The changeover of the Kenyan system of education from the 7-4-2-3 to the current 8-4-4 in 1984 made science subjects (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) compulsory to all students up to form two at the secondary school level. This meant increased numbers of students in one class at a time attending the science subjects, which may compromise quality.…

Computer-generated simulations and visualizations in digital planetariums have the potential to bridge the comprehension gap in astronomy education. Concepts involving three-dimensional spatial relationships can be difficult for the layperson to understand, since much of the traditional teaching materials used in astronomy education remain…

An in-class activity is described that can be used not only to motivate hypothesis testing, but also to understand and compute the p-value and power in a statistical test. (Contains 3 figures.)

In this paper, the authors describe how two institutions are helping their undergraduate biology students build quantitative competencies. Incorporation of quantitative skills and reasoning in biology are framed through a discussion of two cases that both concern introductory biology courses, but differ in the complexity of the mathematics and the…

As secondary students' interest in science is decreasing, schools are faced with the challenging task of providing adequate instruction to engage students--and more particularly the disadvantaged students--to learn science and improve their science inquiry skills. In this respect, the integration of Web-based collaborative inquiry can be seen as a…

For two summers, week-long residential mathematics programs were held for high school women, with the primary goal of encouraging them to continue their study of mathematics. The activities were designed to rekindle their excitement about mathematics and to support the idea that women should learn advanced mathematics. This paper reports the…