Understanding deep evolutionary time is crucial for biology education and for conceptualizing evolutionary history. Although such knowledge might help citizens contemplate their actions in the context of human existence, understanding deep evolutionary time is a demanding cognitive endeavor for students. The enormous magnitudes of evolutionary time are often visually communicated through phylograms and timelines. Given the importance of understanding evolutionary time in various scientific domains at large, there is a need for tools to gauge students’ knowledge about visually communicated deep evolutionary time. In response, we describe the design and validation of an instrument to measure knowledge about the visual representation of deep evolutionary time. Development, expert panel evaluation, and piloting of an initial 14 questions with 139 respondents resulted in a 10-item multiple-choice questionnaire. Subsequent collection and analysis of 212 responses validated the 10-item Deep Evolutionary Time Visual Instrument (DET-Vis). Identification of a single factor suggests a unidimensional construct that represents knowledge about the visual communication of deep evolutionary time. A Cronbach’s alpha of 0.73 yielded an acceptable internal consistency of the instrument. The items of the instrument discriminate well with discrimination coefficients between 0.25 and 0.53. The instrument is of moderate difficulty with difficulty indices ranging from 0.56 to 0.81. The seven-step methodological design and validation procedure of this study yielded a unidimensional, valid, and reliable ten-item deep evolutionary time visual test instrument. The instrument items probe both procedural and declarative aspects of the construct that could warrant future psychometric exploration. Use of DET-Vis in pedagogical practice could help support the teaching of deep evolutionary time at upper secondary and undergraduate levels.

When studying attitudes toward technology education, the affective attitudinal component has primarily been the focus. This study focuses on how the affective, cognitive and behavioral attitudinal components of technology education can be incorporated using a two-step survey: the traditional PATT-questionnaire (PATT-SQSE) and the recently developed Mitcham Score questionnaire. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship among the cognitive, affective and potential behavioural components of students attitudes toward technology in a Swedish context, using the PATT-SQ-SE instrument including the Mitcham score open items. Results of the analyses show that relationships among the attitudinal components are observable. The results also imply that relationships among the attitudinal components are different for girls than boys. A key factor for the participating students attitudinal relations was interest (affective component) in technology education. An individual interest in technology education was related to both the cognitive component and behavioral intention. Another key relationship, for girls, was that the cognitive component had a strong relationship with behavioral intention, which was not the case for boys. Based on the observed relations between the cognitive, affective and behavioural components we have identified two key implications for educational practice: Girls should learn a broader conception of technology in technology education, if we want them to pursue technology-related careers to a higher degree; Students interest in technology should be stimulated through engaging tasks in technology education.

In technology education, assessment is challenging and underdeveloped as it is a nascent practice and teachers do not have a well-defined subject tradition to lean on when assessing students. The aim of this study is to explore Swedish secondary technology teachers’ cognitive beliefs about assessing students’ learning of technological systems, in relation to the assessment tools they use. Data for the study were collected through a questionnaire which was completed by 511 Swedish technology teachers in lower secondary education (grades 7–9). The data were analysed statistically in three main steps. Exploratory factor analysis revealed underlying dimensions in teachers’ cognitive beliefs, which was followed by correlation analysis to discern associations between dimensions of cognitive beliefs. Finally, comparisons were made between groups of teachers to discern how teachers’ cognitive beliefs are influenced by their experience and educational background. The results show that additional education in the technology and engineering fields relates to more positive cognitive beliefs concerning teachers’ ability to assess students’ learning of technological systems. Teachers’ cognitive beliefs about assessment therefore did not primarily relate to the content of technological systems per se but to increased engineering and technology competence more broadly, which may indicate the importance of a comprehensive technological knowledge base in order to be confident in assessment. Furthermore, strong cognitive beliefs about assessment were connected specifically to local, regional and national technological systems, which are generally well-known and visible types of systems, and to the human, socio-technical dimensions of the systems. Cognitive beliefs about knowledge for assessment were also associated with positive attitudes to assessment tools that followed the formative tradition, which may be explained by the prevalence of procedural epistemic practices and modelling in the design and understanding of technological systems. Technology teachers would need additional in-service courses in engineering to broaden their knowledge and increase their cognitive beliefs about assessment. Formative assessment should also be preferred, and it might be appropriate to begin teaching and assessment with well-known local and regional infrastructural systems with a clear socio-technical dimension.

Background The subject of technology looks different depending on context. There is also an epistemological complexity to technological knowledge in technology education. Purpose To gain a deeper understanding of the epistemological foundations of the subject of technology and technology teaching, the teachers views are needed. The aim of this study is to examine how teachers discuss technology education, with a particular focus on how they talk about technological knowledge. Sample 19 Technology teachers from compulsory school in Sweden participated. Design and methods Through focus groups, teachers views of knowledge in technology education were collected and then analysed. Results The results consist of three parts. Firstly, it was found that the teachers were unfamiliar with discussing epistemology in technology education. Secondly, interpreting their views of knowledge in technology education through a theoretical framework for knowledge in technology education yielded examples of knowledge from the three constituent categories: technical skills, technological scientific knowledge, and socio-ethical technical understanding. Finally, an inductive analysis revealed two categories based on the teachers broader views of knowledge: civic capabilities and engineering capabilities. Conclusion Overall, the results provide an understanding of teachers ways of describing technological knowledge. The teachers perceived the term knowledge in a broader way than traditional epistemology, including capabilities in their descriptions. We propose a new perspective on the character of knowledge and capability in technology education, called technology education competence. The results of this study point to important aspects of the nature of the subject, which might lead to reflection about what knowledge should be considered of value in the future regarding research but especially development of curricula.

