inquiry as a teaching tool and learning goal by educators interested in student content achievements and keeping science attitudes from decreasing while fostering critical thinking skills.

There has been a wealth of research examining learning environments as one of the variables that contributes to academic success for students studying science. A constructivist learning environment has been explored as one way to assist students in achieving greater success with science learning. There is a lack of research concerning how and if successful teachers continue to change over time. This study was designed to address such research gaps. The teacher leaders involved served as staff members for Iowa Chautauqua and continue to develop and improve in their use of constructivist practices. There has been a lack of evidence focusing specifically on how participation in the Iowa Chautauqua Professional Development Program actually increases use of constructivist teaching practices. Results of the research indicate that the teacher leaders continue to develop further in their use of constructivist practices over time. The Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) scores were used to indicate improvement. There are implications for planning and improving classroom learning environments for enrollees in new efforts that were suggested by teacher leaders.

This paper aims to give a picture of Greek students’ views about biology and some of the factors that affect them. A questionnaire measuring students’ intrinsic motivation to learn biology, individual interest in biology and perceived difficulty of biology, along with information about students’ gender, level, parents’ occupation and educational level was administered to 368 Greek students. Results revealed that Greek secondary school students have almost neutral overall views about biology they are slightly positive about biology’s usefulness in their lives, perceive it as rather easy, but 26.4% finds no interest in it. Gender does not seem to affect students’ overall views about biology, neither their scores in any of the subscales - biology in Greece is as popular among boys as among girls. Younger and older students differ only in their perceived difficulty of biology, with the older students considering it more difficult than the younger ones. Parents’ educational level (both mothers and fathers are taken into account) is important in affecting only students’ intrinsic motivation, since the more educated a parent is the higher intrinsic motivation a student has towards biology. arents’ occupation does not affect students’ views about biology.

A 44-item questionnaire was employed to determine pre-service teachers’ beliefs about how useful various specific actions might be in helping to reduce global warming, their willingness to undertake these same actions, and the extent to which these two might be related. The instrument was administered to pre-service science teachers (n=104) at the Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman. The findings indicate that the majority of these Omani pre-service science teachers believed that global warming and associated climate change is happening now and they are concerned about it. Furthermore, they are aware of the measures that individuals could take to help ameliorate this problem but, despite this, showed a lack of willingness to act in key areas, such as the use of public transport and the purchase of smaller more fuel-efficient cars. This suggests that although the pre-service teachers appear to have a sound understanding of the actions that will help to reduce global warming and are well positioned to inform their students about these, their potential as role models might be compromised if their own actions are not in line with their understanding.

This study investigated Ontario science and biology teachers’ practices and attitudes toward animal dissection and dissection alternatives. The data was collected through a mixed methods approach involving online surveys (n=153) and subsequent telephone interviews (n=9) with secondary school science and biology teachers. The findings indicate that teachers identify strengths and drawbacks to both dissection and alternatives, but the majority continue to strongly favour traditional dissection and see it as vital to biology education. Further, although teachers expressed concerns with dissection, their concerns were overshadowed by an overall dissatisfaction with alternatives. It is argued that teachers need to engage more deeply with the ethical questions that underlie dissection and consider how its learning outcomes can be achieved through humane science education practices. It is also argued that science teacher education programs should include ethical discussions about the controversies of dissection and provide training to familiarize pre-service teachers with alternatives.

Creative thinking in Environmental Education (EE) remains greatly under researched topic.  Research on teachers’ conceptions of creative thinking within EE context is also limited, although their role in facilitating creative thinking in students is well documented. The small-scale qualitative study presented here investigates Greek secondary teachers’ conceptions of creative thinking in EE. Empirical data were collected based on nonstructured interviews with 20 secondary teachers with diverse backgrounds and subject expertise. Among the findings of the study is that participants view creative thinking as a thinking process that can or should be enhanced within the context of EE. All four key components identified in the literature in definitions of creativity – process, person, product, and context – are present in participants’ conceptualizations, with the most prevalent being that of process. Teachers conceptualize creative thinking as an inherent component of environmental problem-solving; they claim that EE pedagogy offers a favourable environment within which it can be nurtured; and they attribute ethical dimensions to it by pairing creativity with social and ecological responsibility. The participants’ frames of thinking about creativity support the views of scholars who emphasize the links between EE and creative thinking and connections with broader theoretical approaches that currently dominate research on creativity. The study provides a starting point for further research on creative thinking within the context of EE.

