Search Results (484)

The development of digital learning technologies has introduced innovative tools to enhance science and chemistry education, including PhET simulations. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of PhET simulations on students’ learning outcomes through a systematic literature review following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. A systematic search of Scopus and Crossref databases was conducted (last search: January 2026) using predefined keywords. Eligible studies were empirical research published between 2020 and 2026 that investigated PhET simulations in science-related education and reported learning outcomes, while non-empirical studies and non-Scopus-indexed articles were excluded. Risk of bias was assessed using an adapted Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool. Due to heterogeneity in study designs and outcome measures, the results were synthesized using a narrative approach. A total of 14 studies across elementary to higher education levels were included. The findings indicate that PhET simulations consistently improve learning outcomes, particularly academic achievement and conceptual understanding, with effects generally favoring simulation-based instruction over traditional methods. However, higher-order skills and affective outcomes such as motivation and attitude remain less frequently investigated. The evidence is limited by variability in study designs, incomplete reporting of non-cognitive outcomes, and the absence of quantitative synthesis. Overall, PhET simulations demonstrate strong potential as an effective interactive learning medium, although their impact depends on instructional design, teacher facilitation, and technological accessibility. Full article

Digital games are becoming increasingly important as promising tools to foster Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), aiming to combine engagement, systems thinking, and transformative learning. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from 40 studies on serious games, game-based learning, and gamification to assess both the potential and limitations of digital games in ESD contexts. This review thus contributes to the field by integrating theoretical frameworks, empirical evidence, and design principles to provide a coherent understanding of how digital games support ESD learning processes. The findings reveal positive effects on cognitive and motivational outcomes, particularly regarding knowledge acquisition, systems understanding, and learner engagement. In addition, digital games can foster social learning processes such as collaboration, participation, and perspective-taking. These effects are grounded in established theoretical frameworks, including self-determination theory, flow theory, and experiential learning, and are supported by design features such as adaptive feedback, meaningful narratives, social interaction, and authentic decision-making. Across the reviewed studies, cognitive outcomes are most consistently documented, while evidence for long-term behavioral change and real-world transfer remains limited. This reflects both structural challenges of ESD and methodological constraints, including difficulties in measuring behavior, short-term study designs, and heterogeneous implementations. Overall, digital games can support key ESD competencies by enabling learners to engage with complex socio-ecological systems and multi-perspectivity. Their effectiveness and educational value depend less on gameplay itself than on four overarching design principles: encouraging the exploration of systems, linking experience and reflection, balancing between autonomy and guidance, and embedding within broader social and pedagogical processes. Full article

Teaching organic chemistry is also important for pharmacists to understand the synthesis and mechanism of action of organic drug molecules. Unfortunately, organic chemistry is considered one of the most difficult subjects. This impression affects students’ motivation. To provide students with a learning aid and hopefully boost their motivation, this pilot study tested the integration of 28 elevenies—a special form of short poem—during a semester in an organic chemistry lecture for pharmacists. An anonymous and voluntary questionnaire was conducted at the end of the lecture sessions to assess perceptions of the use of elevenies as a teaching tool. Overall, the student feedback on the implementation of elevenies was positive. In general, students felt (with nearly 94% agreement) that a wider variety of learning methods, such as elevenies, should be incorporated into university teaching. They found elevenies, a type of literature, suitable for summarizing content of organic chemistry, a natural science. The majority (about 65%) stated that they secretly looked forward to the presentation of the elevenies during the lecture, indicating an increase in motivation. In addition, 83% of the respondents wanted to adduce elevenies to repeat and learn the teaching material. However, only about 20% could imagine writing elevenies themselves as part of the learning process. With 94% approval, the respondents gave a clear vote to retain elevenies in future semesters. This suggests the students’ perception of elevenies as an educational tool. Their ease of use could certainly be extended to other subject areas, provided that the topics addressed are not too complex. Full article

This study presents an experimental platform that integrates computer vision and machine learning to support approximate pH estimation and endpoint detection in titration experiments for science education. A Raspberry Pi-based setup was used to capture real-time solution images, which were converted into RGB data for analysis. Grid-based image preprocessing reduced artifacts caused by ripples and localized color variations. Cluster analysis identified three RGB-based solution categories that were correlated with pH. Regression analysis, including Random Forest modeling, achieved high predictive accuracy with low error. Machine learning classification models were also evaluated, with Random Forest and K-Nearest Neighbors showing strong performance for the non-linear relationship between pH and RGB values. The results support the feasibility of using BTB within its transition range for approximate pH estimation and endpoint detection in an educational setting. The system can also be used as an educational platform through which students engage with automated data collection, machine learning, and real-time analysis. By reducing subjective visual observation and improving experimental reproducibility, this approach supports the use of digital technologies in science education. Full article