There is not one single global version of technology education; curricula and standards have different forms and content. This sometimes leads to difficulties in discussing and comparing technology education internationally. Existing philosophical frameworks of technological knowledge have not been used to any great extent in technology education. In response, the aim of this article is to construct a heuristic framework for technology education, based on professional and academic technological knowledge traditions. We present this framework as an epistemological tripod of technology education with mutually supporting legs. We discuss how this tripod relates to a selection of epistemological views within the philosophy of technology. Furthermore, we apply the framework to the Swedish and English technology curricula, to demonstrate its utility as an analytic tool when discerning differences between national curricula. Each leg of the tripod represents one category of technological knowledge: (1) technical skills, (2) technological scientific knowledge and (3) socio-ethical technical understanding. The heuristic framework is a conceptual model intended for use in discussing, describing, and comparing curriculum components and technology education in general, and potentially also as support for planning and conducting technology teaching. It may facilitate common understanding of technology education between different countries and technology education traditions. Furthermore, it is a potentially powerful tool for concretising the components of technological literacy.

Visual images are crucial for communicating science in educational contexts and amongst practitioners. Reading images contributes to meaning-making in society at large, and images are fundamental communicative tools in public spaces such as science centers. Here, visitors are exposed to a range of static, dynamic, and digital visual representations accessible through various multimodal and interactive possibilities. Images conveying scientific phenomena differ to what extent they represent real objects, and include photographs, schematic illustrations, and measurement-based models. Depicting realism in biological objects, structures and processes through images differs with respect to, inter alia, shading, color, and surface texture. Although research has shown that aspects of these properties can both potentially benefit and impair interpretation, little is known about their impact on viewers’ visual preference and inclination for further exploration. Therefore the aim of this study is to investigate what effect visual properties have on visitors’ perception of biological images integrated in an interactive science center exhibit. Visitors responded to a questionnaire designed to assess the impact of three indicators of realism (shading, color, and surface texture) and biological content (e.g., cells and viruses) on participants’ preferences, perceptions of whether biological images depicted real objects, and their desire to further explore images. Inspired by discrete choice experiments, image pairs were systematically varied to allow participants to make direct choices between images with different properties. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the three indicators of realism were all significant predictors of participants’ assessments that images depict real objects. Shadows emerged as a significant predictor of preference for further exploration together with the presence of cells in the image. Correlation analysis indicated that images that were more often selected as depicting real objects were also more often selected for further exploration. We interpret the results in terms of construal level theory in that a biological image perceived as a realistic portrayal would induce a desire for further exploration. The findings have implications for considering the role of realism and preference in the design of images for communicating science in public spaces.

The prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse of waste is promoted by the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but many countries lack both necessary resources and infrastructure for sound waste management. While literature pinpoints the need for an engaged public and suggests a range of factors and supportive actions that may impact citizens’ waste behaviour, qualitative in-depth studies for engaging in waste management practices remain scarce. This study aimed to investigate perceptions of waste management and underlying behaviours for waste practices in the context of household waste management in Sri Lanka. Six focus group interviews were held with 23 residents across 6 regions in Sri Lanka. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed perceptions of four waste management systems, together with five motivational aspects of waste practices in urban, suburban, and rural areas. The analysis further considers how the motivational aspects are interlinked with practices within citizens’ perceived systems. In addition to the novel thematic contribution to the field, the findings can be used as a foundation to inform strategies to communicate with selected target audiences about their local challenges for sustainable waste management practices, in an attempt to influence citizen behaviours.

Under tre terminer har hela utbildningsväsendet i Sverige varit hårt prövat av pandemin covid-19. Vi är fortfarande långt ifrån att kunna summera dess långsiktiga effekter. Utöver belastningen så har situationen också fört med sig nya sätt att arbeta, tänka och vara. Redaktionen för ATENA Didaktik vill med detta temanummer uppmärksamma och stödja det professionella lärande som under den senaste tiden har aktualiserats. I den här texten presenteras också hur skolan och forskning om undervisning har påverkats.

Virtuella laborationer gör det möjligt för elever att labba utan att vara i en laborationssal. Men hur står sig digitala laborationer mot fysiska laborationer? Allt mer forskning undersöker detta, och resultaten visar att det är viktigt för lärare att ha tänkt igenom målet med laborationen för att kunna bedöma om en virtuell eller en fysisk laboration är lämplig.

Public understanding of contemporary scientific issues is critical for the future of society. Public spaces, such as science centers, can impact the communication of science by providing active knowledge-building experiences of scientific phenomena. In contributing to this vision, we have previously developed an interactive visualization as part of a public exhibition about nano. We reflect on how the immersive design and features of the exhibit contribute as a tool for science communication in light of the emerging paradigm of exploranation, and offer some forward-looking perspectives about what this notion has to offer the domain.

Public understanding of contemporary scientific issues is critical for the future of society. Public spaces, such as science centers, can impact the communication of science by providing active knowledge-building experiences of scientific phenomena. In contributing to this vision, we have previously developed an interactive visualization as part of a public exhibition about nano. We reflect on how the immersive design and features of the exhibit contribute as a tool for science communication in light of the emerging paradigm of exploranation, and offer some forward-looking perspectives about what this notion has to offer the domain.

