How teachers use technology efficiently in their classes is an important issue because learning environments are also affected by rapid developments in instructional technology. In the current study, we investigated how designing an inquiry-based technology-enhanced lesson plan on the virtual platform influences the TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) self-efficacy of pre-service teachers and also how they integrated educational technology into their lesson plans. A total of 38 undergraduate students at a teacher education programme participated in the study. Data were gathered by the self-efficacy scale and the lesson plans developed by the pre-service teachers. The findings revealed a significant increase in the TPACK self-efficacy of the pre-service teachers after they designed an inquiry-based technology-enhanced lesson plan on the virtual platform. Besides, lesson plan analysis showed that pre-service teachers generally followed the phases of inquiry-based learning and integrated online scaffolding tools and virtual laboratories into their plans at a moderate level.

Inquiry-based learning can be an effective approach when students are provided with sufficient guidance. However, there is an ongoing debate among practitioners about the nature, type, and level of such guidance. This study investigated the effects on middle school students’ (N = 116) conceptual knowledge and inquiry skills acquisition of providing two different levels of guidance (support or direct presentation of information related to the inquiry process) in hands-on and virtual science laboratories on the topic of electricity. The study was based on a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial quasi-experimental design. The effects of two different levels of guidance combined with either a hands-on or a virtual laboratory were examined. Findings revealed that although the level of guidance was important for students’ conceptual knowledge development, it had no significant impact on their acquisition of inquiry skills. In terms of laboratory environments, it appears that a virtual laboratory and a hands-on laboratory are equally effective for the development of middle school students’ conceptual knowledge and inquiry skills.

Textbooks are one of the primary sources for students to obtain knowledge, so they should present accurate knowledge through textual and visual representations. The goal of the current study is to examine the representations in middle school science textbooks based on the diagram coding scheme to find out a general picture of how representations used in the science textbooks over the fifteen years. The sample consists of 6247 representations from twelve middle school science textbooks (four each of sixth, seventh, and eighth grades) from 2002 to 2017. Content analysis was used to analyze the representations in textbooks, which were gathered by document analysis. The representations were evaluated concerning the combination of two main diagram coding schemes. Findings showed that iconic representations are prevalent in middle school science textbooks. There are limited charts, graphs and augmented reality representations in the science textbooks. Furthermore, there are more male representations than female ones, representations are mostly indexed in the main texts, and captions are mainly problematic in middle school science textbooks. The findings based on the two diagrams coding scheme are mainly coherent with each other. Science textbooks should encourage students to interpret and translate between different representations to enable them accurate knowledge.

It is important to explore children’s perceptions related to scientists for preventing their lack of interest in science and avoidance of science careers. This study aims to reveal middle school students' images of scientists, with an analysis of how those images may be influenced by middle school science textbooks currently use in Turkey. It was also examined students’ opinions related to becoming a scientist. The study is based on a qualitative research methodology. The sample consists of 98 students from a middle school (5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade). The data was gathered by four science textbooks, the Draw a Scientist Test (DAST) and an open-ended questionnaire. The findings showed that most of the middle school students think that scientists as men, happy, wearing a lab coat and glasses, working individually in indoor places. Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were drawn as the most famous scientists. The images of scientists in the science textbooks were mostly men. On the other side, more than half of the students were not sure or not eager to be scientists for their future careers because of negative thoughts on scientific studies and not matching their own characters and the characters that scientists should have.

Game-based learning has attracted great interest in science education as an effective way to increase student achievement. Most studies in this field have focused on digital or non-digital games. In the literature, some studies generally compare educational games with traditional teaching methods. More studies need to be conducted to compare the effects of digital and non-digital games on achievement. For this reason, the study's primary purpose is to examine the impact of different types of games, namely educational and digital games, and their combinations on students' academic achievement and views on the learning process. In this context, the researcher used three different methods to be applied to three experimental groups and one control group. The research was carried out on 77 5th-grade students studying in a public school in Turkey. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used in the quasi-experimental design. Data were obtained through the 'Human and Environment Unit Achievement Test' and semi-structured interviews. The results showed that students in the educational and digital games sections were significantly better at science achievement than students in the textbook-oriented section. No significant difference was found between the digital game-based and educational game-based students in terms of achievement. The academic achievement of the group in which these two game types were used together was higher than the others. In addition, most students were satisfied with the using educational and digital games in science lessons and found the games fun and motivating.

The aim of this study is to examine the "Knowledge of Student Understanding (KSU)” of pre-service science teachers on "Heat and Temperature" topics. The sample of the research consists of 268 pre-service teachers studying at the 4th grade in the science teaching program of five different universities in Turkey. This research is a case study. The data of the study are collected with "Student Thinking Comprehension Test” and "Interview Form". "Scoring Rubrics for Knowledge of Student Thinking" and "Rubric for Analysis of Interviews" are used for the analysis of data. The data of the research are analyzed descriptively on the basis of these rubrics. The results of the study reveal that the vast majority of pre-service science teachers cannot effectively diagnose the student’s inaccurate knowledge that emerges in solving specific problems in “Heat and Temperature” topics. In addition, it is shown that the majority of pre-service science teachers have a little knowledge regarding the difficulties and limitations of students while learning "Heat and Temperature" subjects. According to these results, the KSU of the pre-service science teachers in "Heat and Temperature" topics is insufficient in the process of starting their profession.