In a case study on students on the Master ' s Degree in Secondary Education in the speciality of Physics and Chemistry, is investigated the functionality of an e-rubric during the performance of their external practices. The effectiveness of this tool is examined from a double approach: as a regulator of learning and also as an evaluation tool for the training process. For this reason, the qualifications achieved on the professional competences are analysed: Planification; Teaching and Evaluation; Innovation and reflection on the practice and Integration in the school and cooperative work, all of which have been evaluated by every participant involved (the student and his/her tutors, both professional and academic). Didactic aspects which are considered by the students to be of relevant importance for their training are also identified among the metaknowledge of the curriculum, categorising them as facilitators or obstructionists. These factors have been associated to six areas of interest in the educational context where the students initiate their professional development: Personality and Teacher Motivation, Professional Environment, Elaboration of Teaching Proposals, Classroom Implementation, Training Evaluation or Educational System. Finally, relations between these areas and their contribution to formative self-regulation are established from teaching intervention strategies using the e-rubric, taking into consideration its usefulness on university science education of teachers in training.

Critical thinking (CT) is increasingly recognized as a transversal competence within STEM education, yet it is often addressed implicitly in preservice teacher training. This study analyzes the development of critical thinking in 130 Preservice Early Childhood Education Teachers (PECETs) who, during the 2024–2025 academic year, participated in a training programme designed from a STEM perspective and grounded in scientific inquiry. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine the teaching unit elaborated by PECETs with a rubric that assessed stages of inquiry, as well as to analyze their final reports for evidence of connections between CT and STEM. The findings revealed strong scientific thinking but only superficial links to STEM and CT suggesting progress in participants’ scientific reasoning and analytical and reflective competence. However, evidence of explicit STEM integration and CT justification remained limited. These results confirm the formative potential of inquiry-based STEM education for supporting CT development in early childhood preservice teacher education, while highlighting the need for more explicit scaffolding of inquiry phases, structured reflection opportunities, and collaborative argumentation tasks to strengthen conceptual integration and deepen critical engagement with scientific evidence.

Uno de los ámbitos de la vida diaria en el que se muestran importantes controversias es en el de la alimentación y, dentro de él, en la disyuntiva entre el consumo de productos naturales/no naturales. El hecho de que la creencia sobre la superioridad de los alimentos naturales esté tan arraigada en los consumidores y en los estudiantes, la convierte en una cuestión relevante para ser tratada en la educación secundaria obligatoria. Así, como parte de una investigación más amplia, en la que se pretende abordar esta controversia en las clases de ciencia, en este trabajo se presenta un estudio piloto realizado con 30 estudiantes para analizar sus decisiones de consumo y sus justificaciones sobre dos productos alimentarios, uno natural y otro no, y los cambios de las mismas durante el curso escolar. A comienzos del mismo, más de la mitad de los estudiantes prefieren el alimento natural y para justificar sus decisiones aportan razones en torno a la procedencia, la composición, la salud o control sanitario de los alimentos. Como resultado de la enseñanza habitual, al final de curso, estos estudiantes no son capaces de tomar, en la extensión deseada, decisiones fundamentadas sobre el consumo de productos alimentarios, naturales o no, aun cuando los conocimientos científicos que están involucrados en estas decisiones se hayan enseñado en distintos momentos del proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Finalmente se argumenta la necesidad de elaborar propuestas didácticas centradas explícitamente en esta controversia y se presentan aspectos importantes que, a la luz de los resultados obtenidos, deberían formar parte de ellas. Palabras clave: Alimento natural-no natural, Consumo, Decisiones, Justificaciones, Educación Secundaria Obligatoria Decisions and justifications between natural and unnatural consumption of a food product by 14-15 year old students Abstract: One of the areas of daily life in which there are significant controversies is in the area of food and, within it, in the choice between the consumption of natural/non-natural products. The fact that belief in the superiority of natural foods is so ingrained in consumers and students makes it a relevant issue to be addressed in compulsory secondary education. Thus, as part of a broader investigation, which aims to address this controversy in science classes, this study presents a study conducted with 30 students to analyse their consumption decisions and their justifications for two food products, one natural and other not, and the changes of the same during the school year. At the beginning of it, more than half of the students prefer natural food and to justify their decisions they provide reasons about the origin, composition, health or sanitary control of the food. As a result of regular teaching, at the end of the course, these students are not able to make, to the desired extent, informed decisions about the consumption of food products, natural or not, even when the scientific knowledge that is involved in these decisions is have taught at different times in the teaching and learning process. Finally, the need to elaborate didactic proposals focused explicitly on this controversy is argued, and important aspects are presented that, in light of the results obtained, should be part of them. Keywords: Consumption, Decisions, Justifications, Natural-unnatural food, Secondary Educations.