Välkommen till första numret av ATENA Didaktik - en digital, professionsvetenskaplig tidskrift om ämnesdidaktisk forskning inom de naturvetenskapliga ämnena och teknik. Tidskriften vänder sig till lärarprofessionen och forskare, och vår förhoppning är att den ska ge lärare bättre förutsättningar att bygga undervisning på vetenskaplig grund och beprövad erfarenhet.

ATENA Didaktik – Avisa för Teknikens och Naturvetenskapernas Didaktik – lanserades den 17 oktober 2019 i samband med att de första artiklarna publicerades på atenadidaktik.se. Det är en digital, professionsvetenskaplig tidskrift som erbjuder en samlad och enkel väg till ämnesdidaktisk forskning inom de naturvetenskapliga ämnena och teknik. ATENA Didaktik fungerar också som ett forum där lärare kan dela med sig av sina erfarenheter som ett led i att dokumentera beprövad erfarenhet. Artiklarna som publiceras i tidskriften vänder sig i första hand till lärarprofessionen, det vill säga förskollärare, lärare i fritidshem, lärare i grundskolan, på gymnasieskolan och i vuxenutbildningen. Den vänder sig även till lärare med särskilda utvecklingsuppdrag inom exempelvis kommuner och myndigheter, men också till skolledare på alla nivåer. Dessutom riktar sig ATENA Didaktik till lärarstudenter, lärarutbildare och forskare på lärosäten.

Sedan 2010 anger skollagen att all utbildning ska vila på vetenskaplig grund och beprövad erfarenhet. För att detta ska ske behöver forskare och verksamma lärare kommunicera på flera olika sätt. Konferensen ”Kemi för alla” och denna skrift är ett bidrag till denna kommunikation.

Under år 2017 kontaktade NATDID Kemilärarnas resurscentrum (KRC) och undrade om det fanns intresse för att tillsammans producera en skrift med fokus på kemididaktik. Tidigare hade ett samarbete mellan NATDID och Nationellt resurscentrum för fysik (NRCF) lett fram till en skriftsamling.

Idén om att göra något liknande, men med fokus på kemi, ledde fram till att konferensen ”Kemi för alla” arrangerades 1–2 oktober 2018 av KRC och NATDID i samverkan med Institutionen för matematikämnets och naturvetenskapsämnenas didaktik (MND) vid Stockholms universitet. Målet med konferensen var att skapa en mötesplats kring kemiundervisning mellan verksamma lärare och forskare i kemi-/NV-didaktik, samt att producera en skrift som kan ge stöd till lärare som vill forskningsbasera sin undervisning i kemi.

Under konferensen hölls åtta föreläsningar med olika kemididaktiska infallsvinklar. Den här skriften innehåller artiklar som utgår från sex av föreläsningarna. Dessa handlar om alltifrån kemisk bindning, språkutvecklande kemiundervisning, vardagsanknuten och relevant kemiundervisning till mer abstrakta begrepp som kemins karaktär och didaktisk modellering av kemi. Dessutom hölls två föredrag om animeringar respektive virtual reality i kemiundervisningen.

I anslutning till varje föreläsning genomfördes workshops med ambitionen att ta tillvara konferensdeltagarnas undervisningsidéer. Resultaten skrevs ned av i förväg utsedda ”sekreterare” och delar av dessa anteckningar har författarna till denna skrift använt i sina artiklar.

De möten och samtal mellan forskning och skolans praktik som sker bland annat på konferenser som ”Kemi för alla” är viktiga för skolans utveckling på vetenskaplig grund. Vi tror på vikten av att långsiktigt bygga relationer mellan skolan och forskningen och hoppas kunna genomföra ytterligare en ”Kemi för alla” hösten 2020. Denna konferensbok syftar till att sprida de erfarenheter som presenterades vid konferensen i Stockholm till fler än de som var närvarande.

Educational research on attitudes shows that both teaching and student learningare affected by the attitudes of the teacher. The aim of this study is to examine technologyteachers’ perceptions of and attitudes towards teaching technology in Swedish compulsoryschools, focusing on teachers’ perceived control. The following research question is posed:How do the teachers perceive self-efficacy and context dependency in teaching technology?Qualitative interviews were performed with 10 technology teachers in the compulsoryschool (ages 7–16), and the data was analysed using thematic analysis. Based on an attitudeframework, three sub-themes of self-efficacy were found: experience, education andinterest, subject knowledge, and preparation. Furthermore, four sub-themes of contextdependency were found; collegial support, syllabus, resources and status. The results showthat, according to the teachers in this study, self-efficacy mainly comes from experience,education and interest. Moreover, contextual factors can both limit and boost the teachers,but overall there are negative attitudes because of a lack of support and resources, whichimpedes the teaching. Teachers educated in technology education generally express morepositive attitudes and thus seem to have advantages in relation to technology teaching, butstill they sometimes express negative attitudes in the field of perceived control. Someimplications of this study are that it is necessary to promote teacher education in technologyand to reserve resources for technology education in schools, thereby supportingteachers in controlling contextual and internal factors that affect their teaching. Thissupport to teachers is especially important if there is an intention for the subject to developin new directions.

