Sustainable science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education involves lifelong education in various domains. Active learning strategies are receiving increased attention as an important tool, and particularly online-based formative assessment interfaces, although challenges to their use remain in sustainable and flipped STEM education. In this research, we observed pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) performance and motivation in a university STEM course that was planned as a randomized examination of 71 students during a 2017/2018 course with an online interface for sustainable and flipped formative assessment. In terms of PSTs’ standardized performance and the motivation effect survey, we gathered and examined the data to observe pre- and post-test results on adaptive assignments. Additionally, feedback from/to instructors and their log records were recorded by the proposed interface. The results demonstrate the PSTs’ positive performance and motivation, and the feedback and log records reiterate its positive influence with 98.6% participation in the sustainable and flipped online formative assessment interface. Consequently, the foremost drawbacks and challenges that current and traditional STEM education are facing are meaningfully reflected by the results obtained. Thus, the platform allows PSTs to be more involved in experimental contexts and validates learning performance, and the motivations effect survey provides a sustainable and active learning methodology for their future profession.

The use of active and flipped methodologies has increased in recent years. Here, gamification uses typical elements of a game in different contexts, including that of education. Specifically, Escape Room games used as educational tools have potential for teaching–learning, and they can be beneficial because they can improve students’ motivation and emotions toward learning. This is particularly valuable in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses, where the cognitive factor and multidimensional domain are closely connected. This research presents an online-based Edu-Escape Room with science and sustainability contents as an educative tool in a STEM course. With the intervention proposed, we analyze how this tool influences the multidimensional domain (attitudes, self-efficacy and emotions) of pre-service teachers (PSTs). According to attitude and self-efficacy analysis, it is observed that most of the items analyzed show an increase in self-efficacy and more positive attitudes after the intervention. In particular, Question 11 (Q11) indicates a significant difference. Concerning the results for emotion, the positive emotions “joy”, “satisfaction” and “fun” are significantly increased after the intervention. However, the negative emotions “nervousness”, “frustration” and “concern” also increase, partly due to the game characteristics. The proposed activity had a medium effect on items with significant differences except for the emotion “frustration”, where the intervention had a large effect according to effect size (ES) analysis. According to the principal component analysis (PCA), the attitudes, self-efficacy and emotions of the PSTs are positively correlated, and the influence of the proposed activity shows a significant improvement in these variables. Finally, the structural equation modeling partial least squares (SEM-PLS) analysis showed the effects that the instruction has on the PSTs’ emotions and also that they had a significant effect on the positive attitudes towards and self-efficacy in science. Therefore, there are multiple benefits in the multidimensional domain of PSTs of having implemented the proposed online-based Edu-Escape Room.

The position of universities is of great importance in climate change education (CCE) if the scientific, environmental, social, and political challenges the world confronts are to be met. It is, therefore, crucial to comprehend the CCE being engaged in globally by higher education institutions (HEIs). It is also important to discover and analyze the ways that HEIs can better address this challenge. Consistent with the requirements of research, this study offers an analysis of climate change awareness-raising of preservice teachers (PSTs) in a university science classroom with a flipped class intervention. A total of 109 students participated in this research: 55 students in the control group (Group 1) and 54 students in the experimental group (Group 2). A questionnaire was used to detect any significant difference in the students’ awareness of climate change for the two groups and before and after course completion. The analyzed results exposed the improved awareness of climate change in PSTs after a flipped class intervention, and, therefore, PSTs were more willing to engage in climate change teaching. Hence, the results of this study will contribute significantly to reducing existing drawbacks, which will be vital to comprehend the professional teaching developments of preservice teachers. Thus, this research can offer various instances of clarifying how climate change education may be placed in a higher science education context with certain adaptations.

In recent times, there has been growing disinterest by students in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). This trend is especially acute in those students who do not take STEM content during their secondary or high school education. This disinterest might be conditioned by negative emotions towards science developed by students during the different educational stages, even from an early age. In this sense, active teaching methodologies, such as gamification, play a fundamental role in fostering positive emotions towards learning STEM content. Within the wide range of gamification methodologies, we find educational Escape Rooms. Due to the current situation generated by COVID-19, many of the lessons have had to be adapted to a virtual format through various online platforms. In this study, in a preliminary manner, we aim to analyze the effects on the affective domain produced by a virtual Escape Room used in a STEM course as an instructional tool to teach contents about the Universe to teachers in training. According to the results obtained, the positive emotions of “happiness”, “satisfaction” and “fun” are significantly increased after the intervention. At the same time, some negative emotions, such as “nervousness”, “frustration” and “worry” also increase, partly due to the components typically found in this type of games. Based on these results, it is concluded that, despite the existence of both positive and negative emotions, the results are promising and the intervention is motivating and stimulating for the students.

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