There is an international trend towards fun, irreverent, and social events that feature scientific themes and content. We argue that these events -- what we call Adult Science Entertainment Events, or ASEEs -- are a distinct phenomenon in science education and science communication, deserving of study in their own right. In addition to their…

This paper investigates affect as part of children's sensemaking in the context of a play-based mixed-reality science learning environment. We build on theories of affect as disciplinary work by investigating the multiple layers of affect that are essential to children's scientific inquiry and to identify pedagogical moves that recognize, value,…

This computational exercise gives students an in-depth look at the reactants, transition state, and product of the crystal violet alkaline hydrolysis reaction. The exercise, which is aimed at second semester general chemistry students, involves DFT energy calculations on five structures: crystal violet cation, crystal violet alcohol, and 4-water…

This research paper aims to propose a novel didactic sequence inspired by an historical/epistemological study of the evolution of spectroscopy and in particular of colorimetry. The working principles of the historical color comparators and the visual color matching method, first proposed by Duboscq, stimulated us in the development of a five-step…

Due to regulatory and logistical challenges, traditional hands-on endocrine labs can be difficult to implement. Here, we provide a flexible, dry-lab/classroom data analysis activity that eliminates the need for direct blood sampling and instead focuses on teaching analytical skills and theoretical knowledge. This article presents a…

Quickly disseminating an innovative, timely afterschool program raises challenges, from recruitment and professional development to assessment, program fidelity, and quality. In this paper, we describe our experience as project developers, trainers, and researchers working with an afterschool network, Imagine Science, to disseminate a middle…

Nicotine is a major alkaloid in tobacco plants and an addictive component of tobacco products. Some bacteria grow on tobacco plants and have evolved the ability to metabolize nicotine. As part of our microbiology teaching lab, we used minimal media with nicotine as the sole carbon source to isolate nicotine-degrading bacteria from tobacco leaves…

Scientific observation is a disciplinary-informed way of looking at the world that requires the coordination of domain knowledge and perceptual skills with specialized tools and techniques to systematically identify objects, organisms, specimens, or phenomena of interest. Identification is a particular form of skilled observational practice where…

The Scalable, Interactive Model of an Off-World Community (SIMOC) is a computer simulation of a human habitat on Mars. Built upon decades of NASA research and authentic science processes, SIMOC is both a research-grade simulation and an engaging web-based tool for science education. Users access an intuitive web interface to select mission…

Here, we propose a laboratory exercise to quickly determine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in human "alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B)" and "aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2)" genes involved in alcohol metabolism. In this exercise, two different genotyping methods based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR), namely…

Thermal cameras have shown to have utility in secondary school classrooms and undergraduate courses. In this paper, the author argues for their potential in the primary school classroom and presents a range of activities that can be undertaken with thermal cameras (or supplied images). With limited access in mind, the activities in this paper have…

Science educators now broadly recognize the multimodal nature of learning in science, where learners make meanings within modes (linguistic, mathematical, visual, and actional) by using the conventions of different sign systems or grammars in these modes. However, how teachers guide students to link and infer new meanings across modes, called…

Learning media is a tool that makes it easier for educators to convey material to students effectively and efficiently to improve the quality of learning. Biology subjects in the essential enzymes and cell metabolism competencies require precision and accuracy, so appropriate learning media are needed. Booklets are a medium that can make it easier…

A novel teaching approach is aimed at elucidating the concept of bond enthalpy for general chemistry students. Through the integration of a hands-on candy pulling activity, students in a large lecture class were provided a tangible experience to explore bond strengths using rope candy and a luggage scale. Feedback from students indicated a clear…

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of science volunteering initiatives on the experiences of women and their subsequent inclination to continue volunteering. The research sought to examine the impact of particular social cognitive variables on their eagerness to partake in events and organizations. The study…