Search Results (200)

Electron transfer is one of the most essential processes in biological systems. Redox reactions, either directly or indirectly, drive the main ATP-synthesizing pathways, especially those relying on a chemiosmotic mechanism, and as such, they are fundamental to photosynthesis and respiration. During biochemical redox reactions, electrons are transferred from a low-potential donor to a high-potential acceptor, mainly affecting the oxidation state of carbon atoms. The mechanism of electron transfer remains an intriguing enigma because of the wave-particle duality of subatomic particles. According to the biophysical conditions, electrons can be transferred by quantum tunneling or hopping from one redox site to another. While the driving force is always the electrochemical potential, a particularly interesting case is reversible electron bifurcation, where downhill (exergonic) redox reactions are coupled with uphill (endergonic) reactions by splitting the electrons of a two-electron donor. Here, we aim to discuss these different mechanisms in a comprehensive review accessible to students, teachers, and researchers in biological sciences. Full article

The implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in education is gaining more attention, and as a result, more research is being conducted on the views and conceptualisations of AI by educators. The understanding of teacher candidates is vital for the AI integration in education, which should be human-centred, and still, there is a lack of studies focusing mainly on teacher candidates in the field of the native language. This qualitative phenomenological research aimed to explore metaphors of 46 Turkish language teacher candidates (third- and fourth-year undergraduates in Northern Cyprus) representing their answer to the prompt “AI is like because…”. The data were collected through open-ended questions and analysed using content analysis along with expert validation. Participants produced 46 valid metaphors, which were divided into five thematic categories: (1) AI as Teacher or Learner (21.7%), (2) AI as Method/Strategy (21.7%), (3) AI as Evolving Living Organism (13%), (4) AI as Guide/Helper (21.7%), and (5) AI as Danger/Threat (21.7%). Four groups expressed positive or neutral attitudes towards AI, such as considering it a clever teacher, a useful tool, a growing entity, or a guide. One category revealed negative views, perceiving AI as a destructive force. Overall, 78.3% of participants expressed optimistic views about AI, while 21.7% of them pointed to concerns. Turkish language teacher candidates generally perceive AI as a supportive, human-like assistant in the classroom, but a few of them express concerns about its existence. These results emphasise the importance of incorporating AI literacy and ethics into teacher education. Equipping future language teachers with the skills to use AI in the classroom might be a way of implementing AI in schools that is confident, critical, and human-centred. Full article

This study examines the systemic and political dynamics shaping the professional trajectories of Palestinian educators trained for boundary-crossing roles in Jewish state schools in Israel. While specialized programs successfully cultivated intercultural competence and pedagogical readiness, these gains were undermined by entrenched structural and ideological barriers. 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 Palestinian teachers were analyzed as well as findings from a telephone survey with 99 graduates. Findings reveal that institutional absorption failure, manifested through contractual precarity, geographic misalignment, and organizational inertia, prevented the conversion of individual readiness into stable tenure. Inclusion was found to be conditional, requiring sustained emotional labor, linguistic self-censorship, and political alignment, particularly during periods of heightened sociopolitical tension following 7 October 2023. These patterns reflect deeply rooted power asymmetries that marginalize Palestinian citizens and perpetuate tokenistic integration. This study argues that durable professional integration in contested spaces demands a paradigmatic shift: from viewing inclusion as a temporary concession to embedding stability and equity as structural principles. Such transformation requires dismantling institutional mechanisms that reproduce asymmetry and investing in long-term ecological supports, such as permanent contracts, culturally responsive leadership, and inclusion protocols. Without these systemic reforms, intercultural competence remains insufficient to overcome the political and structural forces. Full article