Antibiotic resistance is typically used to justify education about evolution, as evolutionary reasoning improves our understanding of causes of resistance and possible countermeasures. It has also been promoted as a useful context for teaching natural selection, because its potency as a selection factor, in combination with the very short generation times of bacteria, allows observation of rapid selection. It is also amenable to animations, which have potential for promoting conceptual inferences. Thus, we have explored the potential benefits of introducing antibiotic resistance as a first example of natural selection, in animations, to novice pupils (aged 13–14 years). We created a series of animations that pupils interacted with in groups of 3–5 (total n = 32). Data were collected at individual (pre-/post- test) and group (collaborative group questions) levels. In addition, the exercise was video-recorded and the full transcripts were analysed inductively. The results show that most of the pupils successfully applied basic evolutionary reasoning to predict antibiotic resistance development in tasks during and after the exercise, suggesting that this may be an effective approach. Pedagogical contributions include the identification of certain characteristics of the bacterial context for evolution teaching, including common misunderstandings, and factors to consider when designing animations.

Denna bok är en antologi om forskning kring teknikdidaktik, utgiven i samarbete mellan Nationellt centrum för naturvetenskapernas och teknikens didaktik (NATDID), forskningsmiljön Teknik, naturvetenskap och didaktik (TekNaD), och Centrum för tekniken i skolan (CETIS), vid Linköpings universitet. Syftet med boken är att lärare och andra som är intresserade av teknikdidaktik ska kunna ta del av exempel på forskning som görs inom detta område. Texterna kan användas på flera olika sätt, till exempel som inspiration för undervisning, som ett sätt att vidga vyerna inom något område och få nya perspektiv, samt naturligtvis som källa till konkreta idéer och tips om undervisning. Därigenom bidrar den här boken till möjligheter att bygga undervisning på vetenskaplig grund.

Boken är sammansatt av olika forskares texter. Som ni kommer att märka finns det en bred variation i texternas karaktärer. Dels beror det på att det är många olika inriktningar av forskning med bland bidragen, från analyser av be-rättelser i barnböcker till undersökningar av lärares och elevers attityder. Dels beror det på att forskningen bakom bidragen har kommit olika långt, där vissa texter sammanfattar projekt som pågått under många år medan andra representerar doktoranders inledande kartläggning av området för kommande avhandlingsarbete.

Texterna har gemensamt att de är skrivna specifikt för lärare1. Vid NATDID kallar vi detta för professionsvetenskapliga texter och strävar efter att det ska vara en medelväg mellan vetenskapligt och populärvetenskapligt skrivande. Det innebär å ena sidan att texterna ska vara lätta att läsa för personer utanför akademin, och å andra sidan att de ska använda de termer och begrepp som ingår i lärares professionsspråk.  

Hands-on digital interactivity in science centers provides new communicative opportunities. The Microcosmos multi-touch table allows visitors to interact with 64 image “cards” of (sub)microscopic biological structures and processes embedded across seven theme categories. This study presents the integration of biological content, interactive features and logging capabilities into the table, and analyses visitors’ usage and preferences. Data logging recorded 2,070,350 events including activated category, selected card, and various finger-based gestures. Visitors interacted with all cards during 858 sessions (96 s on average). Finger movements covered an average accumulated distance of 4.6 m per session, and about 56% of card interactions involved two fingers. Visitors made 5.53 category switches per session on average, and the virus category was most activated (average 0.96 per session). An overall ranking score related to card attractive power and holding power revealed that six of the most highly used cards depicted viruses and four were colourful instrument output images. The large finger traversal distance and proportion of two-finger card interaction may indicate the intuitiveness of the gestures. Observed trends in visitor engagement with the biological visualizations are considered in terms of construal level theory. Future work will examine how interactions are related to potential learning of biological content.

Educational videos on the Internet comprise a vast and highly diverse source of information. Online search engines facilitate access to numerous videos claiming to explain natural selection, but little is known about the degree to which the video content match key evolutionary content identified as important in evolution education research. In this study, we therefore analyzed the content of 60 videos accessed through the Internet, using a criteria catalog with 38 operationalized variables derived from research literature. The variables were sorted into four categories: (a) key concepts (e.g. limited resources and inherited variation), (b) threshold concepts (abstract concepts with a transforming and integrative function), (c) misconceptions (e.g. that evolution is driven by need), and (d) organismal context (e.g. animal or plant). The results indicate that some concepts are frequently communicated, and certain taxa are commonly used to illustrate concepts, while others are seldom included. In addition, evolutionary phenomena at small temporal and spatial scales, such as subcellular processes, are rarely covered. Rather, the focus is on population-level events over time scales spanning years or longer. This is consistent with an observed lack of explanations regarding how randomly occurring mutations provide the basis for variation (and thus natural selection). The findings imply, among other things, that some components of natural selection warrant far more attention in biology teaching and science education research.

There is a dual relationship between antibiotic resistance and biological evolution. Antibiotic resistance is typically used as a motivation for why we need an efficient evolution education given that evolutionary reasoning improves our understanding of causes and suggested countermeasures. On the other hand, antibiotic resistance has also been suggested as a useful context in which evolution can be taught, based primarily but not solely on the quick generation times of bacteria. In the present study, we explore the potential benefits with using antibiotic resistance as an example when introducing evolution to novice pupils (aged 13-14). We created a series of animations that pupils interacted with in groups of 3-5 (total n=32). Data was collected on both individual (pre-posttest) and group (collaborative group questions) level. In addition, the exercise was video-taped and the full transcripts were analyzed inductively. The results show that a majority of the pupils succeeded in applying basic evolutionary reasoning to make predictions on antibiotic resistance during and after the exercise, suggesting that this may be a successful approach. Cautions to be aware of include pupils’ use of teleological and antropomorphic reasoning, especially in discussions on submicroscopical phenomena such as genetic processes. Implications for teaching include both lessons from the design of animations as well as the identification of common misunderstandings. The analysis also identifies and points toward several possible future research endeavours.

