In this Communication paper we describe how a research-based approach was applied in Israel to support high-school chemistry teachers, who continued to teach using technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the TPACK (technological pedagogical content knowledge) framework for teachers’ knowledge in technological environments, we developed a questionnaire for chemistry teachers, with the goal to reveal the difficulties they encountered, their needs, and their means for sharing their knowledge, materials, and teaching strategies for online teaching. On the basis of the analysis of the collected data, we provided a research-based response that focused on the teachers’ needs when using technology to teach chemistry. Teachers’ needs, in terms of their knowledge, skills, and means of support, which were identified in the research and the activities that were developed in order to address them, are presented. We emphasized the research-based process that was applied to address teachers’ needs during the pandemic.

Before March 2020, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote instruction of science was only moderately developed compared with more traditional approaches for learning science. Since the outbreak, however, all formal education systems have been carried out in remote mode, and outreach activities that take place in a research or academic setting have usually been canceled, or there has been a search for innovative approaches to shift to digital space. Therefore, the development of learning and teaching strategies has currently focused on remote activities. In this study, a design-based approach was applied to transform an existing authentic science activity using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) from face-to-face to remote learning mode. The remote mode activity included the remote operation of the SEM by the participants. The goal was to formulate a general approach to transform authentic outreach activities from face-to-face to remote operation. To evaluate the design, we compared learners' perceived authenticity in the 2 modes and reflected on the process. Data were collected with a Likert-type questionnaire regarding participants' perceived authenticity. The results suggest that items of authenticity related to the experience of learning content have a positive potential for use in remote mode. The learners' experience of connecting with the scientists is an apparent disadvantage in remote mode. However, changes in communication technology or in the pedagogy of remote teaching is a promising direction for improving social experience.

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The goal of this research is to provide a rich set of connections between two fields: (i) Nanoscale science and technology (NST) and (ii) topics from a common middle school physics curriculum. NST is emerging as one of the most promising new fields of the 21st century, which is one of the many arguments for including NST topics in secondary science education. A specially designed guided discourse with NST scientists was used to produce a map of connections between the two fields. During the discourse, the scientists were presented with two sets of concepts using a visual board and were asked to find connections between them. All suggested connections and the corresponding context offered by the scientists were arranged and presented as a rich set of connections. For example, (i) the NST concept of characterization methods is connected to mechanical forces and can be explained using the example of an atomic force microscope; (ii) the NST concept of size-dependent properties was connected to 7th grade inquiry skills by explaining the size dependence of accuracy, errors, and defects. This set of connections was validated by an experienced middle school science teacher in an open discussion regarding teachers adopting and implementing the resulting insertion points for the curriculum. This resulting set of connections can be used to enrich the curriculum within the NST field. It also provides a perspective on scientists' views regarding insertion of contemporary NST topics into physics middle school education.

The setting of this study is a remote laboratory with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The SEM is an advanced instrument used by scientists to characterize structures in the nanoscale. The remote SEM activity was structured to address different practices of laboratory inquiry. Secondary chemistry students were requested to prepare at home suitable samples for the SEM device, send the samples to a research institute, and operate the SEM device remotely to study their samples. The scientists and the science teacher supported the students, for example, by providing information on how the SEM works and how it is used in contemporary scientific research. A qualitative analysis of data collected during the activity and students' openended feedback in a postquestionnaire identified different inquiry practices according to acceptable science education standards. The "hands-on" practices (e.g., preparing SEM samples and collecting data) engaged the students more in the SEM activity than did the "minds-on" inquiry practices (e.g., analyzing and interpreting data). Students' emotions were also evaluated for the remote SEM setting and the school setting using a semantic differential emotions questionnaire (SDEQ). The paper describes the development of the SDEQ and its validation process. Addressing the emotional aspects and applying the SDEQ revealed that the remote SEM learning environment induces positive emotions for students; these emotions cannot be predicted by students' emotions in a school science setting. This shows the potential of the "emotions-on" aspect to shed new light on inquiry practices and support the inclusion of different students in developing laboratory skills.