This is a longitudinal study aimed at revealing the beliefs of prospective science teachers in the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University/Sultanate of Oman about science teaching. To achieve this aim a Draw-A-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C) tool was used. The study sample consisted of (45) prospective science teachers in the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University. The instrument was applied to the sample three times: before the Science Method I course, after finishing this course and after finishing the Science Method II course and the Practicum. The results revealed that after completing the Science Methods I course, prospective science teachers shifted significantly from a teacher-centered approach to the intermediate state between the teachercentered and student-centered. There was no significant change after the Science Methods II course and the Practicum. Furthermore, the results also showed that among the three different teaching styles: exploratory, conceptual and explicit indicated in the second part of the DASTT-C instrument, prospective science teachers in the current study were found to be at the conceptual teaching style, closer to the boundary with the exploratory teaching style. This teaching style remained consistent across the three administrations of the DASTT-C instrument.

This study investigated if the external morphology of an insect had a negative effect on United States (US) preservice elementary teacher’s attitudes toward insects and beliefs concerning the likelihood of incorporating insects into future science education settings. 270 US kindergarten through sixth grade preservice elementary teachers participated and a randomized design with a control group was used for the study. The participants were shown pictures of three insects (i.e., butterfly, lady beetle or dragonfly) and were asked to rate their attitude toward the insects and beliefs concerning the likelihood of incorporating the insects into future science education settings. The treatment group was shown a picture of the larva and adult stage of the insect. The control group was only shown the adult stage of the insect. Unique to this study, is the finding that the external morphology of an insect is a causal factor that can negatively affect preservice elementary teacher’s attitudes toward insects and beliefs concerning the likelihood of incorporating insects into future science education settings. Implications are discussed that can assist preservice teacher training programs.

This study examines the integration of environmental education (EE) into an after-school program in the Bronx borough of New York City. In this qualitative case study, focus group interviews were conducted to first determine parent and educator interest in and barriers to participation in nature programs and incorporation of EE into curriculum. Interest level was universally high and based on numerous motivations including a desire to foster appreciation for nature, perceiving EE as a tool for engaging students with science and linking back to family heritage in the Dominican Republic. Findings also revealed that some of the barriers to incorporating EE were perceived barriers that could be overcome. A four-part EE training series was conducted with the after-school staff and evaluations were completed following each workshop. Staff showed significant confidence and ability to teach EE after the training sessions and were motivated to continue with the EE focus due in part to positive observed student outcomes and parent feedback. A final focus group with both the after-school staff and parents indicated strong support for continuation of EE for the following school year.

Worldwide, innovation in education is highly perceived as an effectual approach to promote awareness for sustainability. International organizations interested in education, research and training support projects seeking modernization of Higher Education (HE) and put much emphasis on developing new curricula, teaching methods or materials to respond to current needs. Building ties and promoting cooperation between institutions around the world through Universities and academic arenas are central in innovative educational approaches. This paper reflects on one of such projects; the Center for Natural Resources and Development (CNRD) which aims at supporting achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7. Eleven University faculties in Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Jordan, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, and Vietnam form part of the CNRD, covering natural, engineering, and social sciences disciplines. To develop solutions for one of the most pressing problems of today; creating sustainable cities, students, teachers and researchers work together in a trans-disciplinary approach. The paper principally deals with the question of how international research and education networks can narrow the distance between countries and promote awareness of sustainability. It discusses approaches in joint education, using modern media and e-learning activities and their contribution to raise awareness of sustainability among young researchers.

Vick and Garvey1 analysis of the taxonomy of the science merit badges in the U.S. Scouting movement piqued my interests in the areas of science, Scouting and education. I am an Eagle Scout, former Scoutmaster, and current merit badge counselor, as well as a scientist (clinical pharmacology) and Regent Emeritus of the University of California. The role of the merit badge program in Scouting is manifold, including giving Scouts experience in nature, civics, leadership, and an exposure to potential educational and career choices. With more than 100 badges available, and only 21 required to earn Eagle, the highest rank in Scouting, clearly there is a wide range of electives which can be personalized for each scout. Of the 23 science merit badges selected by the authors, only one, Environmental Science, is required for Eagle.  I did not see in the article a statement about whether the authors had experience in the Scouting movement, or contacted any Scouts or their leaders. I believe missing from the article is the practicality that the merit badge requirements themselves are individualized for each Scout at the discretion of the counselor. Thus, their strict evaluation of words such as “explain” and “discuss” may be inappropriate for practical way in which the Scout and counselor work together. That said, it would interesting to see an evaluation of these suggestions by the Scouting movement