The concepts of “circular economy” and “sustainable chemistry” cover a range of related topics, including resource efficiency, the transition to renewable resources, as well as the choice of recycling, reusing, or recovering materials. At the middle school level, the “green message” of chemistry and the circular economy can be conveyed during regular classes or optional subjects. This paper presents an experimental study conducted with middle school students, aiming to develop ecological competencies by comparing traditional educational methods of teaching–learning–assessment with modern methods. The study was conducted on a sample of 58 lower secondary students (N = 30 in class 8A—traditional methods; N = 28 in class 8B—modern/STEM-based methods), using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design using a questionnaire. The results indicated a significant improvement in students’ performance, with correct response rates increasing from 17–33% in the pre-test to over 80–100% in the post-test across most items. While both traditional and modern teaching methods improved students’ theoretical understanding of green chemistry and circular economy concepts, the modern STEM-based approach facilitated higher performance in application-oriented items, critical thinking, and real-life problem-solving tasks. The study emphasizes the importance of fostering an environmentally friendly attitude among students, encouraging a commitment to sustainability, as well as their active involvement in pollution prevention. Thus, the effectiveness of the applied educational strategies in increasing ecological awareness is underlined. Full article

Rapid adoption of general-purpose generative AI (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, is reshaping teaching, learning, and assessment in chemical education. In this study, we expanded the implementation of GenAI tools within an upper-level undergraduate biochemistry course, providing students access to four distinct platforms: commercial chatbots (ChatGPT and LearningClues) and in-house tools developed at the University of Michigan (U-M GPT and U-M Maizey). We analyzed student learning outcomes from GenAI-enhanced writing assignments using pre- and post-surveys. Our results show that integrating GenAI into biochemistry coursework promoted effective and responsible usage, enhanced students’ prompt literacy, built ethical awareness, and increased confidence in utilizing these tools. The study specifically examined factors influencing GenAI acceptance: familiarity, perceived usefulness, ease of use, and trust. Trust emerged as the most significant criterion, with a majority of students recommending in-house chatbots for future cohorts due to strong privacy and ethical standards. Over the last year, we observed a shift in student sentiment from excitement about efficiency to emerging concerns about creativity silencing. This highlights the importance of addressing both capabilities and risks of using AI-tools through teaching AI literacy. Full article

Convergence education promotes learning experiences that integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to address complex real-world problems. However, secondary teachers often report limited access to professional development (PD) and curricular resources that support transdisciplinary instruction. This exploratory case study examines how four secondary teachers (three chemistry; one engineering) made sense of a transdisciplinary PD model, Convergence Research in STEM and Tradition (CReST), that leverages cultural heritage artifacts (Renaissance frescoes) as boundary objects to connect chemistry, engineering, world history, and technology. Teachers participated in a four-day immersive PD experience in Firenze (Florence) and Pisa, Italy, that included site-based learning, interaction with conservation scientists, and structured reflection. Data included daily reflective journals during the PD and semi-structured interviews following the experience, focused on teachers’ reflections on CReST and its implications for their instructional thinking. Using inductive thematic analysis, we identified patterns in teachers’ meaning-making about convergence instruction and the pedagogical possibilities the artifact opened for their classrooms. Findings indicate that (a) the fresco and associated conservation practices functioned as shared reference points for cross-disciplinary connections; (b) teachers reported shifts toward problem-centered, artifact-anchored pedagogy; and (c) sustained collaboration and shared tools were viewed as necessary for extending learning beyond the immersive experience. These findings indicate early, self-reported shifts in instructional planning, including artifact-based entry tasks, problem-centered instruction, and integration of real-world conservation practices. Implications are offered for designing science teacher PD that uses boundary objects to support coherent, culturally grounded STEM integration. Full article

