The purpose of this article is to describe the possibilities of using worksheets in the teaching of lipids and proteins. The worksheet includes a concept map, suggestions for three safe experiments that can be performed with available household chemicals, and observation results. The worksheets were implemented into action research in two classes…

High school biology students are provided few classroom opportunities to learn natural history or to see themselves as scientists. This poses a risk to their gaining the basic knowledge needed to play a positive role in the biodiversity crisis. However, science-as-practice in the classroom introduces the opportunity to equip students with…

CRISPR-cas technology is being incorporated into undergraduate biology curriculum through lab experiences to immerse students in modern technology that is rapidly changing the landscape of science, medicine and agriculture. We developed and implemented an educational module that introduces students to CRISPR-cas technology in a Genetic course and…

We present an algorithm for solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation that is based on the finite-difference expression of the kinetic energy operator. Students who have some knowledge of linear algebra can understand the theory used to derive the algorithm. This is because the finite-difference kinetic energy matrix and the Hückel matrix…

Using the practices in three-dimensional learning means that a classroom community of students working alongside the teacher identifies questions and debates how to make progress. Students should see each step of their work as addressing goals they have set. This article explores a strategy developed by researchers and teachers for supporting…

This article describes the design and implementation of a sensors-based entrepreneurial-minded learning (EML) module in a large (>150 students) first-year General Chemistry II course. Students worked in groups create a novel sensor that solves an existing scientific problem or improves upon an existing sensor. Students proposed and explained…

This work covers a three-week program designed to provide undergraduate students with a background in structural chemistry and materials science. Sessions are based on the programming of regular polyhedra and their geometrical relationships by using an object-oriented language (i.e., POV-Ray). Three lectures introduce the basics of programming…

This paper describes an undergraduate biochemistry laboratory module consisting of a set of experiments designed around a purification scheme for bovine serum albumin (BSA). Students purify BSA from cow plasma by a combination of salt and acetone precipitation, equilibrium dialysis, ion exchange, and size exclusion chromatography. Students use the…

In this article we share how developing and following tikanga was integral to our enactment of mana orite in the local curriculum as we (tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti) collaborated on a Year 7 science unit: Plants, Place, and People. Our initial thinking as we approached this unit had been to look for connections between matauranga Maori, the…

This article focuses on a sequence of learning experiences designed to raise children's awareness about weaving using yarn, which is one aspect of fibre and production technologies. The technologies context of the fibre production allows children to learn about the chemistry concepts related to the materials. An explicit focus on the properties…

Representation in science is anything that stands for something else--drawings, pictures, graphs, or other representational forms (Danish et al. 2020). Representations serve as public displays of phenomena that make aspects of those phenomena explicit (Gilbert 2008). They can serve to make the invisible visible, communicate ideas, display…

STEM is a commonly used acronym in today's education world. Parents hear the term and hope their child's school will be embracing it, teachers plan units encompassing it, even those outside the education realm have heard it and think it is important. But, do students actually understand the four disciplines and can they clearly express what they…

Conrad Hal Waddington's epigenetic landscape is now a central paradigm in evolutionary developmental biology. This article proposes that it should be adopted into middle-years (ages 11-16) biology curricula as a way of visualising the interactions of the genome with the environment. The epigenetic landscape is explained, with some biographical…

The design of undergraduate laboratory courses that provide meaningful research-based experiences enhances undergraduate curricula and prepares future graduate students for research careers. In this article, a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) laboratory module was designed for upper-division undergraduate biochemistry and…

This paper reports on a transdisciplinary approach to science with a Year 4/5 class incorporating citizen science through the Birds in Backyards project. This transdisciplinary approach created opportunities for student engagement through science, mathematics, design and technology, humanities and social sciences (HASS), arts and English, while…