In the present qualitative study, we first synthesize research to clarify the concept of error in science as developed by epistemologists, philosophers, and historians. We also examine the concept of error in educational science, drawing from studies on science learning and teaching. To do this, we analyzed references found through a systematic review of books and journals. We also selected published articles on the history of physics and chemistry and consulted documents authored by scientists in English or in official translations. We guided our selection by choosing sources relevant to conceptualizing error in scientific and educational contexts. Our key findings show two categories of scientific error: those that have contributed to scientific progress and those that have hindered it. Some renowned scientists, such as Aristotle and Buridan, put forward theories of force and movement that were later shown to be false. However, these errors did not always impede scientific advancement. This research highlights how scientific errors have shaped the evolution of science and reveals insights into the scientific process and the resilience of the scientific community. In science education, researchers use various terms such as “student naïve reasoning,” “students’ alternative conceptions,” “students’ alternative theory,” and “misconceptions.” Students’ errors, like scientific errors, can be classified into two categories. The first type involves errors from distractions, misunderstandings, or unintentional mistakes. The second type results from students’ interactions with many natural and man-made phenomena, the common language used in society (which differs from scientific language), and errors passed down by teachers or found in textbooks. Finally, we note that identifying errors among scientists and students supports the development of strategy-based teaching for meaningful science learning. From this perspective, students will be pleased to know that some of their conceptions of force and motion are “similar” to those developed by Aristotle and Buridan, even if these conceptions are false relative to those developed by Galileo and Newton. Recognizing both scientists’ and students’ errors is essential for creating teaching strategies that promote deeper science learning. Full article

The continued marginalisation of Indigenous knowledges and practices in environmental education sustains curricula and pedagogies grounded in Western worldviews. This exclusion reinforces limited or deficit-oriented perceptions of Indigenous cultures, environments, and epistemologies. Therefore, this study draws on the theory of critical consciousness to examine the need for Indigenous peoples and educators to become critically aware of the forces shaping their educational experiences and to use this awareness to transform their lives and teaching practices for a sustainable future. To illustrate how this transformation might occur, a qualitative study was conducted with ten Nigerian secondary school teachers who engaged with the design and implementation of a decolonisation model for environmental education. Findings show that seven participants successfully adopted the model, and several demonstrated notable shifts in their perspectives during the process. The study offers two key contributions: a conceptual framework for understanding decolonisation in environmental education and a practical decolonisation model for teachers. These contributions have broader relevance for educational reform and environmental education in countries with similar contexts to Nigeria and in marginalised communities in the Global North, where learners are often alienated from their local realities in favour of globalist perspectives. Full article

This study presents an in silico proof of concept exploring whether deep learning models can perform conditional mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence prediction across species boundaries. A CNN–BiLSTM model was trained under a leave-one-species-out (LOSO) scheme on complete mitochondrial genomes from 21 vertebrate species, primarily archosaurs. Model behavior was evaluated through multiple complementary tests. Under context-conditioned settings, the model performed next-nucleotide prediction using overlapping 200 bp windows to assemble contiguous 2000 bp fragments for held-out species; the resulting high token-level accuracy (>99%) under teacher forcing is reported as a diagnostic of conditional modeling capacity. To assess leakage-free performance, a two-flank masked-span imputation task was conducted as the primary evaluation, requiring free-running reconstruction of 500 bp interior spans using only distal flanking context; in this setting, the model consistently outperformed nearest-neighbor and demonstrated competitive performance relative to flank-copy baselines. Additional robustness analyses examined sensitivity to window placement, genomic region (coding versus D-loop), and random initialization. Biological plausibility was further assessed by comparing predicted fragments to reconstructed ancestral sequences and against composition-matched null models, where observed identities significantly exceeded null expectations. Using the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) BLAST web interface, BLASTn species identification was performed solely as a biological plausibility check, recovering the correct species as the top hit in all cases. Although limited by dataset size and the absence of ancient DNA damage modeling, these results demonstrate the feasibility of conditional mtDNA sequence prediction as an initial step toward more advanced generative and evolutionary modeling frameworks. Full article

The professional development of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education has been converted from rigid hierarchical models to more flexible and context-sensitive frameworks. This study introduces ego-centred network card analysis as a new methodology to investigate how Indonesian university EFL teachers create and negotiate their professional identities. The data were collected from 11 experienced EFL teachers. The network cards were analysed to find the nodes and sectors of professional identity and development. Drawing on constructivist and sociocultural perspectives, the study findings indicated that the formation is influenced by relational, emotional and institutional influences, and that family support, mentoring, and career goals alleviate pressures such as workload, publication demands, and financial instability. The findings highlight identity as both a product and a driving force for professional development, extending sociocultural theories by visualizing hidden dimensions of teachers’ networks. Methodologically, this study demonstrates the value of visual-relational tools in capturing complexity beyond interviews or surveys. The results suggest that, in practice, teacher education and policy must integrate structured mentorship, peer reflection, and recognition of emotional work in order to maintain professional growth. Full article

