The use of nuclear power is a socio-scientific issue that is controversial in many areas. Concerns of nuclear power touch on health effects, environmental impacts, employment concerns and energy supply; arguments both for and against it are easily generated. This paper examines the specific aspects addressed by preservice primary teachers in their arguments during their participation in a roleplaying activity on the SSI of nuclear power stations closures in Spain. This was done in order to better understand informal reasoning modes, as well as the possible effect of the roles defended and the design of the staging of the role play. To this end, the transcripts of four role plays were analysed. The data analysis was carried out by open coding, extracting different categories of analysis that were classified into three different informal reasoning modes: environmental, financial and social. The results showed that participants used more environmental-oriented arguments than financial and social ones. Differences in informal reasoning modes were found between some roles and between the two parts of the staging. Some educational implications of these results are discussed, such as providing more information to the participants before the roleplaying activity and emphasising the scaffolding of the social aspects when designing the role play.

This study examined whether participation in a role play on the socio-scientific issue of the use of nuclear power had an impact on pre-service primary teachers’ ideas regarding the process of obtaining electricity in a nuclear power station. Before and after the role play, 78 pre-service primary teachers were asked to describe this process to analyze the ideas they displayed about the stages involved in it. The results showed, overall, an increased presence of more scientifically informed ideas in some of these stages following the role play, although a number of non-scientifically informed ideas persisted, for example, regarding the way in which heat is obtained or the final transformation of energy into electricity. These results support the potential value of role play for developing more scientifically informed ideas, although some modifications of the role play are recommended for further development of them.

Educational studies regarding vocational teaching and learning in microscopy are scarce and not very representative. The aim of this research is to analyse some of the strategies used by students of the Higher Diploma in Pathological Anatomy and Cytopathology and Higher Diploma in Clinical and Biomedical Laboratory when practising with microscopy instruments. The study consisted of a questionnaire survey of 176 students from two schools in Malaga (Spain). The analysis focused on items related to microscopy data collection habits and self-perceived learning outcomes. The results show that students place a high value on microscopy practicum, but found that they frequently prefer to take photographs with their mobile phones instead of making direct observations with the microscope.

The knowledge and understanding of biodiversity and ecosystems constitute an educational necessity in the current context. This study presents a systematic review of papers published in five Spanish journals of science education from 2012 to 2024, adhering to the PRISMA criteria for systematic reviews. The primary objectives encompass the identification and description of articles published during this period that delve into biodiversity and/or ecosystems. This involves examining authorship, educational levels, topics, employed methodologies, and contributions to literature. The findings reveal a notable scarcity of studies on these subjects, constituting a mere 5,54% of the published works in the field. The majority of authors are affiliated with departments specializing in science education, and their focus tends to be on secondary and high school education levels. Approximately half of the studies address topics related to biodiversity, while those dedicated to ecosystems make up one-third of the total. The methodologies utilized exhibit no discernible trend, with a diverse array of approaches being employed. Contributions to the literature reveal certain strategies that significantly help improve the teaching and learning process of biodiversity and ecosystems, such as the use of project-based and cooperative work methodologies, real-world contexts, and the incorporation of scientific practices. Despite the prevailing global environmental crisis, the scientific output concerning this subject in science education has not been notably abundant. El conocimiento y comprensión de la biodiversidad y de los ecosistemas constituyen en el contexto actual una necesidad educativa. Este trabajo muestra una revisión sistemática de los artículos publicados en cinco revistas españolas de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales entre 2012 y 2024, siguiendo los criterios de la declaración PRISMA. Los objetivos principales son identificar y describir los artículos publicados en dicho periodo sobre biodiversidad y/o ecosistemas abordando autoría, niveles educativos, temáticas, metodologías empleadas y aportaciones a la literatura. La revisión revela que los estudios realizados en estos temas son muy escasos, constituyendo el 5,54% de los trabajos publicados en el área. La mayoría de los autores se adscriben a departamentos de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales y los trabajos se suelen centrar en secundaria y bachillerato. Aproximadamente la mitad de los estudios abordan temas relacionados con biodiversidad, mientras que los dedicados a ecosistemas constituyen la tercera parte. Las metodologías empleadas no muestran una tendencia clara, existiendo una gran representación de ellas. Las aportaciones a la literatura revelan ciertas estrategias que contribuyen significativamente a mejorar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la biodiversidad y los ecosistemas, tales como el uso de metodologías centradas en proyectos y trabajos cooperativos, el uso de contextos reales, y la incorporación de prácticas científicas. A pesar de la situación de crisis ambiental a nivel planetario, la producción científica sobre esta temática en el ámbito de la Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales no ha sido muy abundante.