Purpose: Transitioning to independence may be problematic for persons with spina bifida (SB). Experiences of young persons with SB may provide insights into this group's needs for support. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate children'€™s and adolescents' experiences of living with SB, their social and emotional adjustment, and their thoughts about becoming independent adults. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with young persons with SB (N = 8, age range 10 - 17 years). Social and emotional problems were assessed using Beck Youth Inventories. The interview transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Three main themes were found: being a person with SB; everyday living as a person with SB; and preparing for life as an adult with SB. Indications of emotional and social problems were most prominent among participants with milder physical disability. Conclusions: The findings indicate that young persons with SB may overestimate their independence. Other potentially problematic areas were lack of motivation, planning and preparedness for becoming independent. Research on transition to independence in this group should consider assistance at an early age in planning and executing strategies for independence. In addition, the potentially difficult situation for young persons with mild SB should be investigated further.

Learning to talk science is an important aspect of learning to do science. Given that scientists' language frequently includes intentions and purposes in explanations of unobservable objects and events, teachers must interpret whether learners' use of such language reflects a scientific understanding or inaccurate anthropomorphism and teleology. In the present study, a framework consisting of three 'stances' (Dennett, 1987) - intentional, design and physical - is presented as a powerful tool for analysing students' language use. The aim was to investigate how the framework can be differentiated and used analytically for interpreting students' talk about a molecular process. Semi-structured group discussions and individual interviews about the molecular self-assembly process were conducted with engineering biology/chemistry (n=15) and biology/chemistry teacher students (n=6). Qualitative content analysis of transcripts showed that all three stances were employed by students. The analysis also identified subcategories for each stance, and revealed that intentional language with respect to molecular movement and assumptions about design requirements may be potentially problematic areas. Students' exclusion of physical stance explanations may indicate literal anthropomorphic interpretations. Implications for practice include providing teachers with a tool for scaffolding their use of metaphorical language and for supporting students' metacognitive development as scientific language users.

Background: From previous research among science teachers itis known that teachers’ attitudes to their subjects affect important aspects of their teaching, including their confidence and the amount of time they spend teaching the subject. In contrast, less is known about technology teachers’ attitudes.

Purpose: Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate Swedish technology teachers’ attitudes toward their subject, and how these attitudes may be related to background variables.

Sample: Technology teachers in Swedish compulsory schools(n = 1153) responded to a questionnaire about teachers’ attitudes,experiences, and background.

Methods: Exploratory factor analysis was used to investigate attitude dimensions of the questionnaire. Groupings of teachers based on attitudes were identified through cluster analysis, and multinomial logistic regression was performed to investigate the role of teachers’ background variables as predictors for cluster belonging.

Results: Four attitudinal dimensions were identified in the questionnaire, corresponding to distinct components of attitudes.Three teacher clusters were identified among the respondents characterized by positive, negative, and mixed attitudes toward the subject of technology and its teaching, respectively. The most influential predictors of cluster membership were to be qualified for teaching technology, having participated in in-service-training, teaching at a school with a proper overall teaching plan for the subject of technology and teaching at a school with a defined number of teaching hours for the subject.

Conclusions: The results suggest that efforts to increase technology teachers’ qualifications and establishing a fixed number of teaching hours and an overall teaching plan for the subject of technology may yield more positive attitudes among teachers toward technology teaching. In turn, this could improve the status of the subject as well as students’ learning.

The advent of nanoscientific applications in modern life is swiftly in progress. Nanoscale innovation comes with the pressing need to provide citizens and learners with scientific knowledge for judging the societal impact of nanotechnology. In rising to the challenge, this paper reports the developmental phase of a research agenda concerned with building and investigating a virtual environment for communicating nano-ideas. Methods involved elucidating core nano-principles through two purposefully contrasting nano “risk” and “benefit” scenarios for incorporation into an immersive system. The authors implemented the resulting 3D virtual architecture through an exploration of citizens' and school students' interaction with the virtual nanoworld. Findings suggest that users' interactive experiences of conducting the two tasks based on gestural interaction with the system serve as a cognitive gateway for engendering nano-related understanding underpinning perceived hopes and fears and as a stimulating pedagogical basis from which to teach complex science concepts.

Nano education involves tackling the difficult task of conceptualizing imperceptibly small objects and processes. Interactive visualization serves as one potential solution for providing access to the nanoworld through active exploration of nanoscale concepts and principles. This chapter exposes and describes a selection of interactive visualizations in the literature, and reviews research findings related to their educational, perceptual and cognitive influence. In closing, we offer implications of interactive visualization for learning and teaching nano.

Projektets övergripande vision var att dels utveckla en virtuell miljö för att förmedla begrepp inom nanovetenskap och nanoteknik (vilket härefter kommer att benämnas med samlingstermen nano), och dels att undersöka vilken effekt interaktion med systemet har på lärande av vetenskapliga begrepp och uppfattningar kring fördelar och risker med nano hos elever och besökare vid ett science center. Utifrån detta övergripande syfte gavs projektet följande specifika mål:

• Formge, utveckla och implementera en immersiv miljö för virtuell verklighet grundad i naturvetenskap, för kommunikation av grundläggande nanovetenskapliga begrepp.
• Studera elevers och besökares interaktion med den virtuella nanomiljön som ett verktyg för utveckling av grundläggande vetenskaplig kunskap.