Background/Objectives: Longer oligoarginines are very effective cell-penetrating peptides. It has been shown that a minimal number of positively charged side chains is necessary for efficient cellular uptake. But a highly positively charged peptide may interact with its cargo molecule, thereby reducing its efficiency. Several chemical modifications were tested to improve the internalization of short tetraarginine derivatives. Aromatic groups, such as Dabcyl at the N-terminus, Trp in the sequence, and AMBA or PABA in the backbone, were used to improve internalization. The other useful modification was the aza-glycine substitution in the case of penetratin. Methods: In this study, the effect of aza-glycine insertion into the peptide Dabcyl-RRRRK(Cf) on internalization was studied and compared with that of the Trp-modified peptide Dabcyl-RRWRRK(Cf). To explain the noticed difference in the biological activity of peptides, DFT calculations and the prediction of membrane-binding free energy (ΔΔF) from a peptide sequence were performed. Results: It turned out that the position of the aza-glycine moiety does not have an influence on the cellular uptake. The aza-glycine-containing peptide showed higher internalization than the Dabcyl-RRRRK(Cf) peptide. Besides this, these peptides have similar or higher cellular uptake than that of octaarginine at lower concentrations (c < 2 µM). The aza-glycine affected not only cellular uptake but also the entry mechanism. The structure of peptides depended on the amino acids (Trp, Gly, or azaGly) in their sequences and their positions. Conclusions: These may result in the different amphiphilicity of peptides, and thus changes in the hydrophobic moment and in the binding affinity of peptides to the negatively charged membrane surface. Full article

The rapid demand for sustainable and efficient energy storage solutions has prompted the pursuit of eco-friendly electrode materials. Biomass-derived carbons from food waste offer a promising pathway to meet this need by combining waste valorization, environmental benefits, and high electrochemical performance. This review highlights that food waste biomass is an effective and inexpensive source of precursors for producing high-performance carbon materials for supercapacitors. Food waste, which includes fruit peels and vegetable residues, cereal husks, and oilseed residues, is a good source of lignocellulosic components, heteroatoms, and structural features that determine the electrochemical characteristics of the derived carbons. These wastes produce hierarchically porous carbons with high surface areas (>1500 m² g⁻¹) on pyrolysis and activation that provide superior ion transport, wettability and pseudocapacitive behaviour. Their electrochemical performance includes capacitances up to 520 F g⁻¹ and energy densities of 35–70 Wh kg⁻¹ in optimized systems, particularly under extended voltage windows or in hybrid supercapacitor configurations, and high cycling stability is equal to or even better than traditional carbons such as activated carbon and graphene. Additionally, biomass valorization contributes to a high level of greenhouse gas capture, decreases landfill, and correlates with the idea of a circular economy. The commercialization potential of biomass-based supercapacitors is supported by recent developments in AI-based optimization, combined with scalable synthesis methods, which would support ecologically, economically, and technologically sustainable energy storage on a large scale. Full article

This exploratory study examines how planetary climate regulation is addressed in 39 Compulsory Secondary Education and Bachillerato textbooks used in Spain, focusing on three key regulating factors, global ocean circulation, atmospheric circulation, and the greenhouse effect, and their integration into a coherent, interrelated model. Textbooks from Biology and Geology, Physics and Chemistry, Scientific Culture, and Earth and Environmental Sciences, published by three anonymised Spanish publishers, were analysed using two complementary instruments—a global presence grid and an analytical grid—examining explanation type, presentation format, didactic resources, and activities associated with each submodel. The results reveal a fragmented and largely disconnected treatment of the three factors across educational stages, with limited explicit articulation of their interrelationships. This fragmentation restricts students’ ability to understand the functioning of each factor, recognise their systemic interdependencies, and appreciate the role of human activity in climate regulation. Full article

Laboratory courses in chemistry teacher education are commonly framed as spaces for mastering experimental procedures; however, they may also function as pedagogical environments where pre-service teachers begin integrating content knowledge (CK) with pedagogical knowledge (PK). Rather than measuring Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) as an outcome, this comparative study examines how laboratory structures create opportunities for CK–PK integration and PCK-related reasoning in chemistry teacher education programs in Kazakhstan and Türkiye. A qualitative comparative case study design was employed. Data were collected through 60 h of in situ observations and semi-structured interviews with 46 third-year pre-service chemistry teachers at two public universities. The analysis focused on how laboratory organization, instructional facilitation, time allocation, assessment, and material resources shape conditions for analytical and reflective engagement. Findings identify four interrelated dimensions of laboratory affordances: structural organization, pedagogical facilitation, experiential engagement, and reflective regulation. Extended laboratory sessions and dedicated laboratory credits in the Turkish case supported sustained inquiry and reflection, whereas shorter, combined lecture–laboratory formats in the Kazakhstani case constrained extended pedagogical reasoning. The proposed Laboratory Affordance Model highlights how laboratory design influences early-stage PCK-related reasoning, offering implications for curriculum design and chemistry teacher education policy. Full article