Despite the large body of research showing that students in STEM classes at all levels learn better via active learning than they do via lecture, post-secondary physics and astronomy (P&A) faculty members continue to primarily use teacher-focused, lecture pedagogy in their classes. Methods include answers from eight faculty members, and interviews with five faculty members who self-identified as primarily using lecture were conducted to determine their perceptions of why they use lecture. During analysis coding, results show that an unanticipated theme not sufficiently represented in the pre-existing literature rose to the forefront: that many of these faculty members feel the decision of pedagogy is out of their control. In conclusion, a grounded theory was developed and is proposed herein that these faculty feel a sense of powerlessness. Reasons offered include administrators often make decisions based on the financial needs of the school, which then force the faculty into using lecture as their primary pedagogy. Implications include that providing professional development in active pedagogies may not be sufficient to help faculty members change pedagogy, as they may need to be convinced that they have the power to make change and use student-centered, active learning pedagogies within their own individual constraints and settings. Understanding that some instructors may feel powerless in choosing how to teach is an important step for professional development providers toward ensuring that faculty have a voice and can choose the best teaching methods for their classrooms. Full article

Drawing from a broad and multifaceted stream of educational research and practice that has gradually emerged in recent decades within science education field, widely known as Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE), the current study aims to extend its boundaries within the special education field. In particular it aspires to investigate to what extent teachers foster IBSE characteristics and accommodate the specific learning characteristics of students with autism when they are called to teach them projectile motion and the concept of force. To fulfill this goal, seven secondary school physics teachers with a background in special education were recruited to develop lesson plans on mechanics for high-functioning autistic adolescents. Our findings indicate that these teachers exhibit varying levels of engagement, with certain aspects of IBSE being applied more consistently than others. Notably, the nature of the content appears to play a significant role in shaping this variability. The findings show that teachers tend to demonstrate different levels of engagement, with some aspects of IBSE being more consistently applied than others. Interestingly, the nature of the content appears to play a significant role in influencing this variability. The findings of the current study are likely to contribute to teaching and learning science content to students that with autism spectrum disorder. Full article

Teachers’ motivation and behavioral intentions are pivotal to implementing educational innovations effectively. Understanding these processes requires theoretical frameworks that capture both deliberate decision-making and underlying motivational forces. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) have each contributed valuable insights, yet both face limitations when used independently. Integrating TPB and SDT may provide a more comprehensive account of how self-determined motivation shapes attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control—the proximal predictors of intention proposed by TPB. This scoping review, conducted following the PRISMA-ScR framework, examines how TPB–SDT integration has been applied to study teachers’ behavioral intentions. A search across five databases—EBSCO, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and CNKI—identified 1384 records, of which nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies employed quantitative approaches, particularly structural equation modeling, while longitudinal, mixed-methods, and intervention-based designs were rare. Cross-cultural comparisons were lacking, and in-service teachers were studied more often than pre-service teachers. Findings reveal a limited but expanding body of research on TPB-SDT integration in education, with attitudes and autonomy emerging as the most consistent predictors of teachers’ intentions. This review highlights theoretical potential, methodological gaps, and directions for advancing research on teacher motivation. Full article

As Canada experiences a growing number of newcomer students with refugee backgrounds, K-12 educators face challenges to meet students’ unique academic, linguistic, and psychosocial needs. This paper examines the role of educational technology (EdTech) to bridge the resource and training gap by enhancing teacher preparedness through an accessible, inclusive, and trauma-informed digital resource. This study presents a qualitative case study methodology to analyze the interactive online manual, Supporting Teachers to Address the Mental Health of Students from War Zones. The research utilizes three data sources: feedback from 110 educators through a questionnaire, observational data from 69 students from two separate pre-service teacher cohorts, and an expert evaluation report conducted by university curriculum specialists. Findings suggest that successful EdTech for refugee-background student initiatives must be trauma-informed, strength-based, culturally responsive, and designed with usability and accessibility in mind. Furthermore, collaboration between K-12 educators, researchers, and developers is vital to ensure that there is alignment of pedagogy and technology. Full article