Projektet resulterade i utvecklingen av en miljö där gester kan användas för att styra en virtuell verklighet som möjliggör lärande om nano, samt en version av systemet som är anpassad för traditionella datorer (PC) utrustade med skärm och mus. Empiriska undersökningar av användares interaktion med den virtuella miljön visar att den erbjuder möjligheter för att förstå nanobegrepp genom att stödja kognition, kroppsliga erfarenheter, motivation, och generell användbarhet. Resultaten tyder på att immersiva virtuella miljöer kan ge stöd för att användare baserat på sina interaktiva upplevelser ska kunna utveckla kunskap om vetenskapliga kärnbegrepp, samt utveckla sådan kunskap som krävs för att bedöma upplevda möjligheter och risker med nano.

Future societal and economic impacts of nanoscience and nanotechnology raise the demand for a nano-literate public as well as a nano-competent workforce. This translates into the urgent need for nano education interventions in schools and informal learning contexts. In seeking to meet this mandate, we have developed and investigated a virtual reality environment that induces immersive presence (feeling as being ‘in’ the virtual world) and exploits bodily movements (e.g. hand gestures to control virtual objects) for students and citizens to learn nano concepts. In this article, we argue that such scientifically-informed immersive and interactive visualizations have a unique potential in communicating nanoscale ideas to students as well as the general public.

In this study Swedish teachers’ views of the technology subject and technology teaching are examined. Investigations made the last few years show that there are deficiencies in the technology teaching in Swedish schools - e.g. lack of time in the timetable, low status, non-certified teachers and lack of materials. The subject is young, compared to other subjects, and the teachers have different backgrounds and different technological knowledge. Educational research in general tells us that the teacher has a great impact on the pupils and their learning situation. Therefore, the aim is to examine how Swedish Technology teachers experience and view the subject and its teaching.

The study is quantitative and based on a web based inquiry. 1153 teachers participated. The participants teach, or taught, technology in Swedish compulsory schools.  The data was analysed with the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. In order to examine the teacher’s experience consisting of different underlying factors, an exploratory factor analysis was performed on 18 statements from the inquiry. The result of the analysis shows that there are four underlying factors; 1 Technology education is important, 2 Good conditions for technology education, 3 Syllabus is in focus for technology education and 4 Confidence, interest and technology education of the teacher. “Technology education is important” has the highest mean, which indicates that most of the teachers do find Technology important. The lowest mean is found in “Good conditions for technology education”, it shows that the respondents were not satisfied with the circumstances in their school. The factors are a help for a wider understanding of the teachers experience. Further investigations of the factors and the statistical material will follow, with ambitions to find out if there are some preconditions that explain why teachers have different views of the factors found in this first part.

Machine metaphors are ubiquitous in the molecular sciences. In addition to their use by scientists, educators and popularizers of science, they have been promoted intensively by the Intelligent Design (ID) movement in arguments for the necessity of a god-like designer to account for the complexities of life at the molecular level. The authors have investigated the visual rhetoric employed in a movie by ID proponents, with particular emphasis on machine metaphors. The authors provide examples and argue that science communicators could reduce the persuasive impact of ID visual rhetoric based on machine metaphors by emphasizing that self-assembly is fundamental to molecular complexes.

The present study explores the extent and precision of evolutionary explanations for antibiotic resistance in communication directed toward the Swedish public. Bacterial resistance develops through evolutionary mechanisms and knowledge of these helps to explain causes underlying the growing prevalence of resistant strains, as well as important countermeasures to address the problem. A content analysis based on key evolutionary concepts underpinning resistance development was conducted on three different data sources: print newspapers, online websites and biology textbooks. The results revealed that evolutionary mechanisms are seldom included in accounts of antibiotic resistance provided by these sources. One of the included textbooks (n = 6) but none of the newspaper articles (n = 221) or websites (n = 19) covered all six concepts considered in the analysis. A cluster of four concepts regarded as most important for understanding the evolution of resistance development was only included in one news article, one textbook and two websites. Moreover, explanations were seldom supported visually and only two accompanying illustrations were found during the analysis. The results indicated that a large proportion of the Swedish public might never encounter an explanation of antibiotic resistance in evolutionary terms. This could be problematic since increased public awareness and understanding is crucial to counter the issue of bacterial resistance. 

As the application of nanotechnology in everyday life impacts society, it becomes critical for citizens to have a scientific basis upon which to judge their perceived hopes and fears of ‘nano’. Although multiple instruments have been designed for assessing attitudinal and affective aspects of nano, surprisingly little work has focused on developing tools to evaluate the conceptual knowledge dimension of public understanding. This article reports the validation of an instrument designed to measure conceptual knowledge of nanoscience and nanotechnology. A sample of 302 participants responded to a 28-item questionnaire designed around core nano-concepts. Factor analysis revealed a single latent variable representing the construct of nano-knowledge. Cronbach's alpha was 0.91 indicating a high internal consistency of the questionnaire items. The mean test score was 15.3 out of 28 (54.5%) with item difficulty indices ranging from 0.19 to 0.89. Obtained item discrimination values indicate a high discriminatory power of the instrument. Taken together, the psychometric properties of the Nano-Knowledge Instrument (NanoKI) suggest that it is a valid and reliable tool for measuring nano-related knowledge. Preliminary qualitative observations of citizens' incorrect and correct response patterns to the questionnaire indicate potential conceptual challenges surrounding relative size of the nanoscale, random motion of nano-objects, and nanoscale interactions, although these are hypotheses that require future investigation. Application of the NanoKI could support efforts directed to an agenda for evaluating and designing science communication and education initiatives for promoting understanding of nano.