With the rapid advancement in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), AI-generated content (AIGC) lacking human cognitive oversight is increasingly permeating open web environments and academic communication systems. This study integrates longitudinal retraction data (Retraction Watch Database, 1990–2026), web-scale analyses of AI-content penetration (Common Crawl, 2013–2026), and bibliometric mapping of governance scholarship (Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, Google Scholar, 2020–2026) to diagnose the cross-level misalignment between synthetic-content diffusion, AI-related misconduct pressure, and governance attention. On this basis, it proposes a Normalized Coverage Index (NCI) to measure the relative relationship between scholarly attention to AI-related academic misconduct governance and the level of misconduct pressure observed through retraction data across disciplines. The results reveal pronounced asymmetries at the disciplinary level. Fields such as chemistry (0.04), physics, mathematics & statistics (0.11), and life sciences & biology (0.34) exhibit clear governance gaps, whereas Education shows a comparatively excessive level of attention (NCI = 29.26). Since 2022, AIGC has expanded rapidly across open web corpora, accompanied by a sharp rise in AI-related retractions, which also exhibit a longer detection lag than traditional forms of misconduct (2.77 years vs. 1.91 years). Although the volume of academic governance-related research has grown rapidly, its proportion within the broader body of AI-related research has declined, suggesting that scholarly attention to governance has not kept pace with technological diffusion. Consequently, a structural misalignment in governance—closely tied to the allocation of attention—has emerged within the academic system in the era of GenAI. This misalignment may pose potential risks to the robustness of the knowledge production system. Addressing it requires rebuilding epistemic infrastructure through provenance transparency, auditable workflows, and governance-aware seed corpora aligned with empirically concentrated risks. Full article

Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are garnering significant attention due to growing global challenges, including poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, and climate change, with the latter addressed specifically through SDG 13. This study examined the level of self-reported awareness of six science-related SDGs—SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land)—among science teachers in the Arab sector in Israel as a function of background variables: gender, seniority, degree type, academic institution, school type, area of specialization, and the integration of these SDGs into the science curriculum. The study employed a mixed-methods approach: in the quantitative component, 204 science teachers responded to a Likert-scale questionnaire; the qualitative component consisted of semi-structured interviews with 30 middle school science teachers from the Arab sector. The findings indicated a moderate level of self-assessed awareness regarding SDGs. Significant differences in awareness were found according to teaching subject: environmental studies teachers demonstrated the highest awareness, followed by general science, biology, and physics teachers, with chemistry teachers ranking lowest. No significant differences were found for the remaining variables (p > 0.05). Qualitative findings indicated that while teachers perceived SDG-related content as implicitly present in the curriculum, explicit and systematic integration of the SDG framework is largely absent. Overall, the findings suggest that teachers are not adequately exposed to the SDGs. Therefore, it is recommended to incorporate these topics into teacher-training courses and professional development programs and to further integrate them into curricula. This study contributes to the growing body of research on SDG integration in science education, particularly within underexplored minority educational contexts. Full article

This study investigates how participants conceptualise sustainability and sustainability citizenship, as well as how these conceptualisations relate to perceived agency. Drawing on two open-ended prompts, it analyses participants’ visions of a sustainable future and the roles they would like to play within it. The dataset was based on 1714 coded response segments from 164 participants. Methodologically, the study combines qualitative content analysis, independent human-AI double coding, manual validation, inter-rater reliability assessment, and residual-based co-occurrence analysis within a qualitatively grounded mixed-methods design. The results show that sustainability is predominantly framed in civic, symbolic, and ecological terms, whereas strategic competence and professionally articulated agency remain less visible. Sustainability meanings and role conceptions also vary systematically across disciplinary contexts. In addition, the analyses reveal patterned gaps between participants’ future visions and their self-attributed roles in sustainability transformations. The study contributes empirical insights into sustainability meaning-making and perceived agency and shows how LLM-assisted coding can be embedded in a transparent mixed-methods workflow. For sustainability education, the findings underline the importance of strengthening strategic and systemic dimensions of competence and linking civic engagement more closely to professional pathways of action. Full article

Aluminum is the most used non-ferrous metal, with a well-established recycling procedure, but this process also produces new residues. We recently proposed an integrated laboratory practice based on the recovery of aluminum from the slag generated during its recycling. Now, we expand upon this research by proposing the preparation of a layered material, namely hydrocalumite, from recovered Al³⁺. The synthesis of this solid, its characterization, and the use of the mixed oxides produced after its calcination for the photocatalytic removal of ibuprofen from aqueous solutions are structured as a laboratory practice for students in the last years of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Materials Engineering, and related university or masters degrees. In this way, the work integrates material synthesis and characterization procedures with a practical introduction to catalysis photodegradation, incorporating key concepts of the Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Goals, and educating students with respect to the environment. Full article