Amid ongoing educational reforms and the rapid advancement of the knowledge economy, innovative teaching behaviors are not only closely related to teachers’ professional growth and students’ academic achievement but are also regarded as the key driving force for the evolution of the educational system. Consequently, identifying effective ways to foster teachers’ innovative teaching behaviors has become a central concern in educational psychology and management. Grounded in the Job Demands–Resources framework, this study developed and tested a chained mediation model using survey data from 1165 Chinese elementary and secondary school teachers. The model examines how teachers’ emotional competence fosters innovative teaching behaviors and elucidates the underlying mechanisms. The results revealed that (1) emotional competence significantly and positively predicted innovative teaching behaviors, and (2) teaching efficacy and work vitality served not only as independent mediators but also as sequential mediators in this relationship. These findings extend the understanding of the antecedents of teachers’ innovative behaviors from an emotional perspective, demonstrating that emotional competence, as a critical psychological resource, can be transformed into innovative teaching behaviors through dual “cognitive–motivational” and “energy–motivational” pathways. This study offers both theoretical insights and practical implications for advancing teaching innovation by strengthening teachers’ emotional competence, teaching efficacy, and work vitality. Full article

One of the greatest benefits of inclusion in general physical education (PE) is the opportunity for social interactions between students with and without disabilities. Unfortunately, interviews with students with disabilities who have participated in PE often find that social interactions with students without disabilities were limited. A model that promotes interaction between students with and without disabilities in PE is Special Olympics Unified Physical Education (UPE). In UPE, students with and without disabilities participate in activities together rather than the one-way focus on traditional peer tutoring. There have been anecdotal reports on the positive benefits of UPE for both students with and without disabilities. To date, there has been no published research on UPE. Additionally, some question how UPE has been implemented in schools, specifically questioning if UPE provided quality PE and whether students with disabilities were forced into UPE and denied opportunities to participate in general PE. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how UPE was developed and implemented in select U.S. schools and the impact on social interactions between students with and without disabilities. Interviews with twelve teachers who were directly involved in their UPE programs revealed the following four major themes: (1) our students were not being served appropriately, (2) a mix of PE standards and Special Olympics programming, (3) UPE is a choice, and (4) our students improved in many ways. The discussion examined the results in relation to the criticisms of UPE and how UPE proved to be a positive alternative to limited social interactions in general PE. Full article

In the U.S. public school system, White middle-class female teacher workforces have dominantly served an increasing number of students of color. While the racial interplay between teachers and students has offered insightful implications for continuing disparities in student discipline, little research has been done to link the racial match of the teaching force to their served communities. This study examines how the ethnoracial congruence between teachers and populations in their school district moderates racial gaps in in-school suspension rates between White and non-White students in Tennessee. The research demonstrates that when teachers serve communities of the same race, their schools are less likely to show a substantial gap in in-school suspensions between White students and students of color. Full article

COVID-19 school closures forced German high-school graduates (Abitur 2022 cohort) to prepare for their final examinations with lengthy learning times at home. Guided by transactional stress theory, we tested how personal resources—self-regulated learning (SRL) skills and academic self-efficacy—and contextual resources—perceived teacher support and teacher digital competence—jointly predicted perceived stress during exam preparation. A cross-sectional online survey (June–July 2022) yielded complete data from N = 2379 students (68% female; Mage = 18.3). Six latent constructs were measured with 23 items and showed adequate reliability (0.71 ≤ α/ω ≤ 0.89). A six-factor CFA fit the data acceptably (CFI = 0.909, RMSEA = 0.064). The structural equation model (CFI = 0.935, RMSEA = 0.064) explained 35% of the variance in stress and 23% of the variance in SRL—action. Academic self-efficacy (β = −0.31, p < 0.001), perceived support (β = −0.28, p < 0.001), teacher digital competence (β = −0.08, p < 0.001), COVID-19 learning disruptions (β = +0.13, p < 0.001), and gender (male = 0.32 SD lower stress, p < 0.001) had direct effects on stress. SRL—action’s direct path was small and non-significant (β = −0.02). Teacher digital competence also reduced stress indirectly through greater perceived support (standardized indirect β = −0.11, p < 0.001). The results highlight self-efficacy and perceived instructional support as the most potent buffers of pandemic-related stress, whereas cancelled lessons added strain. Boosting teachers’ digital pedagogical skills has a dual payoff—raising students’ sense of support and lowering their stress. Full article