Haptics provides powerful cues about forces but cannot easily be integrated in all relevant applications, such as education. Pseudo-haptic cues, visual information that simulate haptic sensations, have been raised as an alternative. It is, however, largely unknown how (or even if) pseudo-haptic cues are perceived by the haptic sensory modality. In this paper we present an approach that applies theories on multimodal integration to testing if a pseudo-haptic cue is triggering haptic perception. This approach is subsequently applied in designing an experiment that tests a pseudo-haptic cue based on a visual force-causes-displacement metaphor, similar to a rubber band.

Målet med projektet var att studera visuella representationers roll som verktyg för kommunikation och lärande inom molekylär livsvetenskap utifråntre övergripande frågeställningar:

• Vilka kritiska egenskaper hos visualiseringar är avgörande för hur de tolkas?
• Hur påverkas lärandeprocessen av olika visuella representationer?
• Hur påverkas lärandeprocessen av hur den visuella representationen används?

Projektet har inbegripit såväl metodologisk utveckling som forskningsresultat som kan stödja konstruktionen och användandet av visualiseringar i kommunikativ praktik.

Spina bifida is a congenital birth defect, resulting in physical and cognitive dysfunctions. Condition-related knowledge among children and adolescents with spina bifida is essential to facilitate independent management of their condition. The aim was to describe the condition-related knowledge among children and adolescents with spina bifida in a Swedish county. Thirteen persons with spina bifida (10 to 17 years) participated. Condition-related knowledge was assessed (n = 13) using a questionnaire (KOSB) and a semi-structured interview (n = 8). Interview data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The participants had well-developed knowledge concerning proper bladder management, but were lacking knowledge of signs of shunt malfunctioning and etiology. Some participants were uninterested in learning about their condition, despite being aware that they lacked knowledge. The findings indicate potential areas that may be included in local educational initiatives. It should be considered that persons with spina bifida may not be motivated to learn more about their condition.

The advent of nanoscientific applications in modern life is swiftly in progress. Nanoscale innovation comes with the pressing need to provide citizens and learners with scientific knowledge for judging the societal impact of nanotechnology. In rising to the challenge, this paper reports the developmental phase of a research agenda concerned with building and investigating a virtual environment for communicating nano-ideas. Methods involved elucidating core nano-principles through two purposefully contrasting nano “risk” and “benefit” scenarios for incorporation into an immersive system. The authors implemented the resulting 3D virtual architecture through an exploration of citizens’ and school students’ interaction with the virtual nanoworld. Findings suggest that users’ interactive experiences of conducting the two tasks based on gestural interaction with the system serve as a cognitive gateway for engendering nano-related understanding underpinning perceived hopes and fears and as a stimulating pedagogical basis from which to teach complex science concepts.

Rapid nanoscientific development in a myriad of applied fields compels educational structures to develop curricular nanoknowledge for a future citizenry capable of contributing skills to a nano-workforce and in acquiring a nano-literacy. This study investigated ten Swedish upper-secondary students' interactions with a virtual reality nanoworld and sought to illuminate: 1) how students link to and support their understanding of prior science knowledge, 2) students' attitudes towards the benefits and risks of nanotechnology, and 3) the usability of the system. Analyzed videotaped and written data elicited cognitive mechanisms underlying interaction with the virtual reality environment for promoting understanding, the influence of the interactive experience on students' attitudes to nanophenomena, and system features that could be applied in real science classrooms.

Antibiotic resistance is an increasing global threat involving many actors, including the general public. We present findings from a content analysis of the coverage of antibiotic resistance in the Swedish print media with respect to the risk communication factors cause, magnitude and countermeasures. The most commonly reported cause of development and spread of resistance was unnecessary prescription of antibiotics. Risk magnitudes were mostly reported qualitatively rather than using quantitative figures. Risk-reduction measures were analyzed using a framework that distinguishes between personal and societal efficacy. Measures at the societal level were more commonly reported compared to the individual level.

Recent educational research has suggested that immersive multisensory virtual environments offer learners unique and exciting knowledge-building opportunities for the construction of scientific knowledge. This paper delivers a case-based study of students’ immersive interaction with electric fields around molecules in a multisensory visuohaptic virtual environment. The virtual architecture presented here also has conceptual connections to the flourishing quest in contemporary literature for the pressing need to communicate nanoscientific ideas to learners. Five upper secondary school students’ prior conceptual understanding of electric fields and their application of this knowledge to molecular contexts, were probed prior to exposure to the virtual model. Subsequently, four students interacted with the visuohaptic model while performing think-aloud tasks. An inductive and heuristic treatment of videotaped verbal and behavioural data revealed distinct interrelationships between students’ interactive strategies implemented when executing tasks in the virtual system and the nature of their conceptual knowledge deployed. The obtained qualitative case study evidence could serve as an empirical basis for informing the rendering and communication of overarching nanoscale ideas. At the time of composing this paper for publication in the current journal, the research findings of this study have been put into motion in informing a broader project goal of developing educational virtual environments for depicting nanophenomena.

Infusion of nanotechnology applications into modern life is in progress. Nanoscale innovation comes with the ever-pressing need to provide citizens and learners with scientific knowledge for informing perceptions and attitudes surrounding the societal impact of nanotechnology. In rising to the challenge, this paper reports the first developmental phase of a broader research agenda concerned with building and investigating virtual environments for communicating nano-ideas. Methods involved elucidating core nano-principles upon which two purposefully contrasting nanotechnology “risk” and “benefit” scenario tasks were designed for incorporation into an intended virtual environment. The result was construction of a 3D immersive virtual architecture where users’ multisensory interactive experiences of conducting the two tasks are anticipated as a gateway for engendering nano-related understanding underpinning perceived hopes and fears. In this revised paper, post-acceptance for presentation, initial results from a pilot study are also presented attained from exploring learners’ and citizens’ interaction with the constructed virtual environment.

Self-assembly is the fundamental but counterintuitive principle that explains how ordered biomolecular complexes form spontaneously in the cell. This study investigated the impact of using two external representations of virus self-assembly, an interactive tangible three-dimensional model and a static two-dimensional image, on student learning about the process of self-assembly in a group exercise. A conceptual analysis of self-assembly into a set of facets was performed to support study design and analysis. Written responses were collected in a pretest/posttest experimental design with 32 Swedish university students. A quantitative analysis of close-ended items indicated that the students improved their scores between pretest and posttest, with no significant difference between the conditions (tangible model/image). A qualitative analysis of an open-ended item indicated students were unfamiliar with self-assembly prior to the study. Students in the tangible model condition used the facets of self-assembly in their open-ended posttest responses more frequently than students in the image condition. In particular, it appears that the dynamic properties of the tangible model may support student understanding of self-assembly in terms of the random and reversible nature of molecular interactions. A tentative difference was observed in response complexity, with more multifaceted responses in the tangible model condition.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design, HAID 2012, held in Lund, Sweden, in August 2012. The 15 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on haptics and audio in navigation, supporting experiences and activities, object and interface, test and evaluation.

Visualizing molecular properties is often crucial for constructing conceptual understanding in chemistry. However, research has revealed numerous challenges surrounding students' meaningful interpretation of the relationship between the geometry and electrostatic properties of molecules. This study explored students' (n = 18) use of three visual representations of electrostatic potential to interpret whether molecules are polar or nonpolar. The representations consisted of red and blue 'lobes' (termed RB) indicating regions of negative and positive potential, a color gradient mapping electrostatic potential on a molecular surface (MAP), and a rendering of the interface between regions of positive and negative potential (ISO). Data on students' accuracy, time-on-task, and evaluation related to the three visual modes were collected via a Web-based questionnaire. ANOVA indicated that students were significantly more accurate in interpreting ISO representations, although almost half evaluated this mode as the most difficult to use. Furthermore, students took significantly longer to interpret complex molecules than simple molecules using ISO and RB. The results indicate that there may be possible pedagogical benefits in using unconventional visual representations that reduce visual complexity by making molecular relationships explicit. Hence, this has implications for future work on the role of cognitively mapping between different instructional visualizations in the development of fundamental chemical concepts.

Self-assembly is a biological process in which free subunits combine to form molecular complexes. Despite being considered one of the ‘big ideas’ in molecular life sciences, only limited education research has been performed on this topic. The objectives of this study were to investigate students’ learning of self-assembly in an authentic learning environment: a teaching-learning sequence (TLS). Twenty third-year biochemistry students in South Africa participated in the study. The TLS included a tutorial exercise with a physical model of a poliovirus capsid. A mixed-methods approach was employed to collect qualitative and quantitative data from interviews and written pre- and post-tests. A significant improvement in test scores was found, and it was observed that the TLS could support students’ understanding of self-assembly. Some conceptual and visualization difficulties were also identified. Using the model in a TLS was associated with positive attitudes and engagement among the participants.

Surprisingly, very little empirical work has explored the application of students’ knowledge about electric fields to a chemistry context. In response, this paper reports a pilot study that investigated students’ conceptions about electric fields, and how interaction with a haptic virtual model impacts understanding of electric fields around molecules. Students first responded to specially-designed written free response items that probed knowledge transfer. The participants then interacted with the model while performing think-aloud tasks where different haptic modes offered by the model were activated. Qualitative induction of the data revealed that although students demonstrated a pronounced and classical understanding of electrostatic forces and electric fields, they struggled to apply this knowledge to a molecular context. Interestingly, there was a strong association between the existence of an electric field around a molecule with the notion of chemical polarity. Analysis of videotaped interaction with the model provided evidence for distinct influences on students’ understanding, which included using the model to gain unique insight into the nature of electric fields, and as a sensory tool for actively challenging existing alternative conceptions. Future work will expand the research framework presented here and also distil what specific perceptual experiences are related to any changes in knowledge.

This study aimed to investigate students’ assignment of chemical polarity using three visual modes representing electrostatic potential. The modes consisted of coloured lobes that indicate regions of negative (red) and positive (blue) potential, a colour gradient that maps the potential on the molecular surface and a novel representation that uses green surface(s) to show the interface between regions of positive and negative potential. Students’ ability to assign polarity using the three visual modes was evaluated using a web-questionnaire. Mean scores indicated that students were able to successfully assign polarity to molecules using all the modes. However, students were less successful in identifying polar molecules in comparison with non-polar molecules using the map mode. A possible explanation for the lower scores for this mode is that the representational power of the map as a polarity assignment tool could be compromised by the visual complexity of the colour gradient, especially when a molecule is polar. The green surface representation was found to be a sensitive visual tool for assigning polarity to molecules, an encouraging finding since students were exposed to this visual mode for the first time. Given the possible perceptual constraints associated with the map mode, the results of this study might serve as a basis for uncovering the best conditions for pursuing a multiple representations approach to teaching